Watching SpongeBob SquarePants as a child is an entirely different experience than watching the long-running Nickelodeon cartoon about a sea sponge and his underwater friends as an adult. The main difference between the two experiences can be boiled down to one specific character, SpongeBob’s perpetually disgruntled neighbor, Squidward.
From a kid’s perspective, Squidward is the ultimate party pooper. His affinity for practicing the clarinet is the dullest possible thing a child can dream up, especially when next door, SpongeBob is living his best life with a bubble for a best friend and Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy as his close acquaintances.
But here’s the thing: In the throes of that awkward time between teen-hood and adulthood, you start to realize that Squidward had it right — that FUN isn’t actually an acronym for friends who do stuff together, u and me, and n is for n’ywhere and n’ytime at all down here in the deep blue sea. You start to realize that Squidward is in fact, the ultimate embodiment of everything adulthood makes of us.
Here are 10 important times Squidward, the six-legged octopus who wears the same boring brown collared shirt every day, is your spirit animal.
1. That time he waxed poetic about his inevitable life as a solo being.
2. That time Squidward expressed his disdain for all social situations imaginable.
3. When his “no fu*ks given” attitude became applicable to school, work, and all other adult responsibilities.
4. When he expressed the well-known fact that sleep trumps all else.
5. That time you realized this is your go-to look at all times of the day.
6. When he stuffed as much food into his face as possible.
7. That time he perfectly described what your exes say about you.
8. When he adequately described what it’s like to be at work all day long.
9. That time he proved he was a “no” man.
10. When he showed us all the definition of ‘resting b*tch face.’
Is Squidward your spirit animal? Tell us in the comments below which SpongeBob SquarePants character you identify with most!
