Why my ‘Gilmore Girls’ role model change in my 20s

Growing up, I always considered Rory Gilmore as my role model . I was hellaciously innocent, I loved reading, and I learned my first semester of college that I loved writing. But in my early 20s, I discovered that I now have much more in common with Lorelai Gilmore. Here’s why the character I identified with switched.

I’m 22 and single in a town full of people married with children. Watching Gilmore Girls, I recognized Lorelai’s decisions to remain single, though she still wanted to find a companion. Her fiercely independent nature has helped me begin to respect my own. I go out with men who look good on paper, but strike out on the first date, and I’m OK with letting it go. Through Lorelai, I’ve also started appreciating having my own strong opinions.

I’ve also been able to accept myself more completely, and even began to love myself more thoroughly, through re-watching Gilmore Girls. Lorelai has always had an outside-the-box way of thinking, and in the end, she finally received the commendation she unknowingly craved from her parents, Emily and Richard, for the path she took.

In the last episode, the town of Stars Hollow throws Rory an Au Revoir/Yale Graduation Party, and Lorelai is teary-eyed and amazed that so many people care for Rory so much to go to the lengths of such an impromptu party to celebrate her daughter’s success. Richard says that it is also a testament towards Lorelai for her choices that ultimately lead Rory down the path to greatness. Lorelai took a different road than her parents would have liked, but in the process she learned how to kick down doors and move mountains (the fact that this was all happening while she was in high heels makes it all the better.)

The series ended without giving a lot of answers. Any other show would have tied up their series with a bow, but that wasn’t the Gilmore way. It is strongly implied that Lorelai and Luke Danes, her on-again, off-again soulmate, end up together, but ultimately with Lorelai’s independent nature, it is only a definite maybe. A

Also, Rory decides to follow in her mother’s footsteps by taking the fiercely independent path, and not settling down at 22 to marry the wonderful, yet impractical (for Rory), Logan Huntzberger. Leaving the unknown floating in the air was the best way for this series to end (though I will forever keep my fingers crossed for a 10 year anniversary movie). Lorelai Gilmore will never cease to be an inspiration for me because during a lonely time in my life, she shined a light on my independence and my love for  combat boots.

Quinn Taylor is a reporter for the local newspaper. She’s also working toward an English degree with a Creative Writing Emphasis. Along with writing, she loves crafting and decorating, stargazing, and snapping candid moments on her Nikon.

[Image via The CW]