Not only does the new season of 2008 bring fresh new starts and resolutions, it also will be bringing us Season 2 of the much loved comedy/drama TV show Ugly Betty! This month Portrait Manual will have a look back at Season 1 at the same time informing us on lessons that Ugly Betty learnt on her labyrinth journey at Mode magazine, which are lessons that we can apply to our everyday!

Ugly Betty might not have the persona of what some of our society may deem ‘cool’. But did this stop Betty from reaching her full potential? Hell No! I think we can learn a lot from Betty as we have noticed over the run of the first season. Unlike Betty we may not all work at a prestigious fashion magazine like ‘Mode’. However along the way to adapting to her out of character environment Betty does encounter similar problems and shares similar feelings and experiences that we do everyday be it at school or in our jobs.

Who said that you can’t learn from TV because in every episode of Ugly Betty there is a lesson to be learned? So ‘what would Ugly Betty do? (W.W.U.B.D).

Betty follows her dreams:
Betty’s dream was to work in magazines. So you could guess how excited she was when she’s hired as a personal assistant to Mode magazines Editor Daniel Meade! Betty knew she had to strive even harder to show her talents as she works in an environment where everybody is overly concerned with what people look like.
W.W.U.B.D? Go for your dream no matter what negative feedback people say or throw at you. Find out the qualifications needed for your dream job, work your way up to your goal, volunteer or do work experience at your dream job, make a creative CV that will stand out from the rest!!

Betty says NO to Bullying:
Betty works in a superficial high fashion world where image is everything. She has had numerous taunts thrown at her about they way she looks. In one episode she is given a dress-up invitation to Modes Halloween party only to find out that there isn’t one! So she is left to roam around the party in a bright Butterfly outfit. Wilhelmina’s assistant Marc even goes to the length as dressing up as Betty on another occasion donning a similar black wig and red Mexican Bolero! Another one of Marc’s hobbies is capturing Betty’s Screw-ups via his mobile phone and downloading them onto his computer as his screensaver!
W.W.U.B.D? Instead of running to the bathroom in tears over her costume horror Betty takes the challenge in her stride and holds her head up high. She shows class by not retaliating to the taunts and does not hesitate to the idea of changing her appearance to suit anyone. In a future episode of Betty, Modes receptionist Amanda even compliments her on her confidence and also envy’s the fact that Betty doesn’t care what people think or let them get her down.

Betty has Self Respect and Good Morals:
When Modes Christmas spread idea is leaked to another magazine at a work get-together that Marc, Amanda and Betty attend they start to fear for their jobs. For the first time Marc and Amanda are willing to work with Betty in an attempt to keep their jobs, even at the cost of lying to Wilhelmina. However when it comes to crunch time and Wilhelmina gets down to the last three Betty decides to come clean and takes all the blame for her un accounted era!
Also in the pilot episode a Photographer tries to get Betty to quit by asking her to pose in a skimpy vinyl outfit, but this doesn’t stop Betty from standing up for herself!
W.W.U.B.D? Even though Betty was not the one to blame for the leak she rather come clean with her insecurities rather then lie to anyone, even the enemy. Even after the humiliation from an unprofessional photographer won’t stop Betty for standing up for herself. The real star America Ferrera under the ‘Bettyification’ speaks out on the topic;
“I think she understands she’s different. But what makes her strong is that she’s not stupid. People tend to equate kindness with naiveté and cynicism with experience and age. But the stronger person is the one who knows better and chooses not to stoop to certain levels- that’s Betty”. And in our words that’s Self Respect!

Betty Always puts Family First:
Betty’s main priority is her family. Her mother passed away when she was only a young girl and she now lives with her tight knit family in Queens with her Father Ignacio, her sister Hilda and her Broadway loving son Justin. While her job often gets in the way of spending time with her family it is Betty who has always been the mother ‘rock’ of the Suarez family. At times they have nearly failed to make ends meet due to the immigration drama concerning her father. The sixth episode in the first season shows Christina, Modes in-house fashion seamstress giving Betty an expensive Gucci swag bag that she saved from the fashion closet. Betty loves the bag so much as it reminds her of the bag her late mother gave her. But when the chemist fails to give her the subscription medicine needed for her father she hands it over to the Chemist assistant as a bargaining chip!
W.W.U.B.D? Do you think you could hand over a designer bag to help your family? Well that’s just what Betty did. We have all had our own personal family dramas in life but no matter what happens it is important to remember that they are your family and we should count ourselves lucky that we have people there that care for us. So why not run up to your rents now or even you older or younger bro and sis and give them a big Betty hug!!

Betty is a Good Problem Solver and Team player:
In her job Betty often takes initiative, can adapt to any situation that has been steered her way and continuously flexes her creative muscles! There has been countless times where she has saved her Editor Daniel Meades ass when his job has been on the line! When Daniel needed a new look for Modes Special Christmas edition cover it was Betty who used her Queen connections to lure big time photographer Vincent Bianchi. It was Betty who stopped Daniel from going to jail after he thought he had slept with an underage model. It was Betty who ran Mode magazine after Daniel went on a drinking binge after the break-up with MYW Editor Sophia. It was Betty who was left to fire a photographer who wanted to put a new born baby in bondage and shackles!! To sum this all up Betty always seems to save the day.
W.W.U.B.D? We as Betty ‘Cadet’s’ are still learning the ropes of responsibility, but something we can work on is confidence within ourselves. It is our confidence in ourselves that always seems to get us through tricky situations. Normally when the Portarit team thinks they can’t do something we find the task hard to muster, but as soon as we have confidence in ourselves and put on our positive thinking caps everything always seems much easier to accomplish!

Other lessons Betty teaches us: