Dawson’s Creek is my Soul Mate.

Picture it, Wednesday night, January 20th, 1998. I remember like it was yesterday. I was watching my favorite show at the time, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, on the WB (this was the CW before it became the CW). During the commercial breaks aired throughout “Buffy”, were promos for a new show that was about to premiere right after called “Dawson’s Creek”.  It said that it from the writer and creator of “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” – two of my favorite movies at the time, so I decided to give a watch. To say that I was “blown away” would be a complete understatement.  I was FLOORED. Obsessed. Completely Hooked.  I grew up in front of the television, but I had never had anything hit me the way “Dawson’s Creek” did.  Not only was I able to relate to the four main characters because they were all the same age as me on the show, but just like the main character Joey, I too had a best friend who was a boy. And just like Joey, I was always confused by the way I felt about this boy.  On one hand, he was my friend who I knew all too well and never wanted anything to come in the way of that and ruin our friendship, but on the other hand, I had developed feelings for him and no other girl could ever have him. Selfish, I know, but if you watch the show it all works out the way it should. (#teampacey !!)

Flash forward 20 years.  Its the 20th anniversary of that very night, and since then I have re-watched the entire series from Season 1, Episode 1 to Season 6, Episode 24, 15 times through. <WARNING: Spoilers ahead> My heart still skips a beat when Dawson watches in awe of Joey singing during the beauty pageant in Season 1, I still cheer at the screen when Joey and Pacey sail off into the sunset at the end of Season 3, and I still cry my eyes out during the series finale when Jen passes away. I even walked down the aisle to the theme song “I Don’t Want to Wait” by Paula Cole, on my wedding day. Dawson’s Creek will forever be a part of me. Dawson himself put it best; “A soul mate is someone who you carry with you forever.” Dawson’s Creek is my soulmate.  On my 29th birthday, I flew myself out to Wilmington, NC, to visit many of the locations used as filming sites for the series.  Below are pictures of my journey.  Enjoy the insanity.