"How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a/ Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a/ Forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence/ Impoverished, in squalor/ Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?" is what is first asked of the "ten dollar founding father without a father," Alexander Hamilton, in the opening number of the hit Broadway musical: "Hamilton."

My true introduction to this phenomenon was on youtube, where I found several videos of the show's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda (a certified genius, by the way) facilitating something dubbed #Ham4Ham, in which various cast members were performing outside of the Richard Rodgers theatre for those participating in the show's lottery. I had read about the show in several publications, but since the cast album was still in production, I hadn't really the chance to fall deeply in love with this show, about a long dead white dude.

I had kept tabs on the show's progress, but then in the fall, a magical thing happened: the complete cast album was released on Spotify. Since then, it's about the only thing I listen to.

All I knew about Alexander Hamilton before the advent of this sensational work of art was that: He was the treasury secretary, he had something to do with New York, He was on the $10 bill, and that he died in a duel. Aside from that, I was as ignorant as a fly. What Lin-Manuel Miranda has done has changed the world. I am certain that come October (when I get to see it, OMFG, #YAAAAAAAAS), I will still be as enamored as I am right now.

Did you know that you too can become one with the "Hamilton" fandom? Here's how:

1) Go watch THIS video RIGHT NOW. LMM= BAE!

2) His f**king wedding video.

3) How whenever he's excited or accepting an award, he drops some serious verse/ everything in this list.

4) Because this fandom has a load of jokes.

5) And because by the end of this, I'm hoping you're as in love as I am with Lin-Manuel Miranda and the beautiful thing that is "Hamilton."