By: Clarisa Colton
I don’t know if I can quite draw a parallel between Hamilton’s relentless pursuit of his work and my experience at Tech. Not that I don’t work hard – I feel like I do at least – but I feel like Hamilton’s life at age 19 differs so much from my own, as well as most other Tech students. For example, when Hamilton was just 20 (ok, maybe 22) he was first appointed as Washington’s aide. I feel like the kind of work that gets a person from where Hamilton started to there is not the kind of work I can possibly parallel with my own.
One thing that had really fascinated me throughout the musical is the fact that all these things (albeit slightly dramatized) are real things that happened. For me, it’s nearly impossible to reconcile the things that go on in the musical to someone’s real life. I think it goes to show how different things are today. In today’s world, I do not believe what Hamilton was able to accomplish at his age would be feasible. Although the age to be a United States Representative is 25 (Hamilton’s age when first on Congress), the youngest person currently a member of the House of Representatives is 33 – nearly 10 years older than Hamilton was. And I’m sure their efforts were relentless to get there.
As I listened and watched Hamilton, part of me considered how little I feel I’ve done compared to Hamilton, and others in the musical, I’ve realized it’s not really fair to compare myself to them. Today is a much different United States than was back then, and Hamilton himself was probably 1 in a million. But still, it’s incredible to learn the extent of what Hamilton was able to accomplish in his brief 47 (or 49) years.
I guess there are some people who you could compare him to – people like Steve Jobs. You know, those guys who are/were so incredibly smart and passionate about what they did that they excel beyond anyone else. So, in that sense, there are parallels that can be drawn between him and more contemporary people – but not your average Tech Student for sure.
