The first day of Girl Meets World Appreciation Week is over. Now move on to day two, Characters Day!
So many characters, so many personalities, so many inspirations. Girl Meets World has brought us many fictional people who have each made us so happy in so many ways! Riley Matthews, Cory Matthews, Topanga Matthews, Auggie Matthews, Maya Hart, Lucas Friar and Farkle Minkus are just some of them. Let's start off with Riley! She is bubbly, outgoing, cheerful, optimistic, intelligent, and slightly awkward, and while she is also sensitive, she is not afraid to voice her opinion about things, and will readily stand up for her friends and family. At first Riley seems immature and noticeably awkward, but as the series progresses, she begins to dress and act more mature. She is also very idealistic, and expects everyone around her to live up to her own expectations, lofty as they may seem at times. Like Cory, Riley also prefers to maintain her own belief in things despite disagreement from others; this trait mainly applies to Maya, upon whom Riley never gives up hope as shown in Girl Meets Pluto. Riley will do whatever it takes to keep her friends happy, even at the expense of her own emotional well-being.
| “ | I don't think I'm weird, Maya. I think I'm unique. He's Cory, she's Topanga, but I'm both. | ” |
—Riley to Maya in Girl Meets Cory and Topanga
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Next up is Cory Matthews. Riley's father and Topanga's husband. Here's some facts about Cory:
- He is one of the two main characters to appear in every episode of Boy Meets World.
- He is the first BMW character to appear in GMW.
- His daughter, Riley, is closer to her mother than Cory, though he shares many similarities to her.
- Cory has a great dislike of wool. The reasons given for this vary; he says once that he has an allergy for it, but later just complains that it chafes.
- Cory is absent in Girl Meets Texas (Part 2) during season 2.
- Cory has been absent for one episode throughout the series so far.
- Like the rest of his family, Cory is an ardent fan of all the Philadelphia professional sport franchises Phillies (MLB), Eagles (NFL), 76ers (NBA), and Flyers (NHL). Girl Meets the Great Lady of New York shows he did not adopt any of the NYC teams upon moving there, as he went to a Phillies-Mets game wearing a Phillies hat and was dejected after they lost.
| “ | Riley, I've already met the world. Now it's your turn. | ” |
—Cory to Riley in Girl Meets World
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Maya Hart is the 15 year old daughter of Kermit and Katy. She is almost the exact opposite of Riley when it comes to personality; one might say that Maya is the "Spice" to Riley's "Sugar" and "everything nice".
Maya has admitted that she is not always proud of the person she is. Much of her brashness could be borne of the fact that her father abandoned her when she was five. Moreover, as her best friend, Riley is not only aware that Maya's outward toughness is often a façade, but she also knows her vulnerabilities. In "Girl Meets Flaws," Maya revealed "broken" as her personal flaw, saying that it doesn't feel so bad when she "owns" it.
Maya depends heavily on Riley to help her and fix her problems, or come up with a scheme; one exception was in Season 2's Girl Meets Creativity, when Riley used reverse psychology to get Maya to open up about believing in art. In the Season 3 episodes Girl Meets Triangle, Girl Meets Upstate and Girl Meets True Maya, Riley believes that Maya is going through an identity crisis as she is being less rebellious and becoming more like her, so Riley helps Maya to once again find her true self and helps her to realize how she's been acting like her in order to see what's best for Riley.
| “ | 'Sup, I'm Maya. You don't look at me in the eye. | ” |
—Maya in Girl Meets Gravity
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Originally from Austin, Texas, Lucas is a "cowboy in the city", and is Riley Matthews' boyfriend. Lucas becomes close friends with Farkle Minkus and Maya Hart, with the latter using cowboy stereotypes when talking to him, calling him derisive but good-natured nicknames including "Huckleberry", "Ranger Rick" and "Bucky McBoingboing"; in "Girl Meets 1961" it is revealed that Lucas does indeed hail from a family of cowboys. In "Girl Meets the Secret of Life", Lucas' old Texas classmate Zay Babineaux becomes a student at John Quincy Adams Middle School; Lucas reveals that he is a year older than his classmates, and his father was transferred to New York, giving Lucas a fresh start (Zay's father was also transferred to New York) after being kicked out of his former school in Austin for defending Zay.
| “ | You can call me Lucas. You wanna know what I am? I'm as strong as a horse. I don't know how. I just am. | ” |
—Lucas in "Girl Meets High School (Part 1)"
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Auggie is Cory and Topanga's only son, and is the younger brother of Riley. He is the youngest in the Matthews Family. Auggie is quite precocious for his young age and displays a lot of innocence. He is shown to be a young and adoring son to Cory and Topanga and a good brother to Riley. Ava is Auggie's "girlfriend" (later "wife") and classmate. Auggie first described her as a classy older woman and he called her his new best friend instead of Mr. Googly. In Girl Meets Game Night Auggie and Ava are both partners during the family game, while in Girl Meets High School (Part 1) and Part 2, Auggie helps Ava cope with her dad leaving.
| “ | You taught me to read. Why would you teach me to read if I wasn't supposed to believe what I'm reading? | ” |
—Auggie in Girl Meets Jexica
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When she was first introduced in Boy Meets World, Topanga was an eccentric hippie with interests in supernatural phenomena, and concerned about the world and harmony. As the seasons progressed, she became one of the show's main characters, transforming from a strange girl into an intellectual overachiever. Throughout the series, Topanga has always expressed her love for Cory, as well as her friends.
Her dreams of being a lawyer came true after she won a highly coveted internship for the law firm of Elliot, Brown & Montgomery (then known as Brown Elliot) which included a full scholarship to New York University School of Law, which was the reason why she and Cory left their hometown of Philadelphia in 2000.
She and Cory invested in the neighborhood bakery to preserve it for the founder, Mrs. Svorski. After her partner's death, she honored Mrs. Svorski's last wishes, and renovated the Old World Svorski's Bakery into a more modern establishment, renamed Topanga's, hiring Katy Hart to help run the place in her absence. Topanga was a recurring character in the first season of Boy Meets World, but was promoted to a main character in season 2.
| “ | How you doin'? | ” |
—Topanga in various episodes
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Farkle is shown to be kind, colorful, thoughtful, understanding and, according to Lucas, very loyal to his friends. He is cheerful in almost all situations, and is fully confident in his capability of someday taking over the world. He can also be a talented showman, and in most of these cases he is also illeistic, referring to himself in the third person ("Thank you! I am Farkle!"), which began in the pilot episode and prevailed during season 1.
Much like his father, Farkle cares a great deal about his education and always maintains high grades in school, and is often viewed as the teacher's pet. Additionally, Farkle is an over-the-top flirt, especially with Riley and Maya, both of whom he claims to have a crush on although his affection later leans toward Maya as he is aware of Riley and Lucas' mutual interest in one other; later still his affections are redirected to Smackle, with whom he begins a relationship in Season 2.
| “ | My name is Farkle Minkus. I'm growing up. And I don't know what's going to happen next. But you guys are my best friends, so deal with it. | ” |
—Farkle in Girl Meets Yearbook
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We love these seven, they mean so much to us and deserve so much appreciation! Tell us in the comments why you love these seven and what other characters you really like!