These 18 Quotes From "New Girl" Might Be Some Of The Best Life Advice You Ever Receive

Wisdom from the residents of Apartment 4D!

1. “Babe, you got hurt. That doesn’t mean you stop trying.” (Season 1, Episode 1)

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Not even 20 minutes into the first episode and we already have some universal advice from Cece, best friend of Jess aka the New Girl. Jess is preparing for her first date since dumping her cheating ex, Spencer. But, she gets overwhelmed and Cece is there to share this great piece of advice. We've all been there, right?

2. “I’m gonna have fun, cause there’s nothing wrong with who I am, and I like having fun at weddings. And I like dancing. And if you don’t like that, then tough tater tots tooter. Jess is back.” (Season 1, Episode 3)

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It's wedding SZN and Jess' new roommates have been telling her not to be herself at weddings. Where's the fun in that?! Jess finally snaps when Schmidt calls her a "ruiner" for not keeping Nick away from his ex, Caroline. She grabs her fake teeth from Nick and hits them with this line.

We've all been told multiple times that we should always be ourselves. But, it's nice to hear it from everyone's favorite educator, Jess. She's decided to be herself and have fun, regardless of what anyone thinks of her. Go Jess!!

3. “I want her to be happy. Cause when you care about somebody, you do what’s best for them. Even if it sucks for you.” (Season 1, Episode 24)

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Schmidt's doubting that he's good enough for Cece and he decides to "White Fang" her so that she'll leave him and find someone who will make her happier. He might've been talking about his own relationship with Cece, but his advice helps Jess realizes that she needs to be supportive of Nick's decision to move in with Caroline.

This scene always makes me sad because we know how good Cece and Schmidt are together. But, it's really great advice about caring for others and putting their best interests before your own wants.

4. “I brake for birds. I rock a lot of polka dots. I have touched glitter in the last 24 hours. I spend my entire day talking to children. And I find it fundamentally strange that you aren’t a dessert person. That’s just weird, and it freaks me out. And I’m sorry that I don’t talk like Murphy Brown. And I hate your pantsuit. I wish it had ribbons on it or something to make it just slightly cuter. And that doesn’t mean I’m not smart and tough and strong.” (Season 1, Episode 11)

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This is another scene where Jess stands up for herself and it's probably one of my favorite monologues from New Girl. Nick's girlfriend, Julia, is a cool lawyer who isn't a fan of Jess or her adorkable image. Jess lets her know that being cutesy doesn't mean that someone is dumb or weak.

Jess sums this up pretty well. As someone who also rocks a lot of polka dots, I'm happy someone said this.

5. “You got knocked down. It’s time to get back up. And get up long enough for one of these bozos to hire you. I believe in you.” (Season 2, Episode 7)

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Jess has just been laid off from her teaching job and she's having trouble adjusting to unemployed life. No "boob-jail" might be great, but Jess has started to doubt herself. Nick is there to help her boost her confidence.

I think this is pretty relatable for anyone who's ever been laid off. You've got this and I believe in you.

6. “People don’t change. They just think that they do.” (Season 2, Episode 11)

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At one of the many Christmas parties in this episode, Jess runs into Sam, the guy that she used to hookup with until she revealed that she had feelings for him. Now, Sam says he wants her back. It's the ultimate dump fantasy (just ask Winston), but Schmidt advises her not to believe what Sam says. Once a player, always a player.

This really depends on the person. As Taylor Swift says in "Shake It Off," "players gonna play, play, play, play," but she also says "people are people, and sometimes we change our minds" in "Breathe."

7. “Hey, look, we’re not mourning, okay? This is a celebration, you know. That’s what funerals are about.” (Season 2, Episode 20)

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The roommates are in Chicago to attend Nick's dad's funeral. Winston and Schmidt are having a conversation while Schmidt looks for something to wear to the funeral (the airline lost his luggage, but he doesn't want to make this about him). Winston encourages Schmidt to view funerals as a celebration of the person's life.

Despite the fact that he can't do a puzzle to save his life or pull off a "just-right" prank, Winston seems like the wisest of the group. It's kind of beautiful how he reframes funerals in this moment.

8. “Death is natural, you know? It’s a natural part of life. Everybody’s scared of death.” (Season 2, Episode 20)

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When Schmidt reveals he's afraid of death, Winston is there for him. Instead of laughing or saying something sarcastic, Winston lets Schmidt know that he's not alone in this fear. He even goes as far as playing a dead person so that Schmidt can practice being at a funeral.

This is a pretty relatable fear. Thank you, Winston, for helping Schmidt overcome his fear and for doing it in a way that is also entertaining.

9. "You did a bad thing, doesn’t make you bad. You just have to try to be better, you know?” (Season 3, Episode 5)

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That Winston, he's got a lot of good advice to share! Schmidt is feeling like a bad person after secretly dating Elizabeth and Cece at the same time and hurting both of them. Winston gives this advice to help Schmidt forgive himself and do better.

Sometimes it's hard to forgive ourselves when we do something bad. We just have to remember that we're human and humans make mistakes. We can always try again and try to do better.

10. “Instead of changing me, maybe once, Jess, see it my way.” (Season 3, Episode 5)

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Nick inherits a bag of cash from his dad's estate and goes on a spending spree. But, Jess finds his box of documents and can't stand to see the chaos and unpaid bills. She uses Nick's money — without his permission — to pay his bills. When Nick finds out, he gets mad.

While I'm not one to say "let's ignore our unpaid bills and leave them in a cardboard box," I think Nick has a good point here. While Jess is doing a good thing in keeping Nick from collecting more debt, she does invade his privacy and make decisions for him, which isn't okay.

11. “You are strong, and you are confident. Those are skills. Use them.” (Season 3, Episode 10)

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Cece's just started bartending at The Griffin and the job definitely has a learning curve. She confesses to Schmidt that she feels like she has no skills and she didn't even graduate from high school. Schmidt boosts her confidence with this line.

Anyone who's ever doubted themselves in their professional career can probably understand the way Cece's feeling in this scene. It's important to remember that skills come in many shapes and sizes!

12. “She needs to accept you exactly how you are, or you need to find somebody that will. Cause I think you are fine as is.” (Season 4, Episode 20)

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Schmidt's new girlfriend, Fawn, has Schmidt working overtime to get in picture-perfect shape. He asks Cece to put bronzer on him so that he won't look like a ghost in pictures. Unfortunately, he's bought the glittery kind and his face is covered in sparkles. Cece covers his face with makeup but he goes from looking like a ghost boy to looking like a dead boy. Schmidt is upset and Cece can't stand by anymore and watch him change himself for Fawn.

This goes back to #10 and trying to change others because you want them to change. We just have to accept and love our favorite humans as they are.

13. “If you really know how you feel about someone, you need to act now.” (Season 4, Episode 21)

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Coach, the on-again-off-again fifth roommate, and his girlfriend, May, have just broken up because she's moving across the country. Cece, who has been hiding her own feelings for Schmidt, gives this advice to a crying May.

I feel like Cece should take her own advice on this one. I'm a big advocate for telling people how you feel. Otherwise, how are they supposed to know?

14. “You treat an outside wound with rubbing alcohol, you treat an inside wound with drinking alcohol. That’s science.” (Season 4, Episode 21)

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After Coach and May break up, the guys are drinking at The Griffin when Nick says this gem.

I don't know if this is great advice, but it's too much of an iconic Nick Miller line to not include it.

15. “You have two choices. You can either spend the rest of your life terrified that someone’s going to swoop in and steal Cece away or you can just love her and thank the universe that she loves you back for some reason.” (Season 5, Episode 6)

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Schmidt and Cece are back together (yay!), and Reagan, a badass pharmaceutical sales rep, is renting Jess' room while Jess is sequestered for jury duty. After Cece and Regan realize that they hooked up years ago, Schmidt really struggles to deal with his jealousy. Reagan sits down with Schmidt and lets him know that he needs to let go of his jealousy and fears.

This is such great advice and it actually relates back to Season 1 when Schmidt fears that he isn't good enough for Cece.

16. “Well, then you’ll at least know, babe, it’s not your love story.” (Season 5, Episode 20)

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Jess is dating Sam again and she has just met his old friend Diane. Diane's been in love with Sam for years, but thought he didn't feel the same way because he never responded to her letter. Turns out, he never got her letter!! She gives the letter to Jess because she can't give it to Sam, but she can't throw it away either. Jess, normally a "dumb romantic" (her words, not mine), wants this to be her fairytale but Cece advises her to give him the letter.

Sometimes we just have to let go and trust that the universe knows what it's doing. It's also really cute that Schmidt has made Cece believe in love stories.

17. “New York wasn’t kicking my ass, it was nudging it gently in the right direction. Just like you are right now. You can’t be mad at your past, it makes you who you are.” (Season 6, Episode 4)

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On a trip to New York with the group, Jess finds herself in the Brooklyn Nine-Nine police station. She's telling Captain Holt about how her last trip to New York was a disaster, so she left early. It becomes clear to Jess that if she hadn't cut that trip short, she never would have found out that Spencer was cheating on her. She also wouldn't have become a part of the Apartment 4D family.

With the help of Captain Holt, Jess realizes that everything happens for a reason and that reason is not random chance. Life is leading you to what's meant for you.

18. And finally, “So, I hope you get punched in the face today. I really do. And then maybe you’ll finally see that you are good enough to be everything you want to be.” (Season 7, Episode 3)

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I'm finishing this list off with one of my favorite quotes from New Girl. Nick is procrastinating on writing his next book and has hired a guy off Craigslist to punch him if he doesn't write 20 pages by 3:00 p.m. Winston sees how talented Nick is and wants Nick to be able to see that, too.

This might be the ultimate quote from New Girl about having confidence in yourself and going after your dreams no matter what!

At the end of the day, the residents of 4D are always there for each other and us, too!!

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