Everything I Need to Know, I Learned From Finn Hudson

I decided to take a break from Tom Hanks Month to honor someone that felt like a dear friend to me.

Of course you have heard by now that Cory Monteith, one of the best and most pivotal parts of the television show Glee, passed away last week.

I am saddened deeply by his passing. I feel for his fans, for his Glee family, for his real family, and for his onscreen and offscreen girlfriend. Gone too soon doesn’t even begin to describe the loss we all feel.

In his honor:

EINTKILF Finn Hudson 

1. Parents aren’t perfect.
Finn is very close with his mother, which is one of the most endearing parts of Finn in general. Finn’s father was a tragic storyline, though. Having previously believed his father was killed nobly serving in Iraq, Finn later discovers his father actually died of a drug overdose.

The episode handles the situation really well, though. And eventually Finn petitions to get his father’s dishonorable discharge changed to an honorable one, which is really touching.

One of the best parts of Glee is their ability to handle seemingly unusual, yet realistically quite relatable storylines. Some of us had drug addict parents, and watching Finn cope and eventually accept his father for who he was is one of the best things the show ever did.

Rings familiar for this moment, as well. Drug addicts are not inherently bad people. Addiction is a disease like any other disease.

2. Football players aren’t always jerks.
Finn is the quarterback of William McKinley High School and before he becomes a reformed nice kid in the glee club, he gives into peer pressure and bullies the not-so-popular kids. Though he fits into a lot of stereotypes–like dating the head cheerleader–Finn is not stereotypical in the slightest.

I went to an awesome high school where I was friends with the quarterback of the football team and I just love the jock-types who aren’t so jock-y, you know? Like Lebron James.

(I don’t know anything about him, I was just kidding.)

3. Sometimes, annoying girls can be the love of your life.
Though Quinn was originally Finn’s girlfriend, everyone that has ever watched Glee knows that Finn and Rachel really belonged together. Though it might be superficial to even say so, it breaks my heart to know that Rachel and Finn will not end up together due to the tragic loss of Monteith.

Rachel loves Finn from day one, but he doesn’t give her the time of day for awhile. Even when they eventually get together, she is just a LOT to handle and he is still on and off with Quinn, and only eventually (like in my real life, jesus) he realizes that he wants to be with her. Like forever. They get engaged in high school!

And even in season four, when Rachel was living her bigshot life in New York City, dating super hot Brody, Finn still made himself clear.

“You and I both know how this thing ends. I don’t know how, or when, and I don’t care where you’re living or what dope you’re shacked up with. You’re my girlfriend. We are endgame. I know that and you know that.”

4. How to be a good dad.
Even though we all know that Noah Puckerman, that sly dog, is actually the father of Quinn’s baby, when Finn still believes that he is the baby daddy, he really pulls it together to try and plan their future life. Like a real man!

Finn’s solo performance of “I’ll Stand By You” and his conversation with his mother is one of my favorite Finn scenes ever. 

5. Don’t lose your virginity just to lose your virginity.
Finn decides to sleep with Santana just to no longer remain a virgin. Even though Santana is my secret favorite character, I just think Finn should have either lost his virginity to A) Rachel or B) Quinn because SO SUE ME that I think you should sleep with people you love.

And I still think that. It’s not just a high school rule.

6. Watch your language.
Burt: You use the N word?
Finn: Of course not.
Burt: How about “retard”? You call that nice girl on the Cheerios with Kurt, you call her a retard?
Finn: Becky? No, she’s my friend. She’s got Down’s Syndrome. I’d never call her that, that’s cruel.
Burt: But you think it’s okay to come in my house and say “faggy”?
Finn: But that’s not what I meant.
Burt: I know what you meant! What, you think I didn’t use that word when I was your age? You know, some kid gets clocked in practice we tell him to stop being such a fag, shake it off. We meant it exactly the way you meant it. That being gay is wrong. That’s some kind of punishable offense. I really thought you were different, Finn. You know, I thought that being in Glee Club, and being raised by your mom, meant that you were some, you know, new generation of dude who saw things differently. Who just kinda, you know, came into the world knowing what it’s taken me years of struggling to figure out. I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry Finn, but you can’t, you can’t stay here.

Burt, Kurt’s dad, overhears Finn using a derogatory term for homosexuals in reference to a lamp in their shared bedroom and really lays into him. I love this scene because Burt is a BAMF who is the best TV dad ever pretty much, and also because it is a pivotal moment in the growth of Finn’s character. Well acted by Monteith (as things always were) and very emotionally touching. Watching a young boy turn into a man is the best.

7. Brothers aren’t always blood.
And of course eventually Kurt and Finn’s parents really make it official and the two become brothers. But even before the wedding, the two of them really hone in on their relationship and become each other’s biggest supporters and closest friends.

8. How to propose.
Finn’s proposal is just about the sweetest thing ever. Even if they weren’t in high school, I think the best proposals are the ones that really mean something to the relationship. And Finn proposes to Rachel in the room where they first ever kissed. And it is the sweetest. Simple and emotional and so, so great.

9. Don’t kiss your best friend / former teacher’s fiancee / your former counselor.
Obvious lesson. The only good thing is that there can be a boy band off to solve the argument.

And it must be said:

10. Don’t stop believin’.

Rest in peace, Cory. You will always be loved.

Featured image and “I’ll Stand By You” image via fanpop, proposal image via gleeforum, “Don’t Stop Believin’ “image via glee.wikia