If there's one thing I really just can't get enough of, it's "Hamilton: An American Musical." Not only did I listen to the entire soundtrack more time than I would like to mention last school year, but I also found that it can be very relevant today, even to college students. So here are seven different types of students you can find on any college campus, as depicted by the musical "Hamilton."
1. The Actual Genius.
College is tough, but you made it, which means that you’re smart enough to do this. Some people, however, including that person in your extremely large General Chemistry Lecture who somehow knows the answer to every single question there ever was, can seem to be on a completely different level. Who knows? They might be the next Hamilton, who at only 19 felt that his “mind was older.”
2. The Self-Starter.
No need to wait until the Professor mentions that you do in fact have a paper due in less than a week (and that it has been on your syllabus all semester), the self-starter has been working on this assignment, or any assignment for that matter, since long before the due date. They’re motivated, they’re on top of their schoolwork, and they’re the type of person that shares a character trait with Hamilton himself.3. The Patient Student.
Sometimes it takes a bit longer than expected to get that grade back for the Calculus exam you’re pretty sure that you totally failed. Sometimes it takes a while to even figure out what you’re majoring in and why you didn’t meet your best college friends the first day you spent on campus, but that’s OK. Patience is key, and the patient student, like Aaron Burr himself, knows that all good things come to those who wait.
4. The (Ever So Slight) Over-Reactor.
OK, so you didn’t do as great on your first French quiz as you thought you would, but don’t panic. You’ll have many more chances to show that you’ve mastered the language before the semester is over, and one bad grade isn’t the end of the word. College is tough, these classes are meant to challenge you far more than anything you’ve ever taken up to this point, and so you shouldn’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch. Don’t overreact, and please don’t be a King George III.
5. The Reinvented Student.
You’re away from home, you’re away from everything you’ve known for the last almost twenty years of your life, and that alone can be a bit frightening, but some students take that change not as a roadblock, but as an opportunity. For some, college is a time to be the person they’ve always wanted to be, to be more social, more outgoing, more studious, or really anything. We may not be in New York, and you may not be a man, but if they’re one thing Hamilton has to teach, it’s that in a new place, you have the right to be a new you.6. The Hard Worker.
The ideal student, the one we should all aspire to be, and in our own way, all are. I mean, we did make it to college, so we have to be doing something right. For the hard worker, even the toughest of assignments can be completed with a whole lot of time, and a whole lot of effort. Like the Schuyler sisters themselves, the hard worker knows that anything is possible if you put in a little “work!”7. The Happy Student.
I know sometimes it feels like the world is working against you, and there are a million reasons why you shouldn’t be happy, but I think we can all agree there’s nothing better than talking to someone who always has a smile on their face, and who is always willing to share with you why you should have a million reasons to smile too. You’re growing up, times are changing, but even in the face of the many challenges that lay ahead, there is always a reason to be happy, and in the words of Burr himself, to “smile more.”
