By: Ozkul Ege Akin

I would definitely characterize myself as a great follower of Hamilton, especially when it comes to writing, because just like him I write like “I’m running out of time”! Well, it may only seem to Hamilton as if he’s running out of time but when I write I am usually literally running out of time! Just like I’m doing right now!

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I feel like I am a slow writer when it comes to free writing but I tend to get more focused and creative when I’m running out of time. I usually check the subject and topic of what I’m going to write and I even might write down how and what I’m going to write about on a separate piece of paper, so it’s easier when I’m writing. However, I always have difficulty in resisting the pleasure of procrastination! – I mean how could you even think about writing an assignment when you can socialize, work out or be on your phone as you watch Netflix instead! – After I’m done with my writing plan I will usually lose focus until the due date arrives and then I get stressed and get in a mindset even unknown to me! Being an underwater athlete, I have had to learn how to meditate, calm myself and focus, and I use this method almost every time I’m writing, and even doing any other type of homework or studying. I do not do any type of other prewriting except my brainstorms on paper and I don’t eat or drink while I’m writing. To be able to get extremely focused and undisturbed while I write I usually look for an environment with no sound and movement that can interrupt me, which is generally my desk in my room or the library. For my last step, I put my laptop in airplane mode and turn my phone off. Sometimes I even lock my door for further psychological relaxation. Now that I’m completely “out of the current world” I start in writing.

When I’m writing, I completely focus on the subject I’m writing about and I usually do my best to finish it quickly so I donot stray from the topic because of the rush of more ideas I get while I’m writing. If I’m suddenly greeted with a great idea I can embed in my writing I will write it down on my “sheet of brainstorming” and continue to finish my writing. After I am done, I usually revise the whole writing once without adding anything except grammatical and vocabulary corrections, then I study my text to add the other ideas I got while writing or revising it. I love taking these steps while I’m writing because I found that trying to add new ideas to my text while I’m writing it usually ends up in a disaster! Therefore, I find myself usually adding a couple more sentences to my writing. Lastly, I revise it one last time for basic errors, and I’m finished!

By: Ege Akin

There is a lot to absorb from the ideologies conveyed in the musical “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Having studied Hamilton and his life thoroughly for and during class, I now have started to implement Hamilton and Burr’s ideologies in my life. For my first blog post I had reflected on the importance of repetition and what it meant for the main characters’ visions. I would like to bring these lines back, since they have helped me a lot in my perspective of life. The repetition used to mainly reflect Hamilton’s ideology is: “I am not throwing away my shot” from the song “My Shot”. On the other hand, Hamilton’s rival Aaron Burr uses the repetition of the lyric “wait for it” many times, in the song “Wait for It” to convey the exact opposite opinion about reaching success. However, I have come to the conclusions via my own experiences that we can take both of these recommendations, since different conditions need unique solutions.

In order to give a right decision, every aspect of the situation must be analyzed, and all decisions cannot be made upon just a certain claim. For example, just a couple of days ago, I was a part of the team that won the American Underwater Hockey National Championship. If I hadn’t “taken my shot” when I had my shot we wouldn’t have won. In moments like these one must push himself/herself to the limit and waste no time, or else the shot will be wasted. On the other hand, due to the current political instability in Turkey, living in America instead of Turkey seems much more secure, after graduating from college. However, the years 2020 and 2023 are very important for Turkey’s economic and political freedom. Thus, this time I have to “wait for it” in order to be able to give the best decision for myself. In my opinion, there are two ways of approaching problems which one can learn from the musical “Hamilton”, however he/she must use these approaches according to the certain situation and conditions presented.

“Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda reflects its audience that neither of the two main ideologies are wrong, because they both aid their followers very much in the pursue of success. However, after the analysis of the problem and requirements, if one chooses the wrong one of these two ideologies, the end is devastating. This is clearly conveyed by the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. In the duel Hamilton holds his shot, thereby violating his own ideology, whereas Burr takes the show, also violating his ideology

of “waiting for it”. Therefore, due to these mistakes, Alexander Hamilton dies and Aaron Burr has to carry the weight of murdering a friend for the rest of his life. In conclusion, whatever your problem is and however inextricable it may seem, if you just implement the ideologies of Hamilton and Burr you will see it clearer and surpass it to be stronger than you were before.