January 21, 2016. The day I peaked.

Why, you ask?

One word: Hamilton.

Alexander Hamilton.

We all know his name from history class. Hamilton was America’s first treasury secretary, who was shot and killed by Vice President Aaron Burr during a duel in 1804. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that there is a new hit Broadway musical called “Hamilton,” telling the story of his life in newborn America.

If for some reason you don’t know about “Hamilton,” I’ll tell you a little about it.

Hamilton is almost exclusively hip-hop and rap music, but it also incorporates other genres like show tune and Beatle-esque Britpop. Composer/lyricist/actor/genius/love of my life Lin-Manuel Miranda is the writer and composer of “Hamilton,” and also stars as the “young, scrappy and hungry” title character. In 2008, Miranda won Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score for his Broadway musical, “In The Heights.” We are expecting no less for the 2016 Tony Awards, which theatre kids everywhere have affectionately dubbed the “Hamil-Tonys.”

The cast also includes acclaimed rapper Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, “In The Heights” original cast member Christopher Jackson as George Washington, and a number of Broadway newcomers such as Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton) and Anthony Ramos (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton) and veterans such as Jonathan Groff (King George), Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr), Renee Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler) and Okieriete Onaodowan (Hercules Mulligan/James Madison). Direction is by Thomas Kail, musical direction/orchestration by Alex Lacamoire, and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler.

As a theatre enthusiast, I knew about “Hamilton” even before the cast recording was released on iTunes in September. I memorized the lyrics in just a week, researched Hamilton’s life extensively and followed the entire cast on Twitter and Instagram. I can recite the soundtrack in order. I can name every cast member from memory (I’m not joking. Ask me). I’m basically obsessed. And on Jan. 21- the best day of my LIFE- I got to see “Hamilton” while in New York City for a long weekend of college auditions. The tickets were an 18th birthday present (Thank you, Mom and Dad).

You can imagine how excited I was. Actually, you probably can’t. Words don’t really describe how I felt. I spent that entire Thursday on a plane and was only in Manhattan for a few hours before the show. Until I just about ran into the exquisite Richard Rodgers Theatre, it hadn’t quite hit me yet that I was SEEING “HAMILTON.”

I bought three shirts and several souvenirs at the merchandise kiosk-sorry, checking account- and then took my seat in the center orchestra, row 12. The most suspenseful five seconds of my life were upon me. I opened my program slowly and carefully, with the most intense fear and nervousness I’ve ever felt- and saw it. The insert. If you’ve ever been to a Broadway show, you’ll know what it means- an original cast member is absent. My heart stopped. I scanned the page quickly, and saw no one was missing. I could breathe again-almost, except I remembered that I was seeing “Hamilton” in a matter of minutes.

The next few moments were a blur. I was high-key hyperventilating. I took a commemorative selfie with my mom that I hardly remember. Then the lights dimmed and the show began.

“The Wall Street Journal” called “Hamilton,” “the most exciting and significant musical of the decade.” “The New York Times” claimed it to be “a show that aims impossibly high and hits its target.” Billboard named it the number two album of the year. The 2016 Grammys granted it Best Musical Theatre Album. President Barack Obama has seen it THREE TIMES.

All I can say is that “Hamilton” was everything people say it is, and then times a trillion. I laughed. I cried more. Through Miranda’s incredible music, Kail and Blankenbuehler’s stunning staging and choreography and the entire cast’s breathtaking delivery, I was nothing short of moved. It is undoubtedly the most phenomenal, poignant piece of theatre I have ever experienced, and I love it with all my heart. 

My particular favorite numbers are “Wait For It,” “It’s Quiet Uptown” and “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.” All three brought me to tears when I first heard them, and seeing them live was beyond words. In the first number, Burr reveals his entire character and explains the fundamental difference between him and Hamilton that ultimately is irreparable. Odom Jr. is so fascinating to watch- his every glance is focused, every move calculated. He understands Burr perfectly. In the second number, the Hamilton’s are faced with an “unimaginable” heartbreak. Miranda and Soo were there. I have never been so affected by a pair onstage. Simple as that. And the latter, the closing number, was so insanely amazing that I can’t even come up with better adjectives. As an epilogue, it closes the story beautifully and leaves the audience with a pertinent question- Who will tell my story? If you’ve heard that song, let’s just say there’s a surprise at the very end that made me cry throughout the entire curtain call.

Miranda calls his musical “a story about America then, told by America now.” One of the most brilliant things about “Hamilton,” is the purposefully diverse cast. The founding fathers of “Hamilton” are African American and Latino men. The Schuyler sisters are Chinese American, African American and Latina. Miranda is even open to the possibility of a woman playing Hamilton. America no longer belongs to the old, rich and white men. Miranda embraces and celebrates this.

So anyway, “Hamilton” killed me. I waited at the stage door for an hour and a half after the performance. Luckily for me, there were a few other die-hard Hamilton fans who kept me company as we braved the crowd and the cold. Even though I got so sick because of the near-freezing temperature, it was worth it because I met Leslie, Daveed, Chris, Renee, Betsy, Kamille and Alex (I consider us all on a first name basis). Lin even TWEETED ME and my new stage door friend, Gracie, in apology for not coming to the stage door. I forgive him.

Some other stuff happened that weekend. I auditioned for two colleges and trekked through the record-breaking snowstorm Jonas to meet a friend at NYU. Nothing super exciting, I guess.