"That GIRL" (Rory's Version)
We all aspire to be 'that girl,' you know? The one with perfect grades, a body that seems handcrafted, and skin so clear – not overly dewy, but not too matte either. The one who seems to have her life all figured out... Yep, 'that girl.' And when it comes to embodying this role, nobody quite nails it wholeheartedly as Rory does, the second Gilmore Girl – well... at least until season 5. The beloved show “Gilmore Girls” is one that perfectly describes the word 'comfort'. Think cozy autumn living, a daily cup of coffee as your sidekick, and the iconic mother-daughter duo just trapezing through life.
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Lorelai III, or better known as Rory, is someone everyone wants to be. Academic inspiration, style inspiration— even the act of romanticizing school wouldn't be complete without a picture of Rory Gilmore. Living in the charming small town of Stars Hollow with her eccentric mother, Lorelai—the manager at the Independence Inn—Rory is the perfect child and student. She's quite shy and places immense importance on her academic ventures—a driving force for success if you will, or in our vocabulary, a topper.
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Emily and Richard Gilmore, the grandparents—two characters who hold a major standing in Rory’s life. Her mother, Lorelai, came from an extremely influential and reputable family who held a prominent point in society. Think of a modern Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Lorelai was a regular Danny Zuko, rebelling at every other chance, leading up to her pregnancy at the ripe old age of 16. Yep, 16. She should be worrying about exams, but hey… she was worried about a baby; the age where she should've been avoiding homework and getting a gut-wrenching feeling of possibly failing her exams—that gut-wrenching feeling was the baby.
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We can see how Lorelai's life is much more realistic than Rory's in the earlier seasons. Lorelai didn't want the posh life with too many forks to count—(you either learn how to use them from Shrek or have basic etiquette)—she didn't desire luxury, the fake presentation, or the need to be dolled up like cattle for sale. It felt like she was being encroached upon, thrust into a vast room filled with priceless artifacts, but was she just another exhibit? The materialistic ideals of her parents never appealed to her. So, she left it all behind, raising Rory by herself, in a tiny town inside a modest house, creating a small family for herself.
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Lorelai had everything, but she sacrificed it all for the sake of freedom. She was life's favorite, to the extent that she could get into whatever university she would’ve liked. However, she forsakes it all to forge her own path, without the benefit of a fancy education or any influential connections. The sixteen-year-old who once used to pose with a smile for her portrait to be painted had transformed into the artist, now smiling on her own.
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However, Rory had freedom and sacrificed it for naught. Her mother yearned for her to live the life she never could – to attain a prestigious college education and ascend to such heights that she'd be a star amongst stars. Rory, a valedictorian, with impeccable grades, managed to secure admission into all three Ivies. She was the one girl who we all expected to flourish in success. Spoiler alert, she didn’t. It's as simple as that. Revealing the harsh reality of a child who once burned with ambition. Until season 3, Rory was the idealistic high school student, checking off every box on the list for getting into university or her ultimate goal – Harvard. Harvard paraphernalia, Harvard banners, Harvard sweatshirts—all signs of Compulsive Harvard Disorder.
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Was this really the right move? Don't get me wrong, having a clear vision for the future is important, even necessary. But being so rigid, so fixed on a single path without any room for exploration or new possibilities, well, that's just plain wrong. It's almost like Rory never even considered a backup. ‘The Vanquishment of Rory’, Yale. The switch to Yale was abrupt, rather, blunt, like someone flipping a light switch from on and then—off. Choosing Yale didn't quite make sense, but it did bring Rory back to her comfort zone, and it reinforced the fact that she was never much of a risk-taker. Yale happened to be in Connecticut, right where Rory lived. She didn't venture far, didn't make many new friends, and seemed trapped in a small-town bubble. Maybe the writers made a slip-up here, or maybe they realized they'd crafted a too-perfect girl with no flaws and decided, “so, let's make it a bit more realistic, shall we?”. In high school, Rory believed that grades were the only thing that mattered when applying to universities, and nothing else. She was a true academic ace—no denying that. So, how did she fall to sobriety from a childhood so filled with ambition.
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Criticism, the root of all evil, the pivotal moment that can kick a person off from cloud nine to the seventh circle of hell. Rory could name the state capitals at 3, recite the periodic table at 4, but she couldn't handle criticism? She was an incredibly mature girl, often more so than her mother. So, was criticism really all it took for her perfect life to crumble at the hands of another? Her mother had faced her own pressures and emerged without any support. Rory, on the other hand, couldn't bear even a hint of someone not adoring her and strewing roses along her path, so she dropped out. The Rory who used to dream about Harvard would have been perplexed by her choice of Yale. And the Rory who attended Yale would have been baffled by her decision to drop out. The Rory who was supposed to be wielding a pen found herself behind bars instead.
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Dreaming of Harvard, then Yale, and then rotting in jail – Rory Gilmore's story had its share of ups and downs. The girl we believed could never fail now required bail, returning to the life her mother had fled. Rory's various personas and stages remind us that even those with dewy skin, perfect grades, and a polished image can succumb to the harsh realities that come with being "that girl.".