Growing up, I nearly lived Gilmore Girls. It was just my mom and me for years—my bookworm, introverted self and her, working in a hotel by day while taking care of me at night. I later proved to be a straight-A student, contemplated going to Yale and became editor of my school newspaper—I was, in all but name, Rory.
At the time, I knew nothing of the show (I know, crazy, right?!). It wasn’t until the first few weeks of my freshman year that I discovered it—thanks to a text from my own Lorelai, of course—and recognized that this show totally reflected my childhood. Now, it may not be a perfect representation, but I loved the show nevertheless. With the upcoming revival on the horizon, a “What Would Rory Do?” challenge was perfect for me.
The Approach
When I took on the challenge of living like Rory for a week, my first step was a plan for how to go about doing so. While this admittedly translated to binge-watching quite a bit of Gilmore Girls, I ultimately decided to tackle it in the ultimate Rory-esque way: I made a list. In fact, I made a list in a special WWRD? notebook, labeled with my ceremonial initials for the upcoming week.
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Stereotypically type A, some of the Roryisms weren't too far from my own quirks: excessive reading, lots of coffee and a crazy best friendship with my mom. Others seemed like they'd be a challenge: immediate, relevant pop culture references, a never-ending supply of food... and where the heck do I find myself a spare Logan Huntzberger?
Day One
The first day started off shakily when I sleepily shut off my alarm and missed my first class—not my most Yale-bound Rory moment. I quickly reminded myself, though, that even Rory has off days; the important part is rebounding. With that determination to improve, the rest of the day could only go upward.
What more Gilmore way to rebound than with food? My vegan diet altered my choices a bit, but a plate of “bacon” seemed appropriate. A quick Instagram post had people talking about what I titled my Rory Gilmore Challenge and me thinking yet again: What would Rory do?
Day Two
By this point, my mom had already gotten a bit tired of my ever-increasing amount of phone calls—probably a first for the parent of any college student! We had an entire conversation about tacos, completely embodying the relationship between Rory and Lorelai.
With an obscure documentary, a discussion of George Eliot’s first novel and a candy-tasting article-writing session, Day Two was intensely Rory-esque. My body was getting used to copious amounts of coffee, and I even found myself more motivated at work.
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Day Three
Day Three brought with it an increase in productivity and motivation. With five publications, classwork and personal pieces, writing alone takes up a crazy amount of my time, but the WWRD? idea had taken over any sense of stress I’d otherwise have felt at this point. My first piece on my school’s historical blog was published, and I understood how Rory felt as she ran around the Yale Daily News newsroom.
Day Four
The next day, I wrote a fitting piece about the revival and continued living like a Gilmore girl. As a double major/double minor, I’m sometimes only a step behind Rory’s crazy-packed schedule of 50 classes.
Day Five
Coincidentally enough, this day marked my twentieth birthday! Thanks to some wonderful friends (shout out to my personal Lane and Zach, Shelby and Miquel, and pre-Lucy Marty, Sam!), my day was surrounded by food, friends and all sorts of fun. A crazy amount of carbs and a costume party later, I socialized enough to make Lorelai proud and successfully had a great time. A friend and I exchanged a Gilmore Girls reference discussing my next celebration—a trip to Atlantic City with my mom, buying 21 things as I turn 21.
Day Six
Halloween arrived, and I prepared my Gatsby-style flapper costume, complete with lots of literary references. The real excitement for the evening, however, was my mom and sister’s arrival on campus! There’s little to top Rory and Lorelai when they join forces. Both my birthday celebrations and my Rory Challenge Week were topped over Mexican food and a daiquiri.
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Day Seven
Admittedly, I was upset to see my time playing Rory come to an end. How better to finish than curling up with a book?
In the end, I learned a lot from living like Rory. Hopefully the motivation and productivity can remain—if not, I’ll just ask myself, “What would Rory do?”