The iconic mother-daughter duo Rory and Lorelai Gilmore. (Courtesy of Instagram)

“Isn’t this the point of being young? It’s your choice, Ace. People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute. You climb up here with me, it’s one less minute you haven’t lived.” — Logan Huntzberger, season five,  episode seven

“Gilmore Girls” is quite a popular show and one of the common points of discussion surrounding the series is the main character Rory’s love interests throughout the seasons. The fan base is often split into “teams” based on which of her boyfriends they wanted her with most. One of those love interests is none other than Logan Huntzberger, quoted above. Though some of the fan base is certainly against him, it is hard to argue against him having pushed Rory to step outside her comfort zone.

In the season five episode, “You Jump, I Jump, Jack,” Rory goes on a trip with the Yale University secret society, the Life and Death Brigade. She attends as a reporter, and when Logan asks her to partake in the event they are doing, she states that she is an observer and that “journalists do not participate.” Not only does Logan provide numerous counterexamples, but I know my fellow staff at the Ram would disagree as well. 

Logan tells Rory that she seems a little sheltered and encourages her to step outside her comfort zone and partake alongside him. Rory eventually does, and after completing the jump with him, she happily exclaims that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Logan responded, “Only if you want it to be,” showing that this didn’t have to be the case. That comment is not further discussed, but I think it highlights how unfamiliar Rory was with being pushed to step outside her comfort zone.

Rory was an extremely intelligent girl from a young age and a hard worker, but she did not face much criticism or hardships in her journey through life prior to college. Logan, on the other hand, grew up around the journalism business. This made him extremely aware of how tough it was, perhaps contributing to his attempts to get away from it. He knew that she could not count on just the experience of the sidelines, she would occasionally need to be an active participant to achieve the success she dreamed of.  

As someone who grew up as a bookworm, an aspiring writer and a little bit of a school nerd, I looked up to Rory a lot when I first watched the show. Maybe it is because of that idolization that I became so protective of her character. This is not to say that I don’t think she made big mistakes throughout the show, but I do not believe she was the terrible character she is made out to be at times. I think that her character’s story is a lesson for audiences like me that related to her younger self.

 It is necessary to have someone who counters you the way that Logan did Rory. There was plenty that Rory emulated that it would have been beneficial for Logan to pick up on when they met — her work ethic, her respectfulness and her lack of materialism. However, Logan had a lot to offer Rory as well, he was confident, self-assured and familiar with trying new things. When Rory was younger, she got used to being built up by everyone around her and succeeding relatively quickly at anything she tried. Upon starting college, that was going to have to change.  

Logan, though not always a good influence, did have some solid advice for Rory during the later seasons of the show. He pointed out to her that young adulthood is a time to push yourself, to get out of your comfort zone and to grow as a person. He pushed her to acknowledge the privilege and sheltering that she had been raised with. Rory was, in many ways, an accurate representation of someone who grew up in a small, close-knit town, experiencing the culture shock of venturing into the much broader world that Logan had grown up seeing. 

I resonated with younger Rory, and even though I never hated her character, I learned from her downfall. I didn’t want to get to college and not be prepared to experience not being the best at something or not seeming as extraordinary as at a younger age. I think it’s important to have someone who cares about you and is willing to push you. Regardless of if Logan had provided Rory with opportunities to step outside her comfort zone, the time that she needed to would have come. In order to pursue all your ambitions, you have to face hardships and new situations, and the more prepared you are for that, the better you’ll handle it. Whether or not you like Logan’s character, Rory needed someone like that in her life.

You’re going to receive criticism and face setbacks. You’re going to have to leave your comfort zone at times. You don’t want that to be your downfall or your defining moment. Your talent has to work alongside your resilience. If you’re like me and were a lot like a young Rory, you are not doomed to follow the same trajectory. Take the chances to push yourself that are offered to you. Surround yourself with people who not only support you but encourage you to continue to grow.