Those of you who have spent countless days in bed binge-watching One Tree Hill, don't worry, you're not alone, it happens to the best of us maybe even 14 times. And if you haven't, I'm really questioning your life choices.
We watched Haley grow from tutor-girl to tutor-mom and within those three years she fell in love, chased her dreams, came back home, graduated high school and began her perfect family. Haley was always the voice of reason, she was everyone's shoulder to cry on and everyone's therapist, but she couldn't handle her own problems with such poise all the time. There aren't enough nice things to say about the character and woman she portrayed, even through her downfalls, her pros far outweighed her cons. She's a rockstar both figuratively and literally and without her, Tree Hill would not have been home to all of us for nine years. We fell in love with her love for Nathan and their family and her passion for life and music so here are 20 times Haley James-Scott deserved woman of the year.
1. Her willingness to fight for what she believed in.
She never stopped fighting for what she wanted including; Nathan, their marriage, her dreams, her college education, her family, her friends and she never stopped believing in Nathan or his dreams of making it to the NBA.
2. For chasing her dreams and not letting anyone or anything stand in her way, not even Nathan Scott.
She chose between chasing her dream of becoming a musician and Nathan even if that meant leaving him, losing him and ending their marriage. She ran off with Chris Keller during season two, and that's one of many reasons I hated that entire season.
3. She married Nathan Scott— she deserves an award just for that.
Naley will always and forever be relationship goals. I mean come on... they're perfect. And every time he refers to her as "my girl" my heart melts a little bit more each time.
4. She was pregnant and still graduated high school as the valedictorian.
With Nathan getting in trouble for point-shaving, Haley wasn't allowed to give her speech until Nathan went to Principal Turner and made sure she got to, because she was at the top of their class and deserved to give that speech. Later that day, she gave birth to James Lucas Scott.
5. The wisdom and unconditional love she instilled into Jamie and Lydia.
Her unassuming kindness and unconditional love for her kids is beautiful. She was so open-minded and passed it along to Jamie allowing for his intelligence and kind-hearted spirit to flourish.
6. She got fired for believing in her student's work.
Haley printed Sam's article in the school newspaper and was told to make a decision between her job and keeping Sam's piece in the paper... She believed in her students and chose to keep it in the paper even though it meant losing her teaching job, a job that she loved.
7. ...So the entire class showed up in her living room to learn from HER.
Haley came home to find her class sitting in her living room, they hated the principal and the way she began to run Haley's class so they got up and left campus to go to Haley's for their lesson. It takes a special kind of person to make kids want to learn that badly.
8. Each and every time she allowed Jamie to see his best friend, Dan.
Even though he took Keith away from everyone and even though she hated Dan for the pain he caused both Lucas and Nathan, she still allowed Jamie to have a relationship with his grandfather. And in the end we were all rooting for Dan Scott.
9. Her graces were unmatched and she had this insane ability to make those around her better people without even realizing it.
She made Nathan want to be better, she made Taylor grow up, she made Dan and Deb part of Jamie's life and she even turned hot-head Nathan Scott into the kind of man every girl dreams of marrying some day.
10. She always saw the good in people despite their track record.
She saw the good in Nathan and wound up being the best thing that ever happened to him. She saw the good in Brooke and Peyton. She saw the goodness in Dan even if it went against everything she believed in. She was just such a beautiful, kind-hearted person.
11. She was notorious for taking care of her loved ones whenever they need her most, her selflessness was inspiring to say the least.
For every time she was there when no one else was, for every time she was anyone's shoulder to cry on, for every time she put aside her feelings to make sure everyone around her was okay and in a good place. With the exception of leaving Nathan to tour with Chris freakin' Keller.
12. She stood up for Jamie when he was getting picked on.
Haley was the sweet one, the one who refrained from violence but she stood up for her son and made sure Chuck's mother knew she meant business when she told her to have her son lay off and to stop bullying Jamie.
13. She sought out Mia Catalano and that's when Kate Voegele's musical career took off.
She sought out Mia, who was the keyboard player in a band that Peyton signed. The band got pissed and left while Mia stayed behind and became a world-famous touring artist and in real life launched her musical career.
14. She advocated for love being the biggest and most rewarding risk of all.
She told Lucas to set aside his pride and go after the woman he loves, which we all know was Peyton. Hallelujah. She told Brooke to stop shutting her heart. She told Nathan that no matter what she would always be there because she loved him and she proved that love conquers all.
15. She filled the void P. Sawyer left in Brooke's fragile heart
I'm still bitter over the fact that Peyton never made a come back to the show, even for her best friend's wedding. But Hales was a perfect maid of honor and without her Brooke would not be the person she grew into and vice versa.
16. She gave Brooke the one thing she couldn't have, a child. She gave Brooke the privilege to be Jamie's God mother.
We all know how badly Brooke wanted to be a mother and becoming Jamie's godmother was one of the best things that ever happened in this show.
17. She believed in Nathan when he didn't believe in himself. She loved him through everything and he loved her through hell and back.
She stood by him when he shaved points, when he lost his scholarship to Duke, when he got declined from every school because of his point-shaving, when he won a national title for Whitey in college, when he broke his back, when he was depressed, when he made his comeback, when he made it to the NBA, when he was accused of cheating on her, when he was kidnapped and when Dan saved him.
18. She proved it was okay to not be okay and that when you hit rock bottom the only way to go is up.
The moment when her mother died Haley shattered before our eyes and for the first time we saw how broken she was, through everything she had been the one who was the source of light to everyone. Then she went down her path of darkness and proved it always gets better.
19. She turned Quentin into an actual student and was the reason behind his huge transformation in the classroom and on the court.
"I really appreciate you boys for coming here, but I mostly wanted to say thank you to this one. My son has always loved basketball but I need to tell you when I came home and found him reading, a book it just about gave me a heart attack. He said momma 'Mrs. James-Scott, she don't play she's almost as bad as you are.' I realize you were all trying to help my boy live up the greatness that God gave him and you should be proud of that."
Haley has been known for her love of teaching and when she encouraged stubborn Quentin Fields to put school ahead of basketball she became the most inspiring person not only to Q, but to his mother and to her students.
20. She let Dan hold Lydia.
Despite him taking Keith from her life and depriving Jamie and Lydia the chance to meet their great uncle. This was the most selfless act Haley ever encountered. And in this scene you can't help but root for Dan. Thank you for being the wonderful person that you were Haley James-Scott.
I hope reading this and reliving these memories has made you want to sit in bed and rewatch the entire series because I'm already doing it. Here's to tutor girl. The girl we all wish we could've been in high school not only because she married Nathan Scott, but because of the person she was and grew to be. Here's to the girl who changed the world without even realizing it. Always and forever, Hales.
There's only one Tree Hill, Jamie Scott and it is your home.