My Thank-You Letter to Haley James Scott

A TUTOR GIRL LIFE LESSON

9 Years in the Making

I was a 12-year-old girl when One Tree Hill premiered on The WB 11 on September 23, 2003. At this time I was an impressionable pre-teen who was being fed problematic distortions from my peers about what it meant to be ‘cool.’ I envisioned invisible parameters around the definition of cool and equated it to belonging to an exclusive club. In essence, being part of the cool club was contingent on my social conformity. The more I flirted with the idea of compromising myself to be cool the more accepted I was by my peers – an attractive give and take for any struggling pre-teen.

In a culture saturated in ideals responsible for reinforcing negative perceptions of self-image, I gradually became disillusioned and misguided. The older I got, the harder it became for me to be myself. I couldn’t identify with any female role model – they all seemed too fazed by the societal pressures of being over-sexualized and dumbed down versions of themselves for the sake of fitting in. And how unfortunate it is to be a malleable young girl with no one to really look up to…

That is until one casual day, I turned on the T.V. and the rest is history.

Haley became my favorite character in 1.06 - EVERY
 NIGHT IS ANOTHER STORY. A simple ending
 montage depicts Haley as an outsider as she solemnly
watches the popular girls of Tree Hill High. 

Initially, Haley James Scott was just the eccentric girl-next door. There was nothing remarkable about the character who at first glance was nothing more than Lucas Scott’s talkative and clumsy sidekick. But as the show progressed I realized I couldn’t be more wrong. In spite of her strange way of dress, her unusual bits of advice and her rare stance on sexuality, Haley James was confident! She was flawed but self-assured and that was truly remarkable.

In a cultural climate where images and rhetoric in the media serve to propagate lies about what it means to be a sexy, proper and desirable female, Haley James became my beacon of hope. Haley James was a free spirit – a unique compliment to the Brookes and Peytons of the world. She was a female lead who circumvented and challenged societal norms without making any apologies for being herself. Haley taught me so much, particularly as I navigated through some tough years as a teenager.

And her inner strength not only managed to empower other characters on the show but millions of young girls much like me.

Source: bjldaily.tumblr.com

My sensitivity to the abysmal depiction of females in the media and the longing to find that someone to look up to is what attracted me to the character of Haley James. And Bethany Joy Lenz's portrayal of Haley proves that it really is possible to make a positive impression on young adults while remaining "classy, talented, [and] wholesome." Although it saddens me to say goodbye to Haley, I know the things I've learned and taken away from her character will certainly follow me for a very, very long time.

So I end this post by looking towards the future and finding comfort in knowing that I've identified a role model in Joy as a young girl and even now as a young adult.

May you continue to be a beacon of hope to millions of young girls struggling to find someone to look up to.

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For those of you interested in continuing the topic of women in the media, I urge to revisit  two poignant posts where Joy addresses it beautifully:

- I GOTCHA YOUR CLASS RIGHT HERE

"Is it possible the entertainment industry is genuinely ready for a new generation of classy, talented, wholesome young women?"

- SWEETHEART CLOSE YOUR LEGS

"Have we fallen so far? Have we finally arrived to the place where not only do you need no talent to become a role-model (and yes, I'm sorry but if you're perpetuating a public career, you are famous and young people look up to you), but you don't even need class?"

Moreover, I advise you all to check out the trailer to a film called "MISS REPRESENTATION," which is incredibly relevant.

Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.

[http://www.missrepresentation.org/the-film/]