I am a hardcore "Gilmore Girls" fan. Growing up, there was no one I aspired more to be than Rory Gilmore. I can remember every day after school, I would watch episodes on ABC Family. Although the show went off air in 2007, my obsession and desire to capture her perfection did not die. I wanted nothing more to be like her. Rory was a girl who had the brains, looks, and connections to have a successful life. She was kind and forgiving and she possessed all the traits I wanted to have. At one point, I even wanted bangs like her from season 7. (I might still get them, who knows.)
The day the revival was released, it took everything in me not to look at online spoilers. I ended up watching the who revival in a week. However, I was a little disappointed. I wasn’t the only fan who was upset because many "Gilmore Girls" fans talked crap about our beloved Gilmores because, everything didn’t go picture-perfect for them
The biggest criticism I read was about Rory. In the original series, Rory graduated at the top of her class, she was the most angelic daughter, and her life was perfect. When we last saw her, she was going to be a journalist on the Obama campaign trail (LOL @ 2007) and had just graduated from Yale University. She was going to accomplish great things!
In the revival, things were a different story (SPOILER ALERT). Our dear Rory was a bit of a mess. She had a boyfriend she was constantly forgetting about, an inconsistent job, and her big break was when she got published in The New York Times a few years back. She didn’t even know where her underwear was located. On top of that, she was sleeping with her ex boyfriend while he was engaged to a french woman. Really Rory being the other woman? Well it wouldn’t be the first time... (cough, cough Dean), but at 32 years old, you’d think she would have grown up a little since her reckless days of being 19. At the end, she mouthed three little words all Gilmore Girl fans did not want to hear, "Mom, I'm pregnant."
After watching the revival, reality sunk in for me. I spent seven seasons watching her infold from the precocious, timid 16-year-old to this bright yet confused young woman fresh out of college. Rory has never been perfect, nor did she or those who created her claim to be. She didn’t always make the best choices, so what?
The truth is that Rory is still trying to find herself even at 32. That’s completely normal. Even though she was driven and passionate about being a journalist at 16 doesn’t mean that she feels the same way now. Sometimes things don’t work out the way they were planned, and that’s okay.
I’ve always seen a lot of myself in Rory Gilmore. She has a fun mom, loving grandparents, a community that supports her, and would rather live in a world full of books than in real life (don’t forget coffee of course). After watching the revival, I realized that Rory was just as lost as all the rest of us. I think that means there’s a little bit of Rory in all of us and that’s OK.
