Hang on tightly, this is going to be one of those “If-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie” type of blog posts.

A few nights ago I saw Potted Potter. It’s a seventy minute theatrical show that summarizes the seven Harry Potter book series written by JK Rowling. When the show was over, my mind was racing because I was in awe of the concept. The production was unique, creative and was not at all what I expected. My guess is that the writing has a lot to do with the success of the show which began in October 2006. This show reminded me that the writing for many theatrical shows are TOTALLY KICK ASS! Of course, in my opinion, the best kick ass show in theaters right now is Hamilton.

I’m sure there are some documentaries about Alexander Hamilton on the History Channel but I’m guessing none have been as effective as telling his story by using rap music. Lin-Manuel Miranda is an excellent story teller who decided to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton in his own way. Thanks to LMM’s creative genius, many people of all ages have learned that Alexander Hamilton and his writings played a major role in the country that we live in today.

By watching the musical Hamilton and listening to the Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording (a.k.a. the CDs) many times, I learned that Alexander Hamilton had the ability to influence great leaders with his writing and he also swooned the ladies by writing them letters. In other words, he was an effective communicator because of his writing skills. Hamilton wrote and he wrote and he wrote - as if he was “running out of time.”

Which leads me to my friend who blogs as if she’s “running out of time.” Her name is Abbie Johnson and her blog is called Dear Life. She has so much to say and implores us to view ourselves positively. When Abbie announced that she would be blogging I was thrilled because her social media posts were always great and I knew she would be amazing. She is my modern day Hamilton in that she writes and she writes and she writes. She’s young (around 40ish) , scrappy (as most of us moms are) and hungry (mostly for food, not so much for fighting). {In case you’re wondering, I embellished a line in a Hamilton song}.

And when I thought about being young, it lead me to think of The Wildling. It’s an organization that two sisters, friends of mine, formed for young people to express themselves in creative ways. Most of these expressions involve - you guessed it - writing. Nurturing the youth by offering a safe space to say what’s on their minds will reap so many benefits. I’m sure amongst them, effective writers will emerge and many will succeed in getting their choice of message out there. These middle schoolers will change the world!

Now let’s review: After seeing Potted Potter, I thought about Hamilton. I wouldn’t have known about this historical Founding Father if Lin-Manuel Miranda didn’t write his own story about Alexander Hamilton. And it was because I saw the musical Hamilton, that I was able to learn that A. Ham wrote and wrote and wrote. Which led me to tell you about Abbie who is effectively writing to help people with their self image via Dear Life. And then her youth reminded me of group called The Wildling which I thought was important to share because the youth is our future. See how that all tied together?

Whenever I find myself asking, “How does one come up with the very first plot of Harry Potter and the first rap music history lesson?” and “How can one person influence thousands of people, enough to spark theatrical performances based on someone’s story?” It all gets traced back to writing. Writing is the common thread.

It may seem like a stretch but when a writer shares their collection of thoughtfully chosen words, emotions, tone, punctuation etc. they are giving their readers thoughtful pinches . Leave it to me to find the thoughtfulness in any form that I can. Look at it this way: when we receive these writings, they are gifts in the form of Harry Potter books or the musical Hamilton etc., these pieces are life-changing and it’s all because of a writer! I’m so grateful.

Pinches,

Barb