1. Everyone’s family is weird.
If the Gilmores have taught us anything, it is that everyone’s family has its issues. If you’re lucky enough to have parents who are a little less rigid than Emily and Richard, you probably have an eccentric sister like Luke or a crazy mother like Lane. The single mother dynamic that Lorelai exemplifies goes to show that not every family fits the mold, but that each kind finds is own groove eventually. Sometimes starting a family is hard, as Dean sees when he marries Lindsay at 19 and as Luke sees when he finds his estranged daughter April, but in the end, something is always better than nothing with family.
2. The first cut is the deepest.
Let’s face it: Rory lucked out in finding Dean. He made her a car! What is that! When the two break up after Rory becomes a collegiette, their departure is not official. It is clear through her dramatic relationship with Jess and struggles with Marty, that Rory never gets over the comfort of Dean’s dependability. Of course, that manifests itself in an affair (“I didn’t even think Dean would fit in my bed!”) and then an escape to Europe with Emily for the summer. Although we knew it was wrong, there was something right about seeing Rory and Dean try things out one more time before their relationship was truly over. Lane’s first love, David, throws her for a loop…even if there amount of times they kissed can be counted on one hand, her love for guitarists stems from her first interactions with the Christian guitarist.
3. Don’t fight your gut.
Lorelai’s quest for a soul mate ended the moment she stepped into Luke’s Diner….if only she had known it then! It is interesting to examine Lorelai’s behavior before and after Luke explains his feelings for her in season 5. Regardless of whom she was dating, Lorelai always felt a spark with Luke. Her jealousy towards any other woman who spoke to him was very clear, and Luke’s concern for Rory and Lorelai’s safety never wavered, no matter what crazy endeavors Lorelai got herself into. Even Rachel, a very temporary character in season 2, knew about Luke’s love for Lorelai, and the whole town insisted on watching Lorelai tell Luke about her engagement to Max because they knew his reaction would be bad. Truly, the only one who was upset about sharing the news was Lorelai’s disappointment to Luke’s casual reaction. Lorelai’s gut was screaming “LUUUUKE!” the entire series, and thankfully, eventually, she listened.
4. There’s beauty in the breakdown.
The crying that takes place in Gilmore Girls is almost exclusively during breakups. Rory crying on the front lawn when Lindsay answers Dean’s phone, Rory crying on the bathroom floor when Logan won’t call her back….Lorelai crying in bed when Luke breaks up with her after her parents’ vow renewal, Lorelai crying in the bar singing karaoke to Luke. Granted, there are other things in life to cry over besides a broken relationship, but the Gilmore Girls reserve their tears for the men who made the biggest impact in their lives. Think about it: Lorelai doesn’t cry over Max or Jason Stiles, but she bawls her eyes out over Luke.
5. Best friends stick together.
When you think about the lasting friendships in the show, they are truly impressive. Lorelai and Sooki, Rory and Lane, Rory and Paris, Babette and Miss Patty, and more. Despite the chaotic lessons Rory and Paris learned from their time at Chilton and their experience at Yale, the two helped each other out. Maybe Paris needed more help, but when Rory and Logan broke up and Rory needed a confidant, Paris was there with take-out food for 10 and a feminist agenda.
6. Expect the best, nothing less.
“A proposal has to be something more than desperate way to end a bickering match. It has to be planned, it should be magical: there should be 1,000 yellow daisies.”
7. There’s nothing like a classic movie.
Ever get the feeling of complete film inadequacy when watching this series? Don’t put yourself down, whenever Lorelai and Rory watch videos they stay up for hours watching several, or the same ones over and over again.
Example a:
“The Joan and Melissa Rivers story starring…”
“Joan and Melissa Rivers. A mother and daughter torn apart by tragedy”
“Suicide”
“Not getting the Tonight Show”
“Mean boyfriends”
“Identical noses”
“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry…
“…’cause you’re laughing so hard”
“It will be an evening to remember.”
“And in the pivotal scene, where a very distraught Joan gets locked out of the high holiday services because she’s late I will be forced to rewind it and play it over and over about 4,000 times.”
Besides- they’ve never seen UP! or Despicable Me so keep that in mind.
8. It’s perfectly fine to change your hairstyle every year.
Lorelai and Rory change their hair just about as often as they change their boyfriends (hmmm, accurate correlation?) Wavy hair, straight hair, long hair, short hair, slightly reddish hair, brown hair, dark hair…you name it, the Gilmore girls have rocked it.
9. Running a small business can be fun.
If you have a best friend, one who has different talents than you that compliment yours, consider starting a business with her!
10. You can take the girl out of the town, but you can’t take the town out of the girl.
Stars Hollow would be the quirkiest town on the east coast if it existed. The historical background of the town is completely made up but an integral part of the town’s functioning. In addition to their emphasis on history, there is a huge dedication to community togetherness. Every Thursday night there is a town meeting, where Taylor, the quirky town selectmen, chooses essentially any topic he wants to discuss and makes it the town business. In season 6, he even makes it a town vote whether the inn owner should date the diner owner. Despite the town’s eccentricities, not everyone is on board with the madness. Luke thinks everyone is nuts. He thinks the town is filled with “crazy people, the whole town should be medicated and put in a rec room with ping pong tables and hand puppets