Over winter break, with an abundance of free time after finals, I turned to my dear old friend Netflix to keep me busy during those long winter nights. Before Friends came to Netflix, the show I found most entertaining was Gilmore Girls. If you don’t know Gilmore Girls, here’s a quick synopsis: Lorelai and Rory are the perfect mother/daughter pair. Lorelai had Rory young, and moved to a small town called Stars Hollow. The two women navigate their own lives while supporting each other through varying relationships and complicated family matters. The rest, I’ll leave up to you to figure out, as I’m sure you will one day watch this wonderful show (if you haven’t already).
On top of being a great person and an even better mom, Lorelai has taught her audience some special life lessons. The following list includes some lessons that Lorelai has taught me in her seven seasons of wit, wonder, nice dresses, and good shoes.
1. To Lorelai, getting up before the sun is up is a shameful thing to do. “I hate early… Early must die.” I’m not against getting up too early – I mean, I do have an eight o’clock class this semester. Some days, though, I’m with Lorelai. I just want to hit that snooze button and roll over.
2. Coffee is the most important meal of the day. “If it was physically possible to make love to a hot beverage, this would be the one.” I can’t say I disagree with Lorelai here. Coffee is a vital part of my day, every day. Sure, I’ve read the studies about caffeine, but come on – it’s coffee! I can’t give that up no matter what people tell me.
3. She’s worked hard to get where she is and is proud of that. “I stopped being a child … I had to figure out how to live. I found a good job.” When Lorelai found out she was pregnant with Rory, she moved out of her parents’ house and found a job and a place to live. Lorelai is a successful businesswoman, opening her own inn. She isn’t afraid to dream big, but she also knows that you have to work hard for your dreams to come true.
4. Lorelai knows when she’s being dumb and likes to embrace that. She knows it’s okay to be a goofball. “I hate when I’m an idiot and don’t know about it. I like to be aware of my idiocy, to really revel in it, to take pictures.” Some of the best scenes in Gilmore Girls are when Lorelai gets to be snippy and snarky and make a complete idiot of herself.
5. Game night is every night, even if that means making up new games. “I managed to find Uno and Checkers, and Battleship and most of the pieces of Candyland. Which I figure, we can mix together to create a fabulous new game, Candyship Battleland. War never tasted so good!” With Lorelai, you can make fun out of anything, be it old movies or classic games. This is definitely something to remember during those dark days of winter and midterms.
6. Everything comes back around, even Mondays. “I hate Mondays, but they come around eventually.” This lesson is both funny and insightful. Mondays will always come back around; we all know this to be true. But what Lorelai is really trying to say here is that what goes around really does come around, so you have to be prepared for everything in life, be it horrible Mondays, or bad days in general.
7. Being with boys is a hard thing. “Once your heart is involved, all that comes out is Moron.” If he’s a good guy and treats you right, Lorelai is okay with it. That isn’t to say that Lorelai has had an easy love life, but she knows that when you’ve found a good guy, all the heartache is worth it in the end. Especially since all people really want is “someone to hang out with us ‘till we drop dead. Not a lot to ask!”
8. The best lesson: You can always be true to yourself. If Lorelai Gilmore has taught me one thing that I will remember my whole life, it’s that it is okay to be confident in who you are as a person, and to show off how awesome that person is. You can be as funny, as snarky, or as quiet as you want. Lorelai isn’t afraid to show who she really is and own her sometimes quirky personality, and I think I need to do that too. Here are a few exchanges just to show you what I mean:
“Lorelai: I’m going to go make out in the coat closet. Don’t eat my chicken.”
“Rory: Hey, you called my cell.
Lorelai: I know.
Rory: I told you to call my landline. My cell phone bill’s astronomical.
Lorelai: But a conversation with me: priceless.”
“Rory: This is just wrong!
Lorelai: What?
Rory: You washing two socks!
Lorelai: They were dirty.
Rory: That’s wasteful.
Lorelai: I really wanted to wear them tonight.
Rory: They are your dancing Santa Claus socks. You’re not gonna wear them for another ten months.”
There are so many more lessons that Lorelai has taught me, too many to list here in a timely manner. With Lorelai Gilmore, there’s no shame in being who you are. Throughout college and life, I think that that is one of the most important things to remember. Don’t ever be afraid to be funny, sassy, and never worry about dreaming big.
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