Gilmore Girls’ Rory is a beloved Smart Girl icon, and was the kind of girl so many of the girls watching at home wanted to be when the show began airing. But, given that Gilmore Girls follows Rory as she evolves through young adulthood, it’s not surprising that she had to learn the hard way that some of her outlook on life was totally wrong along the way. That doesn’t make her a bad person – messing up is a big part of growing up – but it does give us an interesting opportunity to take a look back and analyze what specifically about her personality and choices caused those issues, and how they affected her story (for better and worse.) So, let’s take a deeper look at some of the things even super smart Rory got wrong about life, love, and becoming your own person – and how they ended up being important lessons for Rory and viewers.

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