When Amy Sherman-Palladino's classic CW show "Gilmore Girls" hit Netflix last year, I was sent back into a whirlwind of nostalgia. My mom and sister and I watched the show religiously as I was growing up. Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) navigates through life with her teenage daughter (Alexis Bledel) while trying to work, maintain a social life, and deal with her crazy mother. The show touched the hearts of millions, and the characters were some of the most realistic and relatable that television has ever seen.
As soon as the show hit Netflix, I started binge-watching (mind you, this was while I should have been applying to college), and while doing so I was reminded of some lessons that have stuck with me.
1. Coffee fixes every mess.
The two heroines of the show are never seen without a coffee cup in their hands. In fact, the opening montage is Lorelai running to meet her daughter at a coffee shop. In reality, I'd probably still be a caffeine-addict even without their influence, but they just enable me even more.
2. Your feelings are important.
It's impossible to count on both hands and feet how many breakdowns each individual character has throughout the show, but never once are they ridiculed for how they feel. Quite the opposite - they're comforted and reminded that everything's going to be okay.
3. Your best friends can be the most obvious or the most unexpected people you meet.
Lorelai and Rory are the obvious pair of besties, but Rory and Paris? From the introduction you were convinced that they'd hate each other forever. Yet, they go to Yale and room with each other (much to their disdain at first), and out of that blossoms one of the most intense and strange friendships ever.
4. Sometimes the person you need is in front of you the entire time.
Um...Lorelai and Luke. He was there the entire time! Use your eyes, Lauren Graham.
5. Sometimes, the person you need is yourself.
Through the Dean versus Jess war to Tristan and Logan, and hell, even to Marty for the half of a season that he's on, Rory discovers in the end that she's all that she needs. No one can treat you like you can treat yourself.
6. Family extends to who you want it to.
You might be born into a biological family, but that doesn't mean they're your real family. Lorelai forms her own family in Stars Hollow and leaves her biological family behind. But that's not to say that your family doesn't change and can include those you've left behind later.
7. Finally, it's okay to not be okay.
Opposite to the emotional breakdowns, you can count all the times everything is okay in everyone's interconnected lives. Nothing is ever perfect, and the sooner we learn that, the better off we'll all be.
