As I near the end of my late night "study sessions" of pretending to do math (sorry mom) and end the groggy wake ups in the late afternoon to go to class (I take my Gilmore's VERY seriously), I'm trying to collect my thoughts and think of something besides the fact that I've never been so upset that it's all over (waiting patiently for the revival). Whether you've watched it on Netflix like myself, or since it aired in 2000, you can totally relate to the feeling of wishing you lived in Stars Hollow, or that Lorelai Gilmore was your television surrogate mother, and that there was a Rory inside of all of us. But behind all the sadness that it has all come to an end, there were quite a few lessons in there that we can all learn from. The urge to watch this show came at a turning point in my life, and now being the busy college girl I am, I realize it all came in good timing.
1. Make do with what you have. We all know Lorelai's story. She grew up privileged, fell in love with Christopher and got pregnant with Rory at fifteen. She gave birth and soon after left home to fend for herself without the help of her parents or Christopher. If she didn't move into that shed in the back of the Independence Inn, her life would be so much different. And not only did she dodge all obstacles, but eventually revamped and claimed The Dragonfly as her own. Baby steps, baby steps.
2. Privilege isn't everything. If you couldn't already tell, Lorelai was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and was raised in a home of much wealth where she was taught to be proper and was born to breed with someone of her own kind. She grew up around adults of greater or lesser wealth than her with good education and went to private school, but espoused a rebellious demeanor (which morphed into wittiness as you can later see) that her mother despised infinitely. But no matter how much Lorelai had and no matter how much more her privilege was able to give her, falling pregnant with Rory freed her from the shackles of her privilege and into a life where she had to work for things, which she was greatly willing to. She took a leap and never looked back, and sometimes you need to for your best interest and others as well.
3. Coffee is a gift from the heavens! Clearly, coffee is important. I should really call Lauren Graham and and advise her to test her blood because I'm pretty sure 500% of it is coffee by now. In an article on Hello Giggles written by Elizabeth Entenman it was revealed that in the entire showing of Gilmore Girls, approximately 503 cups of coffee were consumed from 2000 to 2007. That's A LOT of coffee.
4. Best friends can come unexpectedly. I'm sure at some point in our lives we have or we will meet the non fictional version of Paris Geller. Paris is an intense and driven person who is willing and compete and crush anyone to get to the top. When Rory first started attending Chilton I always wondered how Paris had any friends. I always thought that Madeline and Louise had nothing better to do when they weren't scoping out hot guys. But sometimes your worst enemies become your best friends.
5. We are all Michel Gerard. Accept it. We all sometimes have a low tolerance for people, but coexist with them because we have no other choice. We all have that day where everyone just annoys us and everything ticks us off and we can't control what comes out of your mouth because we’re trying to figure out why the universe made the world with such ludicrous beings, and more importantly, why we were put here with them. He should get a cookie and a raise for putting up with such preposterous people (I really hope someone caught that reference)!
6. It’s okay to date the bad boy. Usually when a boy is introduced on any show you can expect that the girl is at some point going to have a fling with them. But when Jess made his first appearance in Stars Hollow, we were praying and hoping this wasn't the case. But you should never judge a book by its cover, and you should never judge a person by their past. Jess ended up falling in love with Rory and vice versa, and even when he came back from California after suddenly leaving Stars Hollow and started trying to sell his book, he was still in love with her.
7. When you have the urge to do something different and crazy, don't think about it ... just do it. "In Omnia Paratus," it means "ready for anything." Rory's journalistic endeavors led her to doing something different during her time at Yale other than studying while eating Chinese food all the time, and spending a night with the Life and Death Brigade (the fictional version of Yale's "Skull and Bones" secret society) was Rory's real initiation into become not only a bad-ass journalist but doubled as a momentous moment as well. I mean come on, who doesn't want to shoot chairs with paintball guns and parachute off of a seven story high scaffold? Sounds like a fun, different day to me.
8. It’s okay to fail sometimes, and it's possible to bounce back. When Rory took time off from Yale after Mitchum Huntzberger told Rory she didn't have "it" your heart broke in half because you know what it was like to be told that you didn't have "it." Whether it was getting rejected from your top college or not making the sports team at school, we all know that feeling of hopelessness. And sometimes you need to sit down and reassess what direction your life is going in because clearly your present destination isn't cutting it. Either way, its okay. Just don't steal a yacht or anything (yes Rory, I'm talking about you). Not even a pen from the bank and don't give me that "it was an accident" load of boloney, do you hear me?
9. It’s okay to not be ready and its okay to say no. Rory being the strong willed female lead she is left me no doubt in my mind that she'd do what felt right. Although I was hoping she'd accept Logan's marriage proposal, I'm glad she didn't. And no matter how much you thought Rory and Logan were meant to be together and no matter how much she loved him, it wasn't the right time. Sometimes you have to go with your gut. Sometimes bigger things are meant for you, like President Obama.
10. Sometimes all you need is right there in front of you. Lorelai went though quite a few guys during the seven seasons. I was so sure the guy who took her to a coffee tasting would be the one, because we all know how much Lorelai loves coffee. Anyway, if you watched the show you know the feeling of suddenly realizing that Lorelai and Luke were meant to be together, and you kicked yourself every time another guy came into the picture (especially Christopher). And then you cried in the last episode when her and Luke FINALLY stopped the friend charade (again).
11. No matter where you go, you'll always have your friends. The Stars Hollow gang scrambled to throw Rory a party a week sooner than expected (literally, "Thanks Obama") and it really showed how a community can come together and how one person can just impact the lives of everyone. I'm actually a little jealous of Rory, have a second family in Stars Hollow and having such a loyal best friend. Sometimes its not Bon Voyage, its a "see you later"!
