I will refer to the show as BTVS throughout.
1. She’s Hilarious
She is gorram funny my friends. Let’s be honest, BTVS was comedic gold. While each character had their own uniquely humorous personalities, Buffy held her own. She often came out with zingy one-liners, pop-culture references, and wonderful puns.
“Cordelia, your mouth is open, sound is coming from it. This is never good.” – Buffy
“Harmony, when you tried to be head cheerleader, you were bad. When you tried to chair the Homecoming committee, you were really bad. But when you try to be bad… you suck.” – Buffy
“If the apocalypse comes, beep me.” – Buffy
“She irons her jeans, she’s evil!” – Buffy
“Well, in that case, I won’t wear my button that says, ‘I’m a Slayer. Ask me how.’” – Buffy
“I’m not exactly quaking in my stylish yet affordable boots here” – Buffy
2. Girl Power
Buffy Summers is surrounded by equally amazing, truly compelling female characters. Yet she neither outshines or pales in comparison to them. The cast of BTVS had real women, with unique traits, flaws, and stories.
Let’s be honest the show is built on girl power. The strongest person in the room was usually a woman. Buffy endures not in spite of her feminity, but because of it. Her 
emotional intelligence coupled with her growing wisdom makes her a sage to the potentials by season 7.
She also proves you can be a true feminist, who believes woman are equal to men. She loves men but has equal space for the women in her life. She reinforces other women and they reinforce her, which is what we need to do. Women need not be in competition with one another but see our individual wins as a win for all.
“Are you ready to be strong?” – Buffy
3. Multi-Faceted
Although she is strong, she is in touch with her emotions and is not afraid to show her soft side. She’s a wonderful role model for young girls. She went through breakups, betrayals, and death, never once shying away from crying or showing the pertinent emotion.
She goes through the complete rainbow of emotions throughout the span of the show, and she also is not afraid to make mistakes. The world often tells women that if you are soft and cry, that you can’t be strong too. Well, Buffy proves that is false. She even says:
“…my emotions give me power. They’re total assets!” – Buffy
4. Embracing Life
Sometimes life isn’t fair, and we are not all born into equal opportunities. Buffy spends a huge part of the show fighting her calling as a vampire slayer. However, she finally embraces this part of herself. This lesson is something we all can use. It allows us to see that we must accept all parts of ourselves and life. We need both the light and the dark for life to be truly meaningful.
She taught us that the people we love sometimes act out irrationally when they are hurting. After her death at the hands of The Master, she showed signs of PTSD. When she was shown kindness and compassion she figured out how to deal with the situation. After her mother died, she really stepped up to the plate. Although it wasn’t easy, and she made many mistakes, Buffy became a mother to Dawn.
Buffy may have gone through endless trials and tribulations, from killing Angel to losing her mother (pictured above). Yet she persevered throughout finding her strength from within. During a fight with Angelus, he taunts her, all of her friends are gone, her weapons, and hope. He asks her what’s left. She simply says, “me.”
5. Facing Her Fears
If we stay within the bubble of our comfort zone we will never grow or learn. Buffy provides us with the wisdom, that the only way through your fears is to face them.
In Season 1 even though she knew she was going to die, she still went down into the Master’s lair. In Season 5 when she realised that only her blood could close the portal, and save the world, she jumped. In Season 7 when The First Evil was taunting her she took to fight to them rather than wait to be killed off.
In her personal life, she started over again in a new school. She took a job she hated at the Double Meat Palace to provide for Dawn after her mother’s death. She even kept trying to fall in love, although she had been hurt in the past.
She was not afraid to make a mistake, dust herself off (no pun intended) and start over. She takes charge of her life and her role. The book stops with her. Giles might know more than her, but she has generations of slayers giving her authority.
“I’m Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, and you are?” – Buffy
In the end, I couldn’t have asked for a better role model in my teenage years. When female characters were often only the love interest or damsel in distress, Buffy kicked ass in her stylish yet affordable boots.
“The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. Be brave, for me.” – Buffy
Can do Ms Summers.
Copyright © 2018 Thinkingmoon.com – All rights reserved
References:
https://thoughtcatalog.com/laura-libert/2014/07/how-buffy-showed-us-why-its-ok-to-have-emotions/
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 1-7, The Warner Brothers, 1996 – 2003.
From Buffy and Giles parting ways, Dawn’s kleptomania and Buffy’s complete ignorance of the fact, Willow’s abuse of magic and Tara, to Xander leaving Anya at the altar. Although we are often taught from a young age that love conquers all, it won’t. This is evidenced by Xander’s declaration, “I wish we could go back to the way things were before.” A childish train of thought to be sure, but we’ve all felt this exact painful flood of emotions when our actions cause irreversible consequences. However, it is common with grief too, “prompt fruitless fantasies of turning back time,” according to Korsmeyer (2008).
ever was. Yes, Hush was nominated for an Emmy, and yes its gang of demons were particularly disconcerting. For me though, Gnarl has a special place as a creature that grab you in the dark, when you’re all alone. He is the scariest villain produced by the entire series, and this episode is always uncomfortable for me to watch.
speak out against the group think and although her comments often feel abrasive, she is an important portal to the outside world. For me this picture says it all (left). Dawn looks angry, because of the trust they put in someone who tried to kill her, “She didn’t finish!? She didn’t finish not being evil!?” This is because Willow is their friend, not because they believe fully in her rehabilitation.
want to show a sex scene between Willow and Tara it must be done under the guise of a magical demon. (Once More With Feeling). This double standard has been addressed in Theodor Adorno’s article, “How To Look At Television.”
Spike: “Everyone’s talking to me, but no one is talking to each other.” 
in the episode Hush, and has played an Ubervamp a couple of times. Look though, he’s such a sweet looking man, how could we have ever been afraid of him?
all I have to say about that. (If Whedon has addressed this at any stage, please let me know. It has annoyed me to no end for years!)
urally isolate her even from her friends.”
ecause her
season he will date Cordelia secretly, knowing this could hurt Willow, and it does. His character flaws expose the shadow traits of humanity throughout the show. He is often used as the scapegoat, for the wrong way to act.
What lessons have we learned? Kindness, compassion, and understanding. When someone we care about is acting out by saying and doing hurtful things, do not immediately go to an angry place. We don’t know what is happening within the minds of others. We should not make their suffering more intense than it needs to be.
Thinking Moon 
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