Portsmouth student explains what the TV show Gilmore Girls taught her

I was born in Poland in the year 2000, which makes me both Generation Y and Z, depending on different definitions.

My family lived by strict communist rules, so due to that I grew up on the generic TV shows from the 1990s and early 2000s rather than the kids' shows all my friends talked about.

In fact, if you asked me if I liked the popular teen hero, Hannah Montana, I would laugh in your face.

Instead, I wanted to have powers like the Charmed sisters, I read books such as On The Road or Frankenstein, blasted Nirvana down my broken speakers and dreamed of being like the Gilmore Girls, famous protagonists of the US family show of the same name.

Rory Gilmore taught me everything there is about drive for education, and Lorelai taught me the value of family and courage.

The wisdom of the Gilmore Girls inspired me to open a company, study pre-calculus, write two books, do four A-levels, eight APs (American equivalent of A-levels), study for SATs, apply to Harvard and be strong in the face of serious illness. 

Today's media sexualises teens, glamorises obsessive dieting while championing obesity. All men are hated on and labelled sexist. 

I don't consider fighting for human rights in any shape of form wrong; however, last time I checked, feminism meant achieving equality of both genders.

And the shows I mentioned did just that without discriminating against men.

Seeing 14-year-olds dressed in mini skirts and expressing themselves in a vulgar manner made me judgemental.

As this doesn't just tell a lot about their personality (and yes, your clothing choices can reveal a lot) but also about their parents.

If millennials are considered narcissistic, what will be our label?

That's why I am grateful that my role models were Gilmore Girls.

Anna Fokias is an A-level student at Portsmouth College