Existentialists

[Lorelai is reading accomodation notices on a bulletin board]
STUDENT: You looking for a place to live?
LORELAI: Uhh, maybe.
STUDENT: Well there’s a lot of choices. Something for everybody.
LORELAI: Yeah, yeah. Unless you’re one of those existentialists who can’t really figure out what they want.

Existentialism is a philosophical tradition associated with 19^th and 20^th century European philosophers, valuing the individual, freedom, and personal authenticity. The existentialist attitude is often seen as one of confusion, disorientation and dread in the face of a meaningless or absurd world. Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, earlier discussed, spoke of the “agony of decision”, hence Lorelai’s comment. She later says she always wanted to use the word existentialist in a sentence.

In real life, students would not be at Harvard University during mid-August, and already in their regular routines of classes and parties. The semester began in late August in 2001, and the first week would have been orientation activities.