If you look closer, you might find someone like you. Someone trying to find their way. Someone trying to find their place.
I have made posts like this one before on both this same date in history, and in the springtime — to celebrate and pay tribute to both the beginning and the end of one of the most influential things in my life. Yet, I find myself in front of the computer again, words dying to get out no matter how many times or how many ways that I have said them before.
Life kicks you around sometimes, it scares you and it beats you up, but there’s one day where you realize you’re not just a survivor. You’re a warrior. You’re tougher than anything life throws your way. And you are.
On September 23, 2003, a new television series called One Tree Hill aired on the WB. I missed the Pilot’s original air date, but I tuned in for week two, and the rest is truly history. This little show lasted for nine seasons — it survived a network switch, countless time and day slot changes, and more just barely-made renewals than I can even begin to describe. Almost every season, the fans weren’t sure if we would see our beloved characters again…but time and time again, we worked our asses off to make sure that we would.
You know what? Tragedies happen. What are you gonna do? Give up? Quit? No. I realize now that when your heart breaks, you gotta fight like hell to make sure you’re still alive. Because you are. And that pain you feel? That’s life. The confusion and fear, that’s there to remind you that somewhere out there is something better. And that something is worth fighting for.
It seems ridiculous to a lot of people that a show that began twelve years ago, and ended three years ago, is still being written about as if it were on the air. To those of us who cherished the show, it’s not ridiculous at all. For so many of us, One Tree Hill wasn’t just something we watched each week to be entertained (although, damn, it was entertaining) — it was something that we tuned into to feel whole. This show was a journey for both the characters we loved, and for ourselves. Let me explain.
Most people are stronger than they know, they just forget to believe in it sometimes.
One Tree Hill taught me that sometimes the people we love the most are going to hurt us the most, and that you make your own definition of family. It taught me that friendships can be as strong as blood, and that as long as you have that one person you can count on, you’re set. It taught me that sometimes our lives go off of the course that we envisioned for ourselves, and that instead of letting that destroy us, we can let it be a chance to rebuild into something possibly even better than we ever imagined. It taught me that it’s okay to believe that your passions and your hobbies can become your career. It taught me that love can be a ruthless game that burns you and leaves you feeling broken and burned and in more pain than you ever thought imaginable, but that going through that type of pain can strengthen you and shape you into the person you were meant to be. It taught me that sometimes it takes awhile to get love right, but that when you do, it will be more happiness than you ever could have imagined. It taught me what it means to love someone unconditionally. It taught me that hitting rock bottom, failing, and having to start over in a new place isn’t something to be ashamed of, but that you should be proud you had the courage to start over in the first place. It taught me that sometimes, out of the billions of people in the world, and out of all of the places you can go, sometimes just one person and/or one place…..is all you really need to feel at home.
Sometimes pain becomes such a huge part in your life that you expect it to always be there because you can’t remember a time when it wasn’t, but then one day you feel something else, something that feels wrong, only because it’s so unfamiliar, and in that moment, you realize….you’re happy.
Of course my family and friends have taught me a lot as I have gone through life, but I owe a huge amount of my lessons learned to this show. I resonated with the character of Brooke Davis the most, and she helped me through things in ways that I simply can’t explain to those who haven’t experienced it themselves; but every single character taught me something. Whether it was Peyton teaching me to never give up on a dream, even after you feel like there’s no way you can reach it, Nathan teaching me that it’s never to late to change and become a better person, Mouth teaching me the value of a true friend, Lucas teaching me that you have to own up to your mistakes, Haley teaching me that you can have both your dream career and your dream guy, Rachel teaching me that beauty on the outside does not equal happiness on the inside, or one of the other countless lessons and characters they came from. I truly learned something from every single character. I am grateful to every single role that was created for this show, and I am even more grateful to the cast members who executed those roles so perfectly, and with such passion, that it truly felt like we were there.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, stumble and fall, because most of the time, the greatest rewards come from doing the things that scare you the most. Maybe you’ll get everything you wish for, maybe you’ll get more than you could have ever imagined. Who knows where life will take you — the road is long, and in the end, the journey is the destination.
I am grateful to this cast for never failing to acknowledge the role the fans played in their success. I am grateful for their interactions with us online, and in person. I was able to visit Wilmington several times, and in one of those times, I went to watch an episode film. I was greeted with open arms both by the cast, creator, and crew. Just this past year, three years after the show has been off of the air, I attended the very first U.S. One Tree Hill convention, and met even more cast members. Cast members who have all moved on with their lives, obtained other roles, started families or charities or businesses, and everything in between…..still made time for all of us.
Make a wish and put it in your heart, anything you want, everything you want. Do you have it? Good. Now believe it can come true. You never know where your next miracle is going to come from, or the next smile, or the next wish come true. But if you believe it’s right around the corner and you open your heart and mind to the possibility of it, to the certainty of it, you must just get the thing you are wishing for. The world is full of magic , you just have to believe in it. So make your wish. Do you have it? Good. Now believe in it with all your heart.
Lastly, and honestly probably most importantly, I am grateful for the people this show brought into my life. My best friend and I watched this show together nearly every single week from the eighth grade until we graduated high school. My sisters and I discussed it on the phone each week. When I got to college, I found friends who were fans and we watched together often. When I was a sophomore in college, that same best friend from high school and I visited Wilmington for the first time, and we met four other girls from Ohio who loved the show and were visiting for the same reason and we hit it off immediately and are still friends today. One of these girls, I literally talk to every week, sometimes everyday, and she is my rock in my times of need and my companion in times of celebration……and she lives in Los Angeles. That’s the power of this show. Furthermore, I began a separate twitter account during the late seasons of the show initially so I could stop blowing up everyone’s feeds about it every week….I never could’ve imagined that it would turn into what it did. Not only did it enable multiple interactions from cast members of the show, but the friends I have made online, many of which I have been able to meet at different concerts of some of the cast members, at conventions, etc, are irreplaceable. These people….I can’t even explain it. We are a community. We are a family, literally. If I tweet even one seemingly down thing, or something that I am struggling with, I am flooded with replies from people who genuinely care and are willing to help in any way that they can. These twitter interactions moved into text conversations for many of us, and getting to meet some of those girls in real life is something I will be eternally thankful for. To many people on the outside, it looks like I talk to a bunch of strangers on a daily basis. However, I have received gifts (autographed cast pictures, like what? How are you so amazing?) from these “strangers.” I have gotten phone calls on my worst days and in my lowest moments from these “strangers.” I have been given endless support and kindness from these “strangers.” These people are not strangers, they are some of my dearest friends, and I can’t wait to see so many of them again next Spring at the next convention.
It’s the oldest story in the world. One day you’re seventeen and planning for “someday,” and then quietly, without you ever really noticing, someday is today, and that someday is yesterday, and this is your life.
In summation, I will never stop loving this show. I will never stop asking friends of mine who haven’t seen it to watch it (which to be honest, there aren’t many that left that I haven’t convinced). I will never stop supporting the cast members in their new endeavors. I will never stop caring about this community of fans, and I will never stop cherishing the bond that we all have. And if all of that makes me strange or weird or obsessed, I think I can live with that.
I cannot believe it’s been twelve years. Cheers, Tree Hill, I miss you.
In your life, you’re going to go some great places and you’re going to do some wonderful things, but no matter where you go or who you become, this place will always be with you. There is only one Tree Hill, and it’s your home.
thoughtsfromkylie 