"Interesting."

If you’re on social media a fair amount, you might be familiar with this exchange, as an audio set to the dulcet tones of “There She Goes” by The La’s. Hearing it on your For You page is an immediate indicator of what is upon us: fall. The leaves are turning brown, the sky is grey and the rain is pouring.

Personally, I dislike the rain and “There She Goes.” The aforementioned audio is from the T.V. show “Gilmore Girls,” which ran for seven seasons from 2000-07. The show follows the wisecracking mother-daughter duo of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore in their small Connecticut town. “Gilmore Girls” has become synonymous with the season of fall, and for good reason, too. It’s the kind of show you can put on as comfy background noise as you clean your room.

Rory Gilmore starts the show as a teen bookworm, but eventually has to move on to the next chapter in season four: college! Watching the show in high school, my picture of college life was “Monsters University,” and of course, Rory’s college years in “Gilmore Girls.” 

Move-in day can be one of the most stressful experiences for a freshman starting college. The Gilmores, however, knock it out pretty easily in episode two, “The Lorelais’ First Day at Yale.” They’re not sweaty at all at the end of the endeavor, which I found shocking. They even had enough time left to wander around campus quipping at each other — good for them! However, the moment Lorelai leaves, Rory is homesick, an all-too relatable feeling for young adults who have never been on their own before. Move-in day gets a 7 out of 10 for realism, particularly for accurately portraying the overcomplicated parking system that leads your parents to just stash the car in some arbitrary spot.

Studying is what everyone says they’re occupied with at a given time, yet hardly ever is. I assumed that during every plot line about Lorelai and the rest of Stars Hollow, Rory was probably studying in the meantime. In episode six, “An Affair to Remember,” Rory finds a perfect study spot under a tree. I’ve never understood the hype of studying outside; dirt and surrounding bugs don’t exactly unlock a deep focus from within me.

Unfortunately, Rory’s study tree is “stolen” the following day when another student dares to sit under it to read a magazine, to which Rory pays him to move. In reality, trees are three dimensional, so she could have just sat on the other side. Finding a place to study in college is a challenge, as everyone has the same idea as you to study in the library. I suppose a tree is a more creative choice, but I personally prefer the Auditorium (it’s underrated!).

Balancing studies, extracurricular activities and a social life is difficult for Rory, as it is for most freshmen. Episode 14, “The Incredible Shrinking Lorelais,” sees Rory face a feeling of personal failure when her professor suggests she drop his class to lighten her workload. Rory wants to believe she can handle all of it, and breaks down when she realizes she can’t.

This is a very common feeling among college students, and many have to make the decision to take some of the weight off their shoulders, even if it wounds their pride. Rory also has to work to stand out in her extracurriculars, such as her job at The Yale Daily News. Her writing is not anything interesting or attention grabbing, according to her editor-in-chief. Rory takes this personally, as most young people do with constructive criticism. In a large school and a competitive atmosphere, Rory losing that specialness about her was inevitable, and necessary for her growth.

College is a time for new social engagement, as Rory discovers. I find this is where Rory’s blunders are the most realistic, like having a weird roommate or awkward encounters with people from high school. In episode five, “The Fundamental Things Apply,” Rory explores the field of dating in college. Casual dating is a new concept for her, and for anyone new to dating or accustomed to only long-term relationships. Rory even has her first rejection of the series! Groundbreaking, as usually everyone falls in love with her at first sight. 

Luckily, Rory finds a healthy way to cope with the stress surrounding college and young adulthood by having a weird fallback with her married high school ex-boyfriend in episode 22, “Raincoats and Recipes.” Rory ends the season in a fight with her mother, shouting, “I’m not a kid, I’m 19!”

Throughout season four, we see Rory at her most insecure and unlikeable. It is as satisfying as it is jarring to break free from the bubble of high school as a freshman, and getting the hang of it comes in time. The Rory we follow in season four is true to the spirit of a college freshman, characterized by turbulence, anxiety and newfound freedom.