gif credit to @phoebebridgers
i’m sure this is extremely obvious and i could probably get away with not mentioning it, BUT: these are three things off a list of approximately a million and a half. *cracks knuckles in preparation* HERE GOES NOTHING.
1. she tries to learn from her mistakes before making any new ones! -- sure, this line comes in season four - which might be a bit late in the game. really, though, she’s been growing tremendously up until this point, even if she herself doesn’t fully realize that. for me, the sincerity of her ‘i’m sorry’ to ted in ‘happy anniversary’ really showed how she knew she’d messed up that situation. sure, it was partially brought on by mutt and tennessee. STILL. and the whole ‘bettering herself’ business just continued to grow from there - it was most excellent to behold!
2. all of her awesome/scary/outlandish life experiences! -- josh groban has a thick leather binder full of ground rules. dating all three hanson brothers for a summer. bubble tea and chill with adam levine. drivers’ licenses in seven countries - and most likely the languages to match - and an f-class. negotiating in arabic. parallel parking in a burka. weathering regime changes and pirates. etc, etc, etc.
3. her wardrobe! -- SO SHALLOW, I KNOW. i seriously love almost all of her outfits, though! the floral/patterned dresses, more than one ballet-pink item, the floppy hats, the fluffy white hanging-with-ted/post-wedding sweater, the sideways A necklace - why, yes, i do have the exact same sideways E from anthropologie and i’m sure you wanted to know that :D!