I’ve been putting off writing something regarding "Hamilton" for a while now. Not because I didn’t know what to say, but simply because I wanted to do justice to this monster of a musical. Maybe it’s because Lin Manuel-Miranda put so much time into his historical masterpiece and I didn’t want to simply "throw away my shot" to say some nice things in 500 words or so. Maybe it’s because the sheer goodness of "Hamilton" made me want to "wait for it" and strive for something maybe half as great in writing. Or maybe, it is because "Hamilton" has rendered me "helpless" and has changed me for the better.

I have always been a musical fanatic. Since my ability to talk and walk I’ve had a melody and made even everyday life as musical as I could without breaking out into song on a table in the cafeteria. Among my favorite movies are such classics as "Singin’ in the Rain", "The Princess and the Frog", "The Last Five Years", "White Christmas"… I could go on and on naming beautiful musical after beautiful musical. Be it movie-made Broadway or straight-up Disney princess musical I devour all things that incorporate song and dance into everyday life. So it only made sense that I became a fan of "Hamilton".

Although "Hamilton" already fit the mold of "music" and "real life" thrust together, and it only seemed fitting for me to become utterly obsessed with it… there was something different about this obsession. In my mind, I wasn’t simply gushing about these astounding harmonies, lyrics and melodic ideas (which, of course, are all genius). No. I was learning something new with every listen. I was not just learning about the lives of fictional musical characters, but real historical figures. Real people! "Hamilton" is the embodiment of musical genius and historical retelling and it simply makes my heart melt.

The way I see it, Lin has got to be one of the cleverest and most versatile performer/musician/historian (for that matter) ever to grace this planet. His brain blows my mind. How one single person can come up with 2.5 hours-worth of straight-up awesomeness I will never understand. Though I do understand how positively his works have changed me.

Since my obsession with this whirlwind musical I have become an avid reader. Does it make any sense? Beats me, but I know my recent hunger for reading constantly sprung up not long after the tidal wave of crazed "Hamilton" love and references. I am constantly in a state of wanting to learn and know more, whether it be fiction or not. And maybe it’s just being a little older and realizing the beauty of reading… or maybe it’s the beauty of "Hamilton" and its educational infection it has on people. And who knows, maybe it’s just me that has this sudden urge to know more…or maybe it’s the masses. If Lin Manuel-Miranda can make something so fantastic out of something as stereotypically mundane as history then I wanna read history! I want to read science and biographies and poetry and Shakespeare and "Harry Potter" and loads and loads of books to expand my heart and mind. I want to be ever learning, ever expanding my little pond of knowledge. I want to be a historian of a multitudes.

And who do I have to thank for this new fervid passion? Why, none other than the incomparable Lin Manuel-Miranda and his masterpiece "Hamilton: An American Musical".