Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham) of Girls started out as the spoiled, immature, and irresponsible young woman that gradually learned to grow up and gain some independence. She was cut off from her parents and forced to find her direction in life. Through good times and bad, Hannah persevered and has become something of an inspirational figure to us all. All of us—in some way or another—can relate to her, or at least her life experiences and moods. So yeah, we’re sharing 10 of her most inspiring (and relatable) quotes with you because hey, Hannah’s got the quotes for practically every mood.
‘Hysteria? Hysteria Is How They Diagnosed Women Who They Found Uppity In The 1800s And Had An Excuse To Remove Their Ovaries’
One of Hannah’s rants featured this quote as she stood up for women. She is busy pointing out the acknowledgment of famous writers as only being men and how women are cast aside. When she is told she is getting too “hysterical,” this is her response. We have to love Hannah for her drive, her empowerment, and acknowledgment of women and their work, and of course, her depth of feminism. We can always count on Hannah to stand up for her fellow women and to inject some girl power into her conversations.
‘Endorphins Don’t Work On Me’
While out running with Adam (Adam Driver), Hannah (who is obviously hating the exercise), clarifies this. It seems there’s a niche part of the general population that genuinely enjoys exercise, and the rest of us either do it out of necessity or peer pressure (or we just don’t and say we did).
Exercise is supposed to be good for you and make you happy, yet sometimes we feel like we’re dying or are otherwise annoyed with the whole thing. We can relate with Hannah; endorphins may not work on many of us after all.
‘I Have A Strong Opinion About Everything, Even Topics I’m Not Informed On’
It’s very common to come across people that share this same sentiment of Hannah’s these days. At least Hannah is honest and open about this fact regarding her personality. For the topics you know and don’t know about, you seem to give them both equal attention and passion when you discuss them with others. Heaven forbid the topic of politics, religion or other touchy subjects come up in conversation. Those kinds of conversations are best reserved for close friends and family members rather than co-workers or acquaintances that you might scare off with your strongly passionate opinions. If anything, be like Hannah and warn people about your opinions and your tendency to express them openly.
‘I Could Be A Drug Addict. Do You Realize How Lucky You Are?’
We’ve got to give it to Hannah when it comes to coming up with creative (and honestly, meaningful) reasons as to why your parents should keep supporting you financially. She begins listing several reasons—some of her own, some experiences she draws from people she knows—as to why her parents should keep her on their “bankroll” and why it’s a foolish idea to cut her off when she feels she’s headed in the right direction.
We can all relate to this at one point or another. “I’m a safe driver with no accidents, let me borrow the car” or simply “I could be a drug addict. Do you realize how lucky you are?” are perfectly good reasons as to why your parents should give you what you want. Unfortunately, logical reasoning doesn’t always work (as Hannah knows perfectly well).
‘Um, Excuse Me, I Am Grown-Up. That’s Why I Cooked All This Food!’
We feel success in the simplest accomplishments, like doing the laundry ourselves, balancing our checkbooks, and of course, preparing a meal for other people. When we accomplish those things, we feel like we’ve leveled up in adulthood in a significant way. That’s why we love this quote so much. We get Hannah’s point because hello, if you’ve cooked all the food successfully, that’s a pretty big accomplishment in the adult world (especially when you could have backed out and gotten takeout instead).
‘The Worst Stuff That You Say Sounds Better Than The Best Stuff That Some Other People Say’
In one of her pep talks for herself, Hannah tells herself this. Really, this is a quote we’d like to steal because it’s really quite soothing. We’re always worried we’ll say something stupid, inappropriate or downright embarrassing.
Whether it’s to your friends, families, in interviews, at work, on dates or whatever, there’s always a person, situation or circumstance that we fear because we’re nervous of how we’ll act and what we’ll say. So let’s just calm down, go easier on ourselves and take a page from Hannah’s book: even if we say the worst thing possible, it can still be better than the best thing someone else has said. And it could even make for an interesting or funny story someday (after we’ve overcome the dying of humiliation part).
‘I Just Want Someone Who Wants To Hang Out All The Time, And Thinks I’m The Best Person In The World, And Wants To Have Sex With Only Me’
Simple desires, but yet it’s so hard to find that person for you out there. Hannah’s got her list down, and when she says this quote it’s part of a speech to Adam, her main love interest. At the end of the day, Hannah’s list is a basic outline of what we’re all looking for in potential partners. It may take some time to find your person, but more often than not the journey to find them is more than worth it in the end. Until then, stick to your beliefs and keep searching for “the one.”
‘I Don’t Want To Freak You Out, But I Think I May Be The Voice Of My Generation’
Considering in real-life Lena Dunham has led controversial conversations, this quote is meaningful in a multitude of ways. All of us strive to make a difference in one form or another; we can all be the voice of our generation.
The character of Hannah Horvath was in a way a role model and inspirational figure to our generation that could indeed be referred to as the voice of a generation. It’s one of the reasons why we’re making this list of some of her most relatable quotes. Even though the show has ended, Hannah’s voice still carries on strongly.
‘I’m Also A Person Who Sees The Darkness In Life. I’m Not A F****** Character On ‘The Hills.’ I’m Responding To Real Issues’
This is one of Hannah’s funnier quotes. Offended that she’s been called “dramatic,” she talks to her mother about the subject over the phone and goes off on a tangent, listing all the reasons why she’s not a dramatic person. Chances are, if you have to defend yourself, you are to some degree dramatic (and that’s why we love Hannah). Still, it’s hilarious to listen to Hannah speak her mind, ignoring her mother who’s trying to tell her something. We can all relate to Hannah defending herself; really, who likes to be called “dramatic”?
‘I Have Work, And Then I Have A Dinner Thing, And Then I Am Busy Trying To Become Who I Am’
No quote is more relatable than this. Hannah initially says this to her parents just after they’ve informed her that she’s being cut off, but really it can be applied at any time in one’s life. We’re always following some kind of path then switching to embark on another, hoping we’re getting closer to what feels real and true to ourselves. We’re always looking to accomplish our goals and become the person we all want to be. While we conduct the routine daily grind, we’re still finding ourselves on the side. Hannah Horvath knows this and couldn’t have said anything more universally relatable.
Girls may be over, but Hannah Horvath’s quotes live on to inspire generations to come. The thing is that her quotes are so relatable that they will withstand time simply because they’re so universally understandable for audiences. That’s one of the best things about Girls, so we’re hoping there’s a revival someday.
