To some people, “One Tree Hill” is just another American drama television show to binge watch. However, if you look deeper into the show, you can easily find the show can fulfill more than just entertainment purposes. As someone who has watched “One Tree Hill” through five times, I see the life lessons the show has to offer. These life lessons range from love, friendship, family and the biggest of all, growing up. Every character in the show plays an important role and teaches important lessons, but if I went through each character we would be here all day, so this article will focus on the main characters.
Chad Michael Murray plays Lucas Scott who begins the television series as the better of the two Scott brothers. Lucas goes through a lot throughout the series and as time goes on, he demonstrates strength. From having a shitty father, to almost dying (more than once) Lucas Scott has gone through A LOT. Even though he has struggled, he still manages to be the one who saves everyone around him, even if they don’t deserve it. Especially, always saving Peyton even during the times where Peyton is moody towards Lucas.
James Lafferty plays the roll of Nathan Scott while Bethany Joy Lenz plays Haley James Scott. The two teach viewers the lesson of not judging a book by its cover. Haley was the average nerd and Nathan was the average jock, that is, until the two fell in love, got married, and had a baby in high school. Haley changed Nathan for the better and Haley became big in music for awhile. The two learned there was more to the other than just the stereotypes.
If we all took the time to look past the labels of those around us, we would come a long way in life. They both teach the huge lesson that no dream is to big if you put your best effort towards it.
Craig Sheffer plays the roll of Keith Scott and he is the man who stepped up to help raise Lucas. Even though Lucas’ father is his brother and this caused much conflict between them, he did it anyways. Keith teaches us the lessons of heroism not just because he was always there for the people he cared about but because he risked his life trying to talk down a school shooter. Keith always put everyone’s needs before his own regardless of what it means for him.
Hilarie Burton plays the roll of Peyton Sawyer, who teaches us how to deal with grief. Peyton has the most experience with death and loss of loved ones throughout the show, and she even has A LOT of tragic experiences. From the loss of her adopted mother before the series begins to almost dying while giving birth to her beautiful daughter. Peyton gets through all of her pain through listening to music and drawing.
She teaches us how to cope with the pain we feel. She comes in many ways and realizes some of her coping mechanisms were mistakes that she will never make again. Peyton went through a lot of relatable experiences for teens. Watching Peyton’s journey of coping through many difficult life experiences shows how strong she is and how strong everyone else can be.
Last but not least, Sophia Bush plays Brooke Davis who is one of the most influential women in the entire show. Brooke Davis struggles a lot with self-love throughout the majority of the show. Though this does have a lot to do with Lucas cheating and her parents not giving her much attention, she preservers. Brooke is all over the place but has a huge heart. Brooke influences viewers to be who we are rather than what the world wants us to be.