Hannah Montana, I Love You
On March 24, 2026, Miley Cyrus made the Hanniversary a reality. She explained in the special that the reason she chose a special episode was because it was easily accessible to all. She recognized that not all have the financial means to attend a concert, and she cannot hit every city and country in the world. She, instead, took it back to what gave her the career, watching her on out tv screens. She had special guests and I like to think that some of them healed her. She was truly proud of herself and grateful to the fanbase for making Hannah who she is, an icon.
I have been a fan of Hannah Montana for more of my life than not. I was 4 when the show aired, but as a barbie doll, dress up lover, it was my perfect niche. I loved Hannah's style and the glamour. I loved singing and dancing to her songs. She was the first fan base I was apart of. I did enjoy the regular story line, as well. It was my dream to have a girl and boy best friend, just like her on the show. I mimicked the storylines with my Barbies, it was truly an inspiration for creative and imaginary play. The jokes were well thought out and easy for all age groups to understand. I watched the movie every chance I got, and eve find myself watching it every summer as an adult. She was everything to me, but as I have grown up I have come to realize just how much she really meant to me.
Growing up, my mother could not afford Disney Channel which made it hard to watch my favorite show. My mother was also a single mom and was trying to juggle raising me and her brother. Sometimes, she needed to work extra shift to make ends meet. So my Godparents would babysit me, but they would say that they invited me over to watch Hannah Montana on their television because they had Disney. They watched episodes with me, applauded my dancing, and even tried singing with me. I did not feel my mothers absents as strongly because Hannah was there to make me feel better. She was there for me when I did not even know I needed someone there. When I think back to those times, I feel happiness even though it should have been the darkest parts of my story.
My father and I had been separated by boarders before I even knew what that meant. So it was my mom and I against the world. Miley and her father made me realize that it's not the end of the world to only have one parents. The show taught me that everything would be okay. As I grew up, I realized that Miley was greiving and was able to move forward because she knew it was what her mother would want from her. When my father passed, I was 17 and watched the Hannah Montana movie again. I used it as a guide on grief. The movie shows grief in many ways. Miley goes back to her roots and reconnects to the land her mother loved, her father starts dating again, and her grandmother gets to see her daughter in Miley. It helped me see things a bit different about what I was going through. It still took therapy, of course, but having something to connect back to my childhood helped make the process a bit more clear.
Now, I am 24 years old and have the same love for the character, if not even deeper. Hannah showed us that there is beauty in simplicity. There had to be something about being 'normal' that made it worth it for Miley to create a whole separate life in order to experience it. Miley showed us that even those we view as 'perfect' have complex feelings and go through the same trials and tribulations we go through. She taught us that it matters how we treat people. She taught us that being who you are is the true success in life. So, thank you Hannah, I love you so much.
