Last night, HBO debuted Emmy and Academy award winner Aaron Sorkin’s newest drama, The Newsroom. With an incredibly powerful pilot being billed as one of the best pieces of production in the past decade, The Newsroom introduces us to the many scary truths that lie in our country, our communities and our every day lives.

Featuring characters such as Jeff Daniels’ “Will McAvoy”, anchor of the News Night program on ACN, and Emily Mortimer’s “Mackenzie MacHale”, News Night’s executive producer, the audience is inspired by their combination of intelligence and wit.

With fantastic writing, casting and scoring, The Newsroom will be one of the best shows on television – one that might even sweep the awards season. This is a show that makes you want to read real, unbiased, straight forward news. It fosters an interest in politics for unregistered voters and, at the very least, makes you want to take action in any way possible. With such a powerful message, this is a show we will force ourselves schedules to fit week after week.

After last night’s pilot episode, there are already many important lessons that can be learned from HBO’s The Newsroom:

The United States is declining as a country

The United States is slowly losing its glory and title as “the greatest country in the world.” We are no longer the greatest country seeing as we once shifted from doing the best thing for others to doing the best thing for ourselves. Many, including politicians, struggle with solving the problem of how to make America better.

But we cannot answer how we can rebuild America when there are Republicans like Mitch McConnel who would rather make sure President Obama is a one term president. This blocks the goal of trying to help our country rise from the worst recession we have seen since 1873. What the United States does have is the opportunity to make things better, which is something that we should find ourselves doing every day.

Never stand down

The two most important qualities that you must obtain in order to succeed are loyalty and integrity. With loyalty, you are always respected for your choices and have the ability to stand wholeheartedly for what you have always stood behind in the past. Having integrity proves that no matter what one might force you to believe, you have your own voice and know when it is best to use it.

Finding the balance between the two, maintaing your integrity in accordance with your loyalty, will lead you to be the ultimate star, no matter where you are trying to shine.

Prove why your voice matters

There is always going to be someone who tries to silences you because they do not believe in you. But it is important to quiet the haters in order to prove why your voice matters. Knowing when to speak up with confidence will lead to your voice and message being brought forth stronger. Prove to others why you are speaking, and that you are not speaking just to hear your own voice. Make your voice matter and your words matter.

There is always someone that can take your job

There is always going to be someone ready to take your job, which is why it is important to be damn good at yours. Be the best at what you can be and show your worth. Show that you are an assest to whatever team you are a member of while proving you can also be a leader.

There may be someone who has an idea better than yours, so always be a step ahead and by anticipating how to improve on another’s. Gender is no longer the social divide it once was within the workplace as are courtesy and benevolence: people are fast becoming more cutthroat day by day, hour by hour, regardless of a person’s gender. With the risk of being replaceable, it is important to be viewed as irreplaceable – as if only you could take care of the job.

Second chances are rare

Second chances are rare in this life, so when they come it is crucial to take them and correct your mistakes. When hit with a second chance, it is important to embrace it entirely, see what you missed and immediately find ways to improve. There are people out there who do not believe in second chances; they only believe in one chance because, to them, the first impressions is the most important. When given a chance, do not restrain yourself. Do what you truly believe will be best for the situation and execute it flawlessly – this is true whether or not this is the first chance, or the rare second.

We are excited to follow and watch The Newsroom as its story develops every Sunday on HBO. But do not forget to tune into our weekly lessons from the show, as well as frequent recaps.

Amanda Perez | Elite.