The first time I watched Hamilton the musical, I didn’t like Aaron Burr.  

Now, after several rewatches and many spins of the soundtrack, Burr is officially one of my favorites after Lafayette, Laurens, Angelica and Eliza. (Side note: where the hell did Peggy disappear to after Satisfied?)

Back to Burr yeah? And the powerful anthem-ballad-manifesto-declaration that is Wait For It. The song and the character have occupied my mind this past week for the following reasons:

• I used to call Aaron Burr spineless for not standing for anything. I would like to formally retract my statement. You see I have come to understand that there is bravery in choosing a side, and also in waiting to see and weighing things out. That being said, A.Burr eventually chooses, takes a stand, only for A.Ham to pull the ground from under his feet. 

• The ability and discipline to wait is hard won, and takes a hell of a lot out of you mentally, emotionally and even physically. Biding your time, working quietly, hoping fervently to yourself that the destination offers an ease that makes this heavy journey worth it.

• When Burr says “I am inimitable”, it strikes a chord in my heart and head. Inimitable comes from the latin word inimitabilis. To be inimitable means “to be so good or unusual as to be impossible to copy”. I love that word. It takes courage to believe in yourself to that point. Courage and a healthy dose of delusion; two things I am constantly striving to have in my work and personal life. I want to have the courage to go for what I want and see it through and the delusion to believe I will get my desired outcome or better.

• Love doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints. Death doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints.Life doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints. Love, death and life take and take and take. Sometimes they take away the good, other times the bad. I’m still ruminating on what it all means.

• Much like Burr, I am discovering I have a legacy to protect and a new one to build. I never paid attention to legacy until recently, but I am trying not to see it as yet another weight on my shoulders. Like I say to myself when things get overwhelming, I was made for heavy lifting. Call me Sisyphus. (Insert obligatory and necessary Zeus is a raggedy bitch comment). All that to say I can take it because unlike Sisyphus, I can drop the weight and rest a while. 

• “I am the one thing in life I can control” is such real line. Ruminate on it and what control means to you, and how much control you have given away, and how to take it back.

To close out this Burr-inspired tapestry letter, here’s a slightly paraphrased line to always remember: We rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes and we keep living anyway. 

I’ll write again soon.

All typos are mine.

Love,

Jojo💙