To the show "The Vampire Diaries,"

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing my living room and computer screen on and off for the last eight years. I will never forget the memories made from the stories, the characters, and from enjoying all eight crazy seasons. I must admit, I have not seen season eight (the last season) entirely, but I did watch the finale. My 13-year-old self needed that closure. As a result, I am already giving you a spoiler warning because this finale was rough.

For those who may not know, "The Vampire Diaries" is about the life of Elena Gilbert, who falls for a vampire (unknown to her at the time their relationship started) Stefan Salvatore. Eventually she winds up having a crush and dating the older Salvatore brother, Damon. Because of her romantic relationships and friendships, Elena and her friends get dragged into the supernatural world of Mystic Falls. The show later focuses on Elena's friends and the Salvatore brothers especially once Elena is cursed into a long sleep at the end of season six.

Now, naturally, the show is labeled as a teen supernatural drama. It has elements of that throughout the show, but what drew me into it was the characters and their evolution and sometimes even their eventual demise. The endless arguments with my best friends during high school involved debating over Team Delena or Team Stelena and Steroline or Klaroline. I remember spending my teen years discussing who should end up with whom and which characters straight up drove us up a wall. Some seasons, quite frankly, were frustrating, but we still watched because the show gave us hope and something to look forward to each week.

However, while I did not watch the show every week as it aired, I would be supportive of friends who did. I ended up starting my on-and-off journey watching it on Netflix at the start of my senior year of high school and watched through season five on and off during my freshman year of college. After that point, I started getting busy and life happened. However, I returned to watching "The Vampire Diaries" after a long hiatus during my junior year of college and especially during the winter break. I had a week off of everything so what did I end up doing? Watch two full seasons of "The Vampire Diaries" in about a week, week and a half time span.

What sticks out is that you see every character grow up even if they are vampires who can't age. You see the transformations of several characters such as Elena and Caroline who start as humans but become vampires. You see their struggles to adapt with the new changes. You also see vampire including Damon, Stefan, Klaus, and many others on the show who are supernatural beings, but you see them transform and build complex relationships with other characters - human and not human - throughout the show as well.

I will miss Elena as she juggled being a vampire and secretly missing her humanity. Sure, I did not like Elena as a vampire, or her as a character in general, but I will miss the interactions with her best friends Bonnie and Caroline. Their true friendship is contagious and something we all deserve in life.

I will miss Stefan even more now after he died in the series finale. He appears as a harmless teddy bear but with his Ripper persona and tendencies, he is not afraid to get his hands dirty. He hurt his friends just like every other character in the show, but Stefan was always selfless and would help anyone in a heartbeat.

We obviously can't forget about Damon Salvatore with his quick remarks and his passionate and undying love for Elena. Yes, I was a Delena shipper. I have no shame. I will certainly miss Damon because he gave off that vibe that nothing could hurt him, but deep down, he was ready to do anything to protect, especially, his brother. I will never forget how he entered the show and how he left the show.

I will also miss seeing the short-lived ship of Bonnie and Enzo. It was one relationship I did not expect to happen, and it was such a pleasant surprise. I am forever thankful Bonnie survived the show. Probably my favorite character in the whole show. Cheers to you Bonnie and cheers to you seeing Enzo again in the afterlife. Still mad at Stefan for that.

Lastly, I will miss Caroline. She was such a selfless character once she transformed into a vampire (and when she did not switch off her humanity switch). Seriously, I think most of us did not like her in season 1. Aside from her relationships, Caroline looked for her friends first. She carried twins as a surrogate mom after Jo died, Alaric's wife. I'll miss Alaric and Damon's bro-mance, but Caroline, I will miss you a lot and you better end up with Klaus on the originals or I'm throwing popcorn everywhere.

After the emotionally draining series finale, I will miss "The Vampire Diaries" more than a lot of shows. I grew up watching it with my friends, followed it as long as I could, and the show became a part of my life. It does not hold as much emotional connection as "The Walking Dead" or "Supernatural", but it is up there. With the show closing, I will be loyal and continue to watch "The Originals." My memory of watching the finale will be one of sobbing for a solid half an hour, frantically punching my couch in excitement, and then back to sobbing, but this time in a happy way.

Thank you, "Vampire Diaries." Thank you for eight years of memories.

Always and forever, your fan,

Christina