#goodnighttreehill

I just finished my OTH rewatch of s1-4 AND I'M FEELING EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!! Everything is so gorgeous and beautiful and perfect and special and lovely and bright and wonderful and I have such a special place in my heart for The Little Show That Could.

I love it for it's cheesy moments, it's beautiful, deep, heart-felt moments, it's absolutely ridiculous moments (I mean, a dog ate Dan's heart), but what I love most about it is that it taught me how to grow up the right way.

I started watching OTH live when I was 13 and it ended when I was 21. Without it, without it's guidance, without it's mistakes to avoid, without the passion and the worth and the family and friends I felt like this show gave me I'm not sure where I would be. This show taught me about life and love and growing up and facing your mistakes and learning from them and not letting what others think of you define who you are as a person. I learned and grew so much with this beautiful little show and it's been two years and I'm still not over it being gone.

I love that they tied in the scene from the pilot with Julius Caesar into the s4 finale. I love that when revealing each of their dreams in high school they all achieved everything they wanted out of life and more. I loved that, in s1 a drunk Brooke told Haley and Peyton that they would never be friends again after their one night of road trip bonding, but the absolute beauty of the show is that Brooke and Haley's friendship outlasted everything the writers threw at it, even Brooke and Peyton, who were so wonderfully the core of the show for 4/5/6 seasons.

I love that every character, even Dan, especially Dan, got the beautiful, redemptive, perfect ending they all truly, truly deserved. And I love the very most that the audience, their loyal little band of followers who went to hell and back with this show, got to see the characters we loved not cut short, but given the chance to reach their full potential and absolute dream. Everything was wrapped so beautifully and I left the show feeling content and happy and so, so at peace with what the writers decided because they knew they needed everything to end the way the story so deserved.

I can't think of any show I've ever seen that got to end the way it wanted to, without the surprise of a cancellation, or writers who flew by the seat of their pants. Every part of the OTH journey and the road to the end was so well-thought out and crafted and loved by everyone involved every step of the way and I'm so grateful that I got to be a part of that. I'm so grateful that I grew up with this incredible show that will never be replaced in my heart.

I remember as each character and actor wrapped their final days of shooting season 9 and all the cast would tweet one by one: #GoodnightBrookeDavis, #GoodnightNathanScott, #GoodnightHaleyJamesScott, #GoodnightJamieScott, #GoodnightDanScott, #GoodnightMouth, #GoodnightSkills, #GoodnightQuinn, #GoodnightClay, #GoodnightMillie, #GoodnightVictoria, #GoodnightJulian, #GoodnightChase, #GoodnightChrisKeller

and most importantly, #GoodnightRivercourt where dreams were realized, and the most important sibling rivalry finally met its end, (I'm still sad I never won a piece of it, I think it would be my most treasured gift).