How Rory Gilmore Helped Me Realise Who I am.

Rory Gilmore, from the hit tv-show Gilmore Girls from the early 2000s, is a character I emulated when I was younger. Her goody-too-shoes, by-the-book character who loved all things reading and school really stood as a break away from other female characters at the time. She was the ultimate nerd and made being a nerd cool. Well, in my opinion anyway, speaking as a self-identified nerd. Rory is an intelligent, logical book worm who has an innate desire to be a successful journalist. We follow her journey through high school, college and beyond alongside with her mother and best friend, Lorelai Gilmore. We learn a lot from not only their relationship, but Rory’s cleverly articulated character. 

 

When I was younger and first watched Gilmore Girls, I was taken aback by how many similarities I shared with the character, Rory. She loved reading, as did I. She loved school, as did I. Rory was like a fictional big-sister I never knew I needed. Her passion for reading taught me it was okay to love books. And now, as I sit next to my bookshelves (yes, more than one) I can really only thank Rory for awakening this part of me. In particular, the way she annotates her novels is something I imbodied in my reading practices as I got older. Not a revolutionary idea, I admitted. However, it was from Rory (and Jess) that I learnt the technique of writing notes in the books I read. I always felt alone when it came to loving school and excelling in it. But Rory opened my eyes to the fact that school is a fantastic vessel of knowledge and it shouldn’t be underappreciated. She often excludes herself from many extra-curricular activities and a social life to solely focus on succeeding in high school. As her goal is to be accepted into Harvard, and later Yale. University and higher education have always fascinated me, and now as I study creative writing and education at The Queensland University of Technology, I can say it is truly an experience I won’t live down. Rory wasn’t lying there…

 

Rory is known for loving her lists. She is a very pro-activate forward thinking character and plans everything down to the minute. She is a control-freak in many ways, and above all an organisational nerd. I really relate and sympathise to this, as I too love a good list. In an episode before she begins her new high school, Chilton, we see the Gilmore girls at the stationary store. I will always laugh at the banter between Lorelai and Rory in this scene as Lorelai mocks Rory for her list, her precise number of highlighters and her choice of legal pads. Lorelai says, “Ooh and here are your sombre highlighters, your maudlin pencils, your manic-depressive pens.” This really shows how juxtaposed Rory and Lorelai’s characters are; as Lorelai embodies a go-with-flow, almost chaotic kind of nature. Of which, I am obsessed with. So, when Lorelai suggests Rory gets purple-coloured legal pads because they’re festive, Rory’s response remains completely aligned to her character. She says, “I’m going to a serious school now, I need serious paper.” 

 

A lot of time Rory’s incessant nature to plan and organise everything is laughable. But it is something I see within myself constantly, and I, too, laugh. But as a young girl, Rory provided me a sense of comfort when it came to my neurotic tendencies. She normalises being a control-freak and a bookworm; two of things I struggled with when I was younger. The social construct of popularity doesn’t come hand-in-hand with these traits. However, watching Rory Gilmore be confident with her nerdy personality was exactly what I needed when I was younger. Not only did her self-confidence led her to being valedictorian of her class and graduating college, but also to her own form of popularity. I really did idolise Rory, and I am thankful for that period in my life where she was my number one role model. It has brought me not only closer to realising my dream of being an author, but also being comfortable with myself and my identity. Because you know what? Nerds ARE cool.