time to say goodbye

As I write this I am sitting along the Cape Fear River. This is one of my favorite spots in Wilmington for a few reasons; one being the enormously cool battleship just yards behind me, two being it's my favorite view of downtown and three being I feel like I kind of grew up here. To most people, battleship park is just another field of grass to let your kids play on, just another picnic table to eat at or a private place to bring your sweetheart. but to me and many others in the world it represents so much more. 9 years ago a little show that could set up camp in Wilmington. They made this battleship park their favorite place to shoot. For those familiar with the series One

Tree Hill, you know it as the River Court. When I was in 8th grade I fell in love with this little show. You may say I was obsessed. And I'll say it too, I WAS obsessed. I loved everything about it, the characters, the basketball, the romance, the friendships, the family. And most of all, I loved the town it was filmed in. (obviously...I moved here!) I am writing this because tonight is the series finale of my show. It's honestly a day I've thought about since forever. And dreaded. And today... Well to be honest, I forgot it was today until this morning. (oops!) but alas, it is happening! When I moved here I didn't want to be a "fan" anymore, so I watched the new episode every couple of weeks and that was that. But today I am letting myself go back to my roots and in the morning I will go back to being Lauren: resident and Wilmington local. But folks, let's be real. I owe this show my life right now. It helped me through hard times, it helped me fall even more in love with Wilmington and it helped discover my passion for being a television producer, so that I too one day can help change another's life by simply telling a story. It would be wrong to let today go without an ode to my little show. It's the end of an era in my life. So... Here's to One Tree Hill, the show that changed my life, helped me grow up and has been a huge chunk of my life for 9 long, crazy and hard years. As for now, I will spend a few more minutes here, sitting on top a picnic table on what was once the River Court and let myself remember.

And my next entry (tomorrow) will be full of pictures from the last couple of weeks... So hang tight while my 14 year old self has a moment here...

ps. shout out to lindsey cluff! my oth partner in crime.