Spongebob Squarepants won’t make your kids gay, but all its nautical nonsense might teach your little ones that they get to define themselves and their own desires, regardless of which way the current flows. From our first trip into Bikini Bottom, we learn that this optimistic sponge doesn’t let social norms mold who he is. He follows his heart, finding that, as long as he stays true to himself, he can make his dreams a reality.

In the highly-touted pilot, “Help Wanted,” we meet our porous hero. In the first shots, he’s weightlifting–or, more accurately, teddy bear lifting. With the “I (heart) pain” sign in the background, we can infer that masculinity in Bikini Bottom is constructed much like it is up above the surface. Real men pump iron, grunting and struggling their way to the biggest muscles. With his lightweight lifting routine, Spongebob’s not living up to artificial social standards about how he should prove himself with heavy lifting. Who cares? Not this sponge. He’s beaming with a sense of achievement after he puts the barbell down, even if he’s not the most hardcore body builder in the deep blue sea.

Once he leaves his pineapple, Spongebob guns for the fry cook gig at the Krusty Krab with his usual sunny disposition. But self-doubt seeps in. “Follow your dreams” sounds great, but self esteem derives more from outside forces than inside–how others perceive you affects how you perceive yourself–so it’s not hard to see why Spongebob might not have the most faith in himself in a culture that denigrates childish and naive weaklings.

At this juncture, he faces a crucial decision: he easily could ignore his BFF Patrick’s inspirational speech and march back home to continue his quiet existence. But he instead remembers who he is, not how others want him to be, and marches into the Krusty Krab with confidence befitting a king.

Of course, it might seem a bit odd to think of a fast-food joint as the pinnacle of existence. For both sea critters and the land dwellers above, minimum wage jobs tend to be a mark of low status. We (wrongly) assume that anyone working there is stupid, lazy, and irresponsible. Spongebob’s enthusiasm flies in the face of norms that tell him that he should be dragging himself to the fast food industry in shame, not seeking it out with fervor. Everyone else thinks it’s a dead-end job for losers, but Spongebob has the mental fortitude to go against the grain with his opinions.

The only problem: Mr. Krabs and his trusty Squidward have no room on the squad for an energetic go-getter. It’s likely that, long ago, those two pessimistic adults were just like Spongebob–always excited for what the next day might bring. Nobody’s born grumpy, but it can be hard to see the good among a constant stream of terribleness in our lives. Life just has a way of beating the optimism out of some its happiest customers. When Krabs “tests” Spongebob by sending him on an impossible underwater goose chase to find a custom-built, apparently non-existent spatula, it’d again be tempting for our yellow friend to wilt under the pressure of society and come to terms with the fact that his dream job just isn’t for him. Maybe this wonderful place he’s constructed is just a lie, just a part of a joyless sea he inhabits. But the funny yellow mix of perseverance and naivete doesn’t give up so easily. He put his head down, goes to the Barg‘N-Mart, and gets to work finding the elusive kitchen apparatus.

Even after all that, when he gets back to the Krusty Krab, it’s a warzone. Invasive anchovies have taken over the place. For a third time, Spongebob faces a decision: nobody would blame him if he turned back to his old life without a second thought. But while for those like Squidward and Krabs the sea of hungry mouths is an obstacle that leaves them climbing the rafters to try (in vain) to escape, for Spongebob the upcoming battle is an opportunity. Spongebob flies in with his hydrodynamic spatula with port and starboard attachments and built-in turbo drive, slicing and dicing his way through the kitchen in order to send each and every anchovy home full of Krabby Patties and joy. While those who assumed the worst found themselves trapped, Spongebob never lost his perspective, allowing him to save the day and win the job.

The world might often look to be a dark, horrible place with evil residing at every turn, but that doesn’t mean that the younger generations have to accept that as unwavering truth. In the pilot, Spongebob Squarepants establishes that its namesake protagonist won’t accept this soul-sucking reality as absolute. At every chance to quit, Spongebob perseveres towards his goals without changing who he is. Even as others shame him for being weak, he just has to be himself to accomplish his dreams.