Making Of

I can never remember a time in the fleeting memories of my past when creativity was not at the epicenter of my life. As an impressionable child, the feats of engineering in “Phineas and Ferb” captivated my slowly-adapting brain. Many believe that the loss of innocent curiosity serves as a negative watermark on the image of a “mature” person in the ever-changing world of today. Fortunately, I never grew out of my curiosity; unlike others, my ambitious creativity reaped the most meaningful rewards.

As I moved through high school, I strummed a guitar given to me in third grade. Through my teen years I wrote songs and melodies, each allocating more bricks to my artistic foundation. The base was almost fully-formed when the thunderstorm of the coronavirus pandemic sank a bolt cracking deep into its foundation. I began to doubt my dreams as whispers told me to face the struggles like everyone else.

One night, my weary eyes gazed upon a video of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. I listened to the very last song, an ode to ambition that captured my futuristic motives. Ecstatically I knew, with the heart of an ambitious storyteller, I could write a musical; I could fulfill my love for inspiring others by inspiring others to love through my songs.

With an empty canvas in front of me, I searched for a story worth telling, a story that would inspire, a story that would encapsulate the human experience. I was reminded of my grandfather. With a frisson of energy I interviewed my grandmother, who told me of her husband’s drive to establish a community college.

Spanning innumerable hours over two years, each gleaming piece of the “musical puzzle” fit into place. Infusing the music with lyrics gave me a realistic sense of my grandfather’s struggle and triumph; I could see him projecting hope on stage, or suffering with others during treacherous times. The pandemic was my time to tell that story. Sometimes to jump the chasm of one’s creative dreams, one needs a push, and my musical stands as a testament to that spontaneity.