Rory Gilmore,

Growing up, I idolized you, and now, as a young adult, I admire you even more. You showed me how to navigate through school and life as a teenager and as a young adult and you taught me how to act as an independent woman. While I know that you are not a real person, I feel the need to thank you for all the wonderful lessons I took away from watching you grow up and mature. So, thank you:

1. For teaching me people’s opinions don’t matter.

Honestly, I think everyone experiences the need and desire to be liked at some point. Everyone wants to feel included and popular. Thank you for teaching me none of that matters. You never really cared that you were not popular at Chilton and you didn’t desire to be part of the elite class at Yale. Even when you let Mitchum’s opinion’s affect you, you eventually let it go and even let his wrong opinions push you to become better. You showed me that as long as you are happy and enjoying life, popularity and other’s opinions mean nothing.

2. For showing me it is OK to be a nerd.

Face it, at the end of the day, Rory Gilmore was a book-obsessed nerd. Thank you for showing me it is OK to love to read and to even enjoy the amazing smell of an old book. In a world run by social media and reality television, you showed us all to enjoy the simple pleasure of a true literary classic. Also, thank you for teaching me to always have a book with me. My bag may always be heavy, but it is totally worth it.

3. For showing me studying really does matter.

Anyone who really knows me knows I view studying as a sport. I’m just waiting for the day studying is added to the Olympics, because you know I’m bringing back the gold! Seeing you devote yourself to studying and education showed me that studying and caring about school work really does pay off. You showed me that all this hard work, all these all-nighters, will all be worth it in the end.

I may not have gotten a 740 verbal and 760 math on the PSAT and get accepted into the big three (Harvard, Princeton and Yale), but I have excelled academically, and you are to thank for some of that success. I know some of my crazed studying tendencies come from watching you study for that big Shakespeare test that Mr. Medina almost didn’t let you take. So even though my stress level doesn’t thank you, my grades and worth ethic thank you for showing me school and education always comes first.

4. For struggling your first year of college.

Besides the oddly large dorm room, you gave us a realistic idea of what college is like as a freshman. You struggled with classes the first few weeks of the semester, the food was bad, you lost your favorite study spot, and you had a unique time living and arguing with Paris, Tana and Janet. You missed your crazy town and friends, but most importantly you missed your mom. Every college student misses their mom, I promise. Thank you for showing us what college is actually like as a freshman.

5. For showing me it is important to have a good relationship with your mom.

Thank you for showing me how important a strong mother-daughter relationship is. You and your mom were best friends first, and mother and daughter second. Fights were extremely rare and usually pretty small. (Let’s not bring up that whole dropping out of Yale and living in the pool house fiasco.) You always supported each other and helped each other through every Luke-and-Lorelai and Dean-and-Rory breakup and wallowing session. This relationship showed me that it is not weird to call your mom your friend. You showed me all the benefits of having your mother as your best friend, from sharing clothes and talking about anything and everything.

6. For showing me that even you are not perfect.

Like every other person in the world, you cracked under the pressure of life. You showed all of us that you are not perfect and that even the amazing Rory Gilmore makes mistakes and struggles in some aspects of life. Because of this, you showed me that it is perfectly fine to make mistakes, even really big ones like stealing a yacht -- OK maybe that’s not OK -- but that’s beside the point. But, most importantly, when you made a mistake, even if it took a long time, you found a way to fix them, showing me that no matter what mistake I make in the future, I can always find a way to fix them and set my life back on track.

7. For showing me no boy is worth the heartache.

After every breakup and after every heartache, you found a way to let go of the pain and move on with your life. Thank you for showing me that no boy, from the bad boy to the playboy, is worth the pain.

I know I didn’t include everything; if I did, this article would never end. It is rare to find such a real, relatable character on TV, and I think that’s why every girl loves you so much. You are the perfect role model for every teenage girl, and I can’t wait to watch "Gilmore Girls: Seasons" to see the kind of adult you have become, even if you don’t end up with my favorite boyfriend. So, in a world full of Kardashians, I choose to be a Rory Gilmore.