gilmore girls

Gilmore Girls and the Nostalgia of Getting Older

Posted by

1

You know how every time your parents say “back in my day” your eyes immediately start rolling? I think I kind of get it why they say that now.

There are a lot of things you don’t expect about getting older. Like how it takes literal days to recover from a night out (aka when you are awake beyond 12 AM), how you can’t solely rely on your metabolism to keep you fit, or how everything reminds you of something else. The nostalgia is all too real.

It makes sense though. The more years you have under your belt the more experiences or stories are packed in those years. Life events like having a nephew welcome nostalgia, from looking through baby pictures to see who he looks like to re-learning nursery rhymes to appease the little guy (my animal noises could use some work).

Some nostalgia is a little more subtle, like listening to a song or visiting a restaurant which includes an uninvited guest of memories from the past.

And yet, nothing gives me greater nostalgia of my adolescence than Gilmore Girls. Despite the fact that I watched a lot of TV growing up (unfortunately I don’t watch as much these days, another thing they don’t tell you about getting older), Gilmore Girls will always remind me of ages fourteen to twenty. I think because this show came out during such a formative time in my life and I saw my life paralleled to Rory’s, it held a close place in my heart.

So when I heard two years ago that Netflix would be posting all of the episodes, I was so excited to Netflix and chill with the Gilmores..and then, the best news of 2016 (not exaggerating), Netflix was going to revive the series!

I watched all four episodes, six hours worth of television, in a thirteen hour span (6 of those hours included sleeping).

Cue the nostalgia! It was so great to be back in the quirky small town of Stars Hollow that I loved so much. I loved seeing what Lorelai and Rory had been up to. Growing older with a fictional character like Rory was a bit strange, but it was nice to know that if overachiever Rory Gilmore doesn’t have her life together then maybe all hope isn’t lost for me.

The episodes brought me right back to my high school days: eating Burger King every Monday night, promptly doing my homework after school, and stressing about college.

Nostalgia is funny like that. It can make you look at moments from your life with sadness or it can make you look back at a point in your life and make you realize how much you’ve grown since then. I miss being able to eat Burger King every week, but I don’t miss stressing about college. I miss the stability and routine that came with being a kid, but I don’t miss the lack of self confidence or sense of self.

As someone who like to write/feels a lot of feels/enjoys analyzing, nostalgia is exactly all that wrapped up into one (sometimes messy) emotion.

All this to say…I can definitely see myself saying “back in my day” once I have kids. So don’t judge me please.

Advertisement

Pop Culture, with a Twist

Posted by

1

It’s been a while since I updated this little old blog of mine..I’ve always had the intentions of writing a post but was going through a bit of a writers block. Anyway, I’m back and talking about some of my recent favorites in the media/entertainment/pop culture realm.

Jane the Virgin

I’m ashamed to admit that I dropped the ball on this show and only started watching it over the holidays. Jane the Virgin is the story of a twenty something woman (and a virgin) who gets artificially inseminated at a routine gyno check up. I know the plot sounds like a telenovela and that’s half the fun. The show pokes fun at its dramatic, telenovela ways many times.

More than that, what I love about the show is that the cast is mostly people of color and one of the main characters (the grandmother) speaks only Spanish! It’s a smart, refreshing, and funny show. Not at all something I expected from the CW but I am pleasantly surprised. Oh yeah, and who can forget when they mentioned immigration reform and urged the viewers to look it up?

I missed the Golden Globes this year but when I heard that Gina Rodriguez (who plays Jane) won for Best Actress, I immediately looked up her speech.

“This award is so much more than myself..it represent a culture that wants to see themselves as heros.”

I need more people I know to watch it so I can gush with them about it. So get to it!

Chrissy Teigen

Okay, this girl is one of my all time favorites. She rose to the top of my list pretty quickly..pretty much after one day of me following her on Twitter and Instagram. She’s smart, absolutely hilarious, amazingly witty, and always has a comeback to those that are downright rude or mean to her on social media. She’s a model that loves to eat (!) and she seems to have the best relationship ever with her husband, John Legend. See what I mean? She doesn’t shy away from hot topics like gun control but never takes herself too seriously.

There’s something really refreshing about a woman (a supermodel no less who are generally paid to shut up and look pretty) speak her mind without any hesitation.

Gilmore Girls

There are no words to describe how much I love this show. Most of my friends know this already to the point that I had multiple people inform me when Netflix decided to finally add it to Instant. I watched it the day it came out (October 1st, best day ever) and I’m still making my way through the series (for the second time).

It is weird..I was Rory’s age when I watched the show for the first time and now as I’m watching it again I’m closer in age to Lorelai. I remember relating so well to Rory when it came to high school drama, the whole college admissions process, and moving away from home for the first time. Now I find myself in a similar boat as Lorelai (minus the having a kid bit) what with wanting to figure out her career and working on settling down. I think this really speaks to how well made this show is that I can watch it 15+ years later and still have it speak to me, albeit in a completely different way.

Not everything has changed, though. I am still gushing over Jess and Luke like I did when I was 16 and I still don’t want to talk about season 6. Not now, not ever.

Are you watching Jane the Virgin or Gilmore Girls? I’d love to hear your take on the shows!

The Art of Wallowing

Posted by

4

Everyone has bad days. After all life is all about the peaks and valleys, the highs and the lows. What I find acceptable completely necessary is to wallow in it (high five to those that got the Gilmore Girls reference). I’ve found the best way to do this is to read a good book, get a good laugh, and indulge in a guilty pleasure.

A Good Book

I absolutely love starting a new book. Even more, a good book is synonymous with comfort and escape, two perfect things when you are not having the greatest of days. My current read, The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain, is exactly that. The Paris Wife, set in the 1920s, tells the story of the writer Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage to wife Hadley Richardson. Perhaps it is my last post, my love of historical fiction or literature that drove to me download this book. It is a great look back at what life was like the 20s and particularly in Paris: plenty of jazz and many decadent parties. Not a bad way to escape, right?

A Good Laugh

Modern Family is one of the best shows on television and they have the awards to prove it. I became hooked when it first came out and proceeded to get everyone I know hooked on it as well. It consistently makes me laugh week after week. Whether new or old episodes, I can always rely on the show to give me a really good laugh to snap me out of my funk.

A Guilty Pleasure

I discovered Pocky on a whim while at an Asian grocery store a few years back and since then I’ve been hooked. The chocolate with almonds are my favorite, but I’m not picky. Another of my guilty pleasures is the television show Revenge. I’m obsessed with the show and the pretty scenes and people serve as a wonderful distraction.

What are some of your tried and true methods to getting over a bad day?