After a three-year hiatus, the musical “Hamilton” returned to the Windy City last week for a multi-week run. Created by Lin Manuel Miranda, a clever lyricist who composed music for “Moana”  and “Encanto,” “Hamilton” is universal, a musical that everyone can relate to and learn from. 

Born in the mid-18th century, founding father Alexander Hamilton rose to the top, becoming the nation’s first treasury secretary. His life was cut short, however, when Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot him in a duel. Despite that, when Hamilton was alive, he made an effort to care for his wife, Eliza, and eight children. And when he died, Eliza, who outlived him by 50 years, made it her job to protect his legacy.

Alexander and Eliza’s relationship reminds us that no matter how high you climb, never lose sight of family and friends, the people who support you no matter what. Make them the number-one priority in your life, with your job second to them. 

Despite an almost two-year obsession with the musical, that point made by “Hamilton”  only started to resonate with me late last month when I started my second year on the “New Trier News.” Eager to write stories, I spent a whole week most lunch periods either interviewing or tracking down who to interview. I became so absorbed in my work that, in the process, I lost track of time and neglected people around me. 

That has happened to everyone. We each want to be successful, and for students especially, the pressure is on with college admissions and having your whole life ahead of you. That means academics and extracurriculars matter, but that is only one piece of the puzzle on how to have a successful life. Your relationships with your family and friends provide you with what a textbook cannot: human connection. 

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“Hamilton” reminds us that when you connect with friends and family, they help you understand the world and yourself more, adding depth to the utterly blank template that academics and extracurriculars alone provide.

To make time for your friends and family, you need to think about why you do not have a balance in your life. And that could mean you need to be real with yourself. You are not Superman. Nobody is. We are human. We can not be everywhere, doing everything, at once. 

I love what I do. It is what I am passionate about, and when you are passionate about something, you do whatever it takes to excel at that. And for me, I believed that that meant writing more stories than the people around me. Yet, quantity does not equal quality. 

And when you have more quantity, more than what is expected and needed from you, you become overwhelmed and overworked, which only causes you to doubt yourself and what you are capable of. 

At the end of the day, listen to yourself. Know what you have the energy for, but save some for your family and friends. Burr, however, discovered that balance was possible only after Hamilton was gone. 

In the words of Aaron Burr, the world was wide enough.