The actual relatable queen.

If there's one show I always turn to for a comfort binge watch when times are getting tough it's Gilmore Girls. During lockdown I've been giving it another re-watch and it's made me realise something. Paris Geller is hands down the best and let's face it, most relatable character out of the cast of Gilmore Girls. Just like the debate queen herself I put forward my five reasons why I think Paris is the ultimate icon of Gilmore Girls.  

She unapologetically herself

Throughout the show Paris is framed as being difficult (and in some cases she is) but most of the time she's just a young woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go out and get it. Paris Geller knows that she's not popular but it doesn't stop her from being herself. She never changed who she was, not for her school friends, not for boyfriends and it always served her well. She always kept it real and even though sometimes she could be brutal it came from a place of honesty as she was not one to BS anybody She also has some of the most iconic quotes out of any of the characters on the show.

She never pretended to be perfect

One thing that always frustrated me with Gilmore Girls is how Rory is framed to be perfect in every way, shape and form. Even when she cheats with a married man she's pretty much given a free pass and the poor wife is forgotten about. Paris on the other hand was never meant to be perfect or to always get her own way. While people will say she over reacted to not getting into Harvard, I think she was pretty on point given that she was a teenage girl who had the pressure of her family's Ivy League legacy on her back her whole life. While she flipped out when it originally happened she pulled herself together and graduated from Yale and later on from Harvard. Rory on the other hand had one guy say she might not be a good journalist during an internship and not only dropped out of college and stopped talking to her mother but also stole a boat over the smallest bit of criticism. I was so happy when Jess called her out on it when he turned up at Yale.

In fact Paris was constantly working to improve herself

After being a total nervous wreck during her school years and knowing full well that she could be over bearing at times Paris went to therapy to work on herself. All through out her college years Paris constantly talks about how she's trying to work on toxic behaviours and become a better version of herself. She also learned martial arts so she could have a kick ass personality and just straight up kick ass.  

She was a really good friend

Even though her relationship with Rory had its ups and downs (especially in areas where they had to compete) Paris was actually a great friend when it really mattered. She was always there when Rory needed her, encouraging her to go back to college after she dropped out and letting Logan have it after he had upset Rory like any true gal pal. It actually really got me in the feels when Paris went to Lorelai saying she needed to speak to Rory because she was her only friend but then Rory would tell people that she and Paris weren't really friends. Rory never deserved Paris to be honest.

She was incredibly ambitious

It really irked me that Paris was written as hard to deal with or ruthless just because she was an ambitious woman. While she may have played the best friend role in the show, Paris was definitely the main character of her own life. She manages to push herself through everything without a supportive family and eventually with no money after her family lose it all while she's in college. That still doesn't stop her as she takes every and any jobs going to help get her through college and onto becoming a doctor. I really think they did her dirty in A Year In The Life by writing her as being a mother who doesn't really seem connected to her kids. If anything I think she would have had a close bond with them to make up for not having one with her own mother.

She's literally up for anything

While Rory was the cautious friend Paris was always a bit more 'when in Rome' and wanted to experience as much as possible, even if it was just a once off and even if she hated it. She threw herself into every opportunity that presented itself including hitting the road to Florida for Spring Break, attending sports games, throwing college parties in her dorm and back packing across India. As a fellow introvert I always admired that she would give every opportunity a chance and to be honest she was way more craic than anyone gave her credit for.

She had the best coping mechanisms of anyone on the show

While a lot of the other characters would go into denial about problems in their lives or take the 'you have to look at the bright side' approach, Paris always faced her problems head on. Her no BS attitude with other people also extended to herself and she didn't make excuses, she looked for solutions. She was also a lot more street smart and people smart than Rory, and even though she finds it hard to make friends, the friends she does make are from all walks of life. I know the show's creators were pushing hard for Rory to be our relatable female icon but sorry it's Paris, it's always been Paris.