Gilmore Girls has taught me many lessons. Here are just a few:
*Caution, may contain spoilers to the show…the whole series is available to watch on Netflix!
- Small towns can be fun
I grew up in a small town, not as small as Stars Hollow, but small enough. My graduating class was under 120 people. Regardless, small towns are cool. Small towns have a close knit community. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone knows the best places in town and where to avoid. There a few town staples. Stars Hollow has Luke’s Diner and Doose’s Market. We have a few small restaurants and a town grocery store. There’s the “bad guy” and “good guy” that the girls pine for, different for each graduating year, but they are there. Everything is within minutes of each other. The beach is down the street, there’s a country store only a walk away. Yes, the townies can be a little nosey, but that’s what happens in a small town. Let’s not even talk about what happens when there’s a break-up.
2. Boys suck
While we watched Rory go from Dean to Jess back to Dean then to Logan and Lorelai go back and forth with her feelings for Chris and get engaged to Max but not make it to her wedding and date Luke and a slew of other men, we see that guys suck. While you may be totally in love with them, they will always have their flaws. Whether it’s dating in high school or dating in your adult life, you’re going to experience the ups and downs of being in a relationship. While in high school and college, it’s more drama than anything, you still learn something from every guy you date. While it sucks in your adult years to have to be dating, you also learn lessons from each guy. In the end, you learn a lot about yourself.
3. Traditions can be fun!
Stars Hollow has many traditions that we see almost every season. While some may seem like a drag, they can be totally fun. You also realize how much you miss things when you’re not in your crazy town. Gilmore Girls also explores family traditions. While they may seem boring when you have to go to them, once those things stop, you realize how much you miss them. You miss seeing Grandma and Grandpa on Friday nights for dinner, and movie nights with a parent and even grabbing breakfast at the local diner with a parent.
4. Your parents will always be your parents
While Lorelai’s parents through her through loops and may not have agreed with all of her life choices, it is something that almost everyone will go through at some point in their life. When something happens to a parent, no matter how “horrible” they are or were to you, you still want to be by their side. When leaving for college, you might not think you’ll miss your mom or dad. Once you get there, and they leave you and you sit in your dorm room for the first (or last) time, you eventually realize you miss them. You might even find yourself going home more than you ever thought you would.
5. Your worst enemies can be your best friends
Rory and Paris might not always get along, but in the end they are there for each other. All through high school, they would butt heads about nearly everything, but in college, they managed to live together and actually grew to be great friends. Even Sookie and Jackson weren’t the best of friends in the beginning, but they end up married with two children later on in the show.
6. Early 2000’s Fashion…
I’ve suddenly realized how awful and how great the early 2000’s were. I however have questioned a lot of the fashion. Between Michel’s tops and layering shirts multiple times, I’m happy I was almost too young to remember wearing some of the styles.
7. Don’t say yes because it’s expected
“Will you marry me?” Four words that almost every girl wants to hear in their life at some point. While Lorelai heard it twice and said it herself once, she said yes every time. But where did each of those relationships end? Not making it to the wedding the day before, not making it to a wedding date at all, and separated. When Logan proposed to Rory, she didn’t say yes. Whether it was because she had seen how all her mother’s engagements had ended, or because she simply wasn’t ready, she said no, and that’s okay. There’s no need to rush into a marriage with someone, just because it is expected. You have every right to be your own person and get on your own two feet before you even take that step in your life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfectly okay to say yes, but don’t be afraid to say no.
8. You can reconnect with family that you don’t see a lot
While it was Rory’s dad that she reconnected with after he didn’t talk to her or her mother for a year, it’s possible to reconnect. He comes through and is there for his daughter. Likewise, any family member that you haven’t seen or talked to, whether it be a parent, an aunt/uncle, or a cousin, try to get back in touch with them. They’ll be there for you and you might even be able to build a better relationship with them.
9. Always follow your dreams
Lorelai and Sookie dreamed of owning their own inn. When the inn that they worked at burnt down and the abandoned in across town went up for sale, it was fate. They bought the Dragonfly Inn and ran it as their own. They rebuilt the Dragonfly from the bottom up. They had to make countless repairs, but eventually, they were able to open up. Rory, while not getting a position at the newspaper she really wanted, was able to get a job as a reporter somewhere else. While it might take some time, and it might take a few more years than you expect, always follow that dream. Your dreams can take you far.
