This past year Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton – An American Musical” took the theatre world by storm. It tells the seemingly untold story of founding father Alexander Hamilton in a way that no one would have ever expected – a rap musical. In 2016 it was nominated for 16 Tony Awards – setting a new record – and won 11. It became so popular that it even apparently saved Hamilton’s face on the $10 bill.

However, for me, in my senior year, it became so much more than just a musical. It was a reminder of how far I’ve come and brought me back to the things that I used to love. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing and the environment – which is why I will be graduating with a B.A. in Communications and minors in both Environmental Studies and Creative Writing – but there are loves that I had forgotten during my ‘finish your degree’ classes.

For instance, Hamilton was a good reminder of the fact that I actually came to Catawba College for their Theatre Arts program. Now, four years later I realized that I had almost lost touch with theatre and all of my friends there, so I tried to get together with more people again in my senior year. Hamilton also reminded me of my love for history and my time in Dr. McAllister’s 8 a.m. ‘The Contemporary World’ my freshman year. Finally, Hamilton was a reminder that I had stopped listening to music for enjoyment and that I had stopped singing for fun almost entirely. My fellow senior, Brittany Beal, and I soon discovered that the Hamilton Musical soundtrack lasted the exact amount of time from home to school and from school to home and it became a tradition whenever we took a trip to sing along to the entire thing.

But how does Hamilton really epitomize senior year? Well, there’s the obvious, “why do you write like you’re running out of time?” that showcases how senior-itis makes nights run long and sleep run short when working on an assignment. Or the “look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now” moments when you get a test back and it’s not as terrible a grade as you expected. But Hamilton also tells us about what it means to be an American.

Now, more than ever, as we leave this place as graduates it is important for us to remember what we believe in, what we want to fight for, and which side of history we want to be on. To my fellow senior class graduates, “history has its eyes on you” so “do not throw away your shot.”