Growing up in the 90's I was obsessed with cartoons such as Rugrats, Cat Dog, Doug, Hey Arnold!, Rocket Power and countless others. It's a close tie between Rugrats and Rocket Power being my favorite as I resonated with characters on both shows. Angelica was my favorite and had my parents Dad convinced to name my younger sister after her — unfortunately my Mom wasn't on board with that idea. On the other hand, I loved Reggie. She was the only girl in "Team Rocket" and she was an amazing athlete, something I aspired to be as a child. Not to mention she had bada**, purple hair, which was my favorite color.
But Rocket Power always had something that Rugrats didn't — a wise philosopher giving advice and telling ancient Hawaiian stories — Tito Makani.
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Uncle Tito's ancient Hawaiian stories and advice were always funny as a child, and we thought it was a whole lot of nothing. As an adult, I can now comprehend the underlying meanings to Tito's life lessons.
Life Lesson #1:
Treat others the way you want to be treated. If you lower yourself to someone else's standards, you become just as bad as they are.
Life Lesson #2:
When you have a fight or disagreement with a loved one, give them time. They need time to think and sort things out in their head, but will come back all things forgiven and forgotten.
Life Lesson #3:
Look at life as a journey. Growing and changing in your ways may be challenging and seem unnatural, but is a part of life. Refusing to do so makes you seem unintelligent and ignorant.
Life Lesson #4:
The things you desire that are out of reach always seem better than what you currently have. Be grateful for the things that you do have and eventually succeeding will become that much sweeter when it happens.
Life Lesson # 5:
Never give up on your dreams no matter how far fetched they might seem. Dreams are set high for a reason and with a little hard work, dedication and passion — your dreams can become a reality. The sky is the limit [or I guess its not].
Life Lesson #6:
Changing the outside to please others will never change who you are on the inside. Stay true to yourself.
Life Lesson #7:
Appreciate everything you have and live every single day to its fullest because it could be gone tomorrow.
Life Lesson #8:
If you stray too far from your morals, or your goals in life, you will have a difficult time getting back to where you started.
Life Lesson #9:
Be in control of your life, don't let it control you. Don't waste your life away doing things you don't enjoy, make your own decisions and focus on you.
Life Lesson #10:
Sometimes your life will be great, sometimes it won't.
Life Lesson #11:
When you want something in life, figure out how to make it happen and go for it! That 'itching' won't go away unless you do.
Life Lesson #12:
Sometimes the best things in life are the easiest to overlook.
As the ancient Hawaiians used to say — He who listens to Tito is more likely to learn life lessons early in life.
