Gilmore.

I started Gilmore Girls last August, or so. 

7 seasons. 153 episodes. 

It took me a full year to watch. I can't binge watch. I'm not the type to sit down and watch 5 episodes at a time. I'm a "slow down and enjoy it" type. I watch an episode here and there, and give myself time to process it before starting the next episode. 

So, first things, first. Let me just give you a few reasons why I liked the show:

1. The Characters. Wow. I fell in love so quickly with each of their unique personalities. I love shows who keep the same characters throughout the whole series. The townspeople of Stars Hollow truly provide the show with something special. (Shoutout to that one time Kirk played Tevye in the local children's theatre production of "Fiddler on the Roof.")

2. The time-travel back to the 2000's. As someone who is a product of the strange 2000 years, I found this series so comforting. The clothes, the pop-culture references, the ultra-cool cell phones, but mostly just the clothes. 

3. The witty banter. I love dry humor. Man, I love it. This series has that sense of quick wit that I adore so much. I literally laughed out loud at least once during every episode. 

4. The relationships. I was so wrapped up in each relationship that the show offered. I've never been one for sappy love stories, so the realness of these relationships sucked me in. They weren't always happy and dream-worthy. They were messy and stressful and made me cry sometimes. However, it was neat to watch the relationships evolve, and change, and grow throughout the series. 

5. The theme song. Carole King sings it, and I adore Carole King so much it's not even funny. Some people would have pressed the fast-forward button during the theme song, but I listened and sang along each time. The song is sweet and it's definitely become my favorite shower anthem. 

This show was the perfect blend of humor and reality. I spent the last year wishing I lived in Stars Hollow. It's a town full of coffee shops and strange people and it's chronically Autumn. Plus, being a train ride away from NYC would be the coolest. 

Now-- the real reason for the blog. 

People made fun of me for "just now" watching Gilmore Girls. I mean, the series started in 2000 and ended in 2007, so I'm practically 16 years late to the party. But man, at least I showed up, right?  And I even wore my best party dress! I understand why I didn't watch it before now, though. I didn't need it until now. I know, I know. You "needed" a silly TV show? Yes. I did. I needed it. 

I realized, towards the middle of season 5, that Rory and I were a lot alike. As she went through heartbreak, I did too. As she graduated college and had no idea what she was going to do, I felt similarly. When Rory didn't get the job she really wanted, I understood that feeling of rejection all too well. At one point, she sits on the tiles of her bathroom floor and cries because everyone around her seems like they have everything together, yet her life feels the complete opposite. 

OLIVIA: What is it? 

RORY: [Crying] Everything is just...ending. I just feel like everything is gonna be over. I'm done at the paper. Soon I'm gonna be done at Yale, and it's just like I'm standing on this cliff, looking out into this huge, foggy... 

LUCY: Abyss? 

RORY: [They start to sit on the bathroom floor]...Like, a huge, foggy abyss, and, in my whole life, there's never been an abyss. It's been abyssless. I've always known exactly what is in front of me, and I've always known exactly where I'm going, and now...I don't know what's out there. 

OLIVIA: Besides fog. 

RORY: A ton of fog, and I hate not knowing what is out there. I mean, what's going to happen to my career and my relationship with Logan and the rest of my life? 

Preach, Rory. I feel you, girl.

What's going to happen with my career? And my love life? And the rest of my forever?

These are totally questions that keep me up at night.

Rory's relationships, and even Lorelai's, helped me see that heartbreaks are okay and not a pointless part of life. They are a learning experience, and a time of much-needed personal growth. The idea that a person can love and have lost that love, but be able to confidently express that you wouldn’t be the same had they not been apart of your life is a key to thriving post-heartbreak. (That's a really long, messy sentence but I don't care.) You can't write them out of your life. You can't erase the memories. You can't burn every picture. You can't avoid their name coming up in every day conversation. You just have to accept the fact that life wouldn’t have been the same without them. I have to understand that, though it didn't work out, the relationship helped shape me into the person I am today and the person I will be tomorrow. Rory wouldn't be Rory without Dean, Jess, or Logan. (Even if Dean was a total dweeb.) And Lorelai wouldn't be Lorelai without all of the questionable people she dated. (Except for you, Luke. You weren't questionable at all.) It's all about perspective and how you choose to look at your life. 

Now I don't like to read like Rory and I could never picture myself as a journalist.

But there are some parts of Rory's life that I identified with so closely. How would she overcome heartbreak? How would she deal with not getting that job? How can she eat so much take-out and never work out and never gain weight? And those are the parts that drew me in and kept me coming back for every episode. (That, and Paris Geller's unbelievably blunt way with words.)

I could write a novel about my love of Gilmore. 

But I'll spare you the time, and I'll spare myself the emotions. 

Just know that it is good. 

All of this goes to say, you should watch Gilmore Girls. It's sweet. Go in with an open mind. Don't look up the ending. I repeat: don't look up the ending. Make predictions about the characters. By all means, choose sides on relationships. And drink some coffee while you're at it.

(Also, shoutout to Bonnie for forcing me to watch this show, and then being there for me on Facetime when I cried and cried after the season finale. We're talking nose-running, cheek-soaking, ugly cry. It was not one of my better moments.)