I Don't Want to Be

"I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately. All I have to do is think of me and I have piece of mind."- Gavin DeGraw

Last week saw one of my most favorite guilty pleasure shows of all time come to an end. That show was One Tree Hill and the above song played during the opening credits for most of the seasons.

At its core, One Tree Hill reminded me of my very first hardcore guilty pleasure addiction which was the original Beverly Hills, 90210. Both contained all these lives that were intertwined while growing into adulthood. Both contained love triangles, terrible parents and traumatic experiences galore.

So since One Tree Hill ended after nine seasons, I figured I would offer up nine reasons why I enjoyed the show.

1) Dan Scott: No one expects to see one of the most complex characters of the 21st century on a teen show but that is what you got in Dan Scott. He pretty much knocked up his high school girlfriend, went off to college and subsequently knocked up another girlfriend months later to produce project twins. However he married the college girlfriend and raised that child and left the other one out to dry. His athletic prowess is passed on to both of his sons who he raises to pretty much hate each other. Dan's brother Keith raises his bastard son (also while being in love with his first baby mama) and Dan pretty much thanks him by killing him. His relationship with his first wife pretty much revolves around insults and hate. Yet, Dan will kill anybody who tries to bring harm to his son or grandchildren. And I do mean kill. I literally could write an entire blog just on the story of Dan Scott alone. Somehow it was easy to love and hate Dan simultaneously.

2) Chad Michael Murray & James Lafferty: Both of these men played the sons of Dan Scott and both showed their asshole gene at some point and time. But most importantly, both of these men are very attractive. James has a beautiful body and Chad has a gorgeous face.

3) The Music: OMG. As someone who loves music of various genres, One Tree Hill fed my soul when it came to pop and rock and alternative. Fall Out Boy, The Wreckers, Laura Izibor and Gavin DeGraw were just a few of the artists that graced the show. If I could have Peyton's record collection, I would be so happy. Oh and this show always played perfect music for the various scenes.

4) The Incestuousness: True, that is not a real word, but let's see if I can explain how too many people are related. Lucas and Nathan are brothers. Haley is Lucas' best friend. Nathan marries Haley which makes her now Lucas' sister-in-law. Lucas' mother is Karen. Karen has a baby by Keith who is now pretty much Lucas' sister but could also be considered biologically a cousin. And this is just one set of links.

5) Sharing is Caring: Between Lucas and Nathan, they have slept with every main female lead on the show up through season 6. Sometimes it was even recorded for posterity.

6) The Kids: Up until about the 7th season, Jamie Scott was the cutest kid ever on television. Because he hung around adults, he was wise for his age. He was able to forgive his grandfather for killing his great uncle. He took his role seriously as the man of the house when his father disappeared. However, he wasn’t as cute anymore and they brought on Logan who is just the simplest cute kid ever.

7) The Sticking It Out: My friend @29tolifeblog pointed out to me that OTH was one of the few shows that once the characters got older, they pretty much focused on working their relationships out. There wasn’t a whole lot of bed hopping except for the resident whores at the time. And when I say people have been through some of everything on this show in their relationships, I’m talking whoring nannies, paternity tests, cocky ass musicians, exes moving to town, cocaine addictions, hot interns, the works. But pretty much every couple on the show has been together for a long time.

8) The Assholes: I know it's wrong but you have to admit asshole behavior often brings a level of comedy to every show. It at least brings snarky comments and every guy on the show pretty much had at the very least an asshole moment. And every guy on the show was so good at it. Especially Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty and Dan Scott.

9) The Bitchiness: The one thing I do like about One Tree Hill is when the girls were bitchy, they often had no problem getting physical. I think every woman on the show has gotten into a fight or at the very least slapped someone. And the comments that come out when friends go from frenemies to enemies could focus on anything from being a slut to dead mothers. My personal favorite was Haley’s slap to the woman accusing her husband of being her baby daddy.

Wasn't all of that terrible? Oh well. Guess I will just have to survive watching my DVDs.

I will leave you with one of my favorite light-hearted scenes though.