Listening to the Gilmore Girls Playlist on Spotify, in order to gain inspiration, I'm drawn back to the idea of the Rory Gilmore life. Through my Myers Briggs personality: INFJ (or ISFJ) and the ever-common BuzzFeed quiz "Which Gilmore Girls Character Are You?", Roy Gilmore continues to inspire common features in my own deep knitted soul.
Like Rory Gilmore, I long for a passionate life, rather than one filled with status filled logic. For as this world tries to tell me that finding unsurmountable joy in literary lines, the smell of coffee, and beautiful music is an unprofitable fantasy. However, I hope to abolish the fear of creative energy and promote healthy personal growth. Like Rory Gilmore, we all must find our gifts, but the decision is whether to use them because they bring us inner joy or disregard them because the world sees them as minuscule ideologies. For as Rory tries to find a life for herself in creative journalistic endeavors, she struggles with the worldly focuses on the fame and success of career placement. Yes, Rory Gilmore hopes to be successful, but deep hearted passion remains her pinnacle goal.
Growing up, I would always answer the question,"What do you want to be when you grow up?" with one of two answers. I was either going to be a princess (preferably Cinderella) or a "shopper" (apparently I believed I could buy clothes and shoes for a living. Other children my age would answer "teacher" or "fireman". However, if you ask young adults today, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", answers vary from "I just want to be successful and wealthy" to "I want to be a high ranked official in my field of work." Where there is nothing wrong with wanting to be a "successful businessman", the issue arises in the "want" outweighing the "desire". When in fact, we are to look back in childlike instinct and weigh our passions into our career goals. No, I am never going to be Cinderella, but I will live a passionate life as a journalist, with the identical passion I had when I wanted to be a princess.
In expanding on this examination, the world asks "how can I be successful?", thus pointing to mere success of money and people pushing. Whereas, Rory asks the question "what can I do with my passion?", thus driven by childlike desire.
Like many students today in the creative arts, Rory Gilmore had to push past the worldly view of her creative spirit. Like her, I understand the struggle of being "called" to be a journalist. Like journalism, creative careers solicit judgement on basis of economic stability and social success. I've had to come to terms with the fact that I might not be as successful as Paris Geller's presidential career or Richard Gilmore's insurance business. However, the Rory Gilmore life comes with its own set of success. Maybe not in the form of money or fame, but a career should not be based on those worldly ideas.
"What she tackles, she conquers"- Richard Gilmore
Therefore, whether you want to be a journalist like Rory or the first female president like Paris, remind yourself that passion is stronger than the necessity of status. Paris's desired world of politics and debate does not outshine the written endeavors of Rory Gilmore. For when you are 50+ years old and trying to examine your life, you do not want to be tied down to a career that does not solicit a desirable passion. Looking back on the personal success of your life, one will want to see that his or her passion was "a lifestyle, a religion," just like Rory and Lorelai Gilmore's movie nights.
