A Transition

Rent had a powerful impact on my life.

I do not have AIDS. I don't know anybody personally who has had AIDS, nor anybody (that I know of) who has had issues with herion addiction. Hell, I've barely even known anyone who's died during the short span of my life. But for some reason, the pure sense of loss that is present in this movie/musical was the source of my emotional rebirth.

I'd never seen the musical before it came to movie theatres, regrettably, and my choir teacher, who is now retired, decided, right after the release of the movie, to have our choir do a version of Seasons of Love, which is the main, recurring song in the musical. Since I'd never seen it before, and my teacher was known for spoiling the end of movies and plays, I decided to rent Rent and see it before he had the opportunity. 

I watched the movie by myself after my parents went to bed because they have no interest in musicals what-so-ever, and I really enjoyed the first half. It was very entertaining, lots of fun and dancing and just enjoying life, because life is a celebration. Then during the second half of the movie, I just started to cry. Granted, the second half of the movie is a (delightful) slap in the face after so much fun in the first half. But before Rent, I had never cried during a movie or song before. I sobbed through the whole last part, and kept crying afterwards, and then cried myself to sleep. 

After I saw the movie, I cried during every movie I saw. I found certain songs I could not get through without losing a tear. I identified with every person that I saw, and felt their pain, knew their struggle, and I am perfectly content as an emotional sponge.

the fact that it made me "overly" emotional is not the only way I'm connected to this musical and song. It was also the highlight of my high school career because I got to sing a solo during the concert. You can't hear it in the clip they provide on this page, but anyone who knows the song, knows the part that "Joanne" sings in the middle. That was my solo. The only one I ever did, though I wished after I did this one I'd done more because I nailed it, and everyone was shocked because nobody knew I could sing. 

The night of that concert was the "Cinderella Night" for me that I believe everyone should have. The one experience that stands out among the rest and kind of points out your direction in life. I know I like performing in many ways. I'm a stage person, and as long as the people I'm performing with are as into what they're doing as I am, I'm pretty decent!