It’s inevitable. If you’re a Netflix watcher, surely you’ll understand. There’s always that gap; you know, when you finish binge-watching a series and then suddenly that show that took up an hour of your life each night is suddenly gone. Poof. Then the first stage hits… you go through withdrawal. Your body starts convulsing at random times and with each twist you are reminded that you now have a gap in your schedule that needs filling. And fast.

When that happened to me, I was afraid I would never be able to recover, that I would never be able to find another television show to fill the void in my heart. But then, Gilmore Girls came scrolling across the screen of suggested titles and my problem was solved. The uncontrollable spasms were gone; I finally found a show that I could rely on to fill the gap in my schedule. And boy, was it a good replacement.

Gilmore Girls is a show that revolves around a fictional town in Connecticut; one that is so small any piece of gossip can reverberate throughout it within a matter of seconds. The newest breakup or the newest romance will send the town into a frenzy. And while the smallness of the town may seem to have its downfalls, it truly proves to be a blessing in disguise. The people within the town are not just neighbors, but a family. One brimming with an eclectic mix of everyday folks and lovable lunatics.

One thing that cemented my love for the show is the fact that it seems to question all the traditional roles of a stereotypical household and reflects the growing reality of this new type of American family. Centered around thirty-something single mother Lorelai Gilmore, an eccentric coffee-lover who has made her fair share of mistakes in her life, the show makes her goal seem fairly simple: to do her best to ensure that her college-bound daughter- Rory, doesn’t follow in her same footsteps. That may prove to be a lot easier said than done, considering that the two share the same sarcastic yet snarky comments, interests, intellect, coffee addiction and the same eyes. The show seems to depict the idea that it is okay to not grow up in a traditional household with a father and a mother. It dispels any ignorance regarding single-parent households and spits them back in the face of their critics with Rory’s good character and her acceptance into Harvard, despite being raised by a single mother.

The thing I love most about the show, however, is that it doesn’t by any means classify as a cheesy sitcom, instead showcasing a dysfunctional family that is anything but perfect. I love that I can sit down and watch the show without feeling bad about my life. I don’t have to feel bad that I have no idea what I want to major in or even what I want for dinner, because the characters are changing their minds every 5 seconds. Whether it be changing their mind about their dinner plans for the night or canceling a wedding at last minute simply because of a realization 5 minutes before they are about to walk down the aisle, the characters in the show are never thinking the same things for very long. And the show depicts this uncertainty in a way that shows it is okay to not have every second of your life planned out. It is okay to live your life spontaneously and take things second by second- Gilmore Girls showed me everything will always work out, whether you have a plan or are going off your instincts.

Gilmore Girls was once just a replacement. Just a show that I had settled on to fill the awkward gap in my schedule. However, the show has done so much more for me than provide me with light-hearted laughter for 30 minutes of my life before bed each night. It has taught me coffee won’t keep you awake unless you have 5 cups and they’re all black. It has taught me that eating chocolate chip ice cream can help you get over almost every heartbreak. And besides the small trivial lessons it has taught me; the show has taught me that you can never tell someone you love them too much. Gilmore Girls is an unparalleled show, one that will continue to impact the way I view the world and whose theme song will forever be engraved in my memory.