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Hamilton

In 2008 I received an email about In the Heights, a new hip-hop and latin flavored musical.  That was the day I was introduced to the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda.  His ability to turn a phrase in a moment without breaking a sweat is mesmerizing.  

In 2009, invited to perform at the white house's Spoken Word & Poetry night, Mr. Miranda blew audiences away (including the president) with first installment of the Hamilton Mixtape.  Originally conceived as a hip-hop concept album about the life and legend, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.  From that day, fans eagerly awaited the next installment of this new project.  After admitting it's a musical and not an album, a Lincoln center concert and a reading at Vassar, the Public theater announced the premiere of Hamilton in their 2015 season.  Six years of waiting finally came to an end.  

Knowing the run would sell out quickly I became a member of the Public theater to ensure access to pre-sale tickets.  In May 2014 tickets were officially on sale.  So naturally, I bought two tickets for the first preview and one more ticket for a show PLUS a talk back.  Next thing I know the show is extended.  BEFORE IT EVEN OPENED.  Take a minute to process that fact.  There is so much excitement and anticipation for Mr. Miranda's show that it was extended MONTHS before the show was fully completed.  (that last bit might be an exaggeration but it's one i'm fully comfortable with.)

It wasn't long before the entire run sold out. Once the new year rolled around and tech rehearsals were well under way additional performances were added.  Meaning the show was extended AGAIN.  Obviously I bought another set of tickets for closing night completely understanding the show may be extending making a new date closing night.  Because there is no doubt in my mind of how amazing the show will be I am pretty sure the show will be extended again and picked up to move to broadway.  Which basically means, I am buying another ticket ensuring I experience closing night.  

Till then, I am counting down to January 21st at 8pm.  For it will be in my top 5 NY experiences.  Right underneath the In the Heights Reunion concert and above meeting Ranbir Kapoor.

Timing

Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "There is nothing we have to fear, but fear itself."  I constantly repeated those iconic words whenever I felt overwhelmed in hopes to calm my nerves.  It never worked.  Though I understood the sentiment of the quote, I did not know how to take a step back and work through the overflowing emotions that clouded my sensibility.  Nevertheless, that did not stop me.  The quote still runs through my mind constantly because, I believe, even though right now it is just a string of meaningless words, one-day it will click.

Ironically, it was not the quote itself that suddenly became clear; it was my mindset.  I graduated from college five years ago.  I dropped the idea of becoming an accountant and owning my own firm four years ago and it has been three years since I began working at my father's pediatric practice.  Only now am I letting go of my fears and anxiety in attempt to spread my wings.

Someone once told me that he puts himself in awkward situations in order to face his anxiety thinking, "What's the worst that could happen? What do I have to lose?"  My friends said those exact phrases to me over the past couple of years to no avail.  Yet, for some reason, this time, in this setting, it stuck.  

Fear holds me back from achieving my potential.  With that knowledge, I strive to accept the existence of my fears in order push through them.  Fear will not be the reason I do not succeed in life.  Fear will not paralyze me from stepping outside my comfort zone.  

Nevertheless, for those moments of angst, I will close my eyes, take a deep breath, and remind myself I have nothing to lose.  


"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." ~FDR

Awareness

As a child I believed my mind was like a messy room with clothes everywhere.  Cleaning the room would be the only way to have a clear and peaceful mind.  With that, I would be able to achieve anything.  I figured the only way to "clean my messy mind" was to journal all my thoughts as often as possible.  It wasn't until years later when I attended a spiritual yoga class that I realized it was not about the writing itself but the questions we  chose to ask ourselves.  The course forced me to dig deeper than I ever intended.  Occasionally, it caused me to walk away from journaling for days at a time just because I was not prepared for what I would uncover.  Ultimately, I was always pleasantly surprised how painless and eye opening the discovery was.

If nothing else, the class taught me to be aware.  To notice not only what's going on around me, but my own reactions to my surroundings.  In the beginning, I realized that I always gave people the benefit of the doubt, even when they used words to stab me.  I thought,"Maybe they are reacting to something I said or did.  I should watch myself."  Analyzing my every move and every conversation, I tried to make sure I never at fault for another's adverse emotion.  

Though I believe it is important to be aware of ones actions, constant analysis of those actions can be counter productive and give way for one to enter into an emotionally abusive relationship.  A relationship where ones' own feelings are not respected on the same level as another's.  I noticed my own thought process was falling into that category. It wasn't until a friend pointed out how others were treating me that I allowed myself to feel insulted/offended by their actions, even though I felt it at the time.

My emotions are valid and should be treated as such.  So I need to find a balance where my emotions do not get the best of me and my analysis does not discount my feelings.  This will allow me to stand-up to over bearing personalities.  It is time for me to stand-up.

The Answer Man

Kris Lucas: Why can't I do the things I want to do?  There is so much I know I'm capable of that  I never actually do.  Why is that?

Arlen Faber: The trick is to realize that you're always doing what you want to do...always.  Nobody is making you do anything.  Once you get that, you see that you're free and that life is really just a series of choices.  Nothing happens to you.  You choose.

~The Answer Man (2009)

After graduating from a mildly prestigious high school and receiving a degree from a decent University, I moved home, jobless.  With a degree in Accounting, my father decided it would be best for me to work at his accountant's office.  Looking back, I was not ready to work full time or mature enough to handle the 9-5 lifestyle.  Therefore, it turned out to be a horrible experience.  I dreaded waking up in the morning and dragging myself to work only to input data.  I didn't work hard or try my hardest.  When I finally decided to make the best of a bad situation, I was too paranoid to accomplish anything.  So here I am three years later, living at home, working at my dad's office still unaware of what I want to do with my life; still unaware of who I am.

When I heard the quote above, I thought,"That's exactly how I feel."  I also believe there is a truth in the response given.  I chose to not grab the opportunity in front of me, but rather complain about the surroundings as though I was better.  I chose to look at what I wanted as unattainable and then make excuses for how it is not deemed an appropriate profession.  Those were my choices.

I sit here now wondering how time passed me by.  How am I quickly approaching thirty with no career in sight?  How am I not the person I thought I would be?  After months of wallowing (as I often tend to do) I realized all I needed was a goal.  When I set my goal it felt unreachable in the near future.  I didn't want to lower my goal because that felt as though it was unattainable and nothing is unattainable.  It just wasn't right for more immediate change in my life.  

So now I have to set daily goals.  If I manage to achieve the goals set for the day, then it can be deemed a good day.  An accomplished day.  The way I see it, eventually the goals will become more complex and I will actually be living up to my potential.  Till then I'm just taking life one day at a time.

Anxiety

Third grade was the year of three-minute arithmetic tests.  Each student had three minutes to correctly calculate 100 problems of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. I distinctly remember the different colored paper for each exam.  My heart raced and my mind became flustered as I tried to answer addition questions on the bright pink sheet of paper.  It seemed as though my classmates were not encountering the same predicament because they moved onto multiplication while I was still struggling with addition.  At that point my teacher, Mrs. Heggaman, decided it was time to move onto subtraction even though I did not pass the addition test. 

Fast-forward seventeen years; I arrive at New York Port Authority Bus Terminal for a friend’s bachelorette party and must take a cab to the meet up spot.  My heart rate began to increase, my palms began to sweat, and my mind began to race as I tried to catch a cab.  Nervous and confused I began aimlessly walking the crowded streets of Manhattan unable to hail a cab.  So I took a deep breath and thought, “I went to school in a city where cabs were the only form of transportation.  I can do this.”  Twenty minutes later I successfully reached the lounge relieved thinking, “What was the need for all that anxiety?”

Months later my father, the pediatrician, explained once your heart begins to race your mind looses all logic and turns to fight or flight mode (yup, felt that).  The way to control anxiety is by controlling your heart rate.  He prescribed a small does of medication for when I attend big functions or outings that would cause anxiety.

Does it work?  Technically yes.  With a slower heart rate than usual, I had an almost Zen mindset.  But no medication can change existing thoughts.  If I feel uncomfortable or uneasy in a situation my mind will still fill with contradictory thoughts.  The only difference is I am calm enough to remind myself that everything is fine and nothing is impossible.

Once my anxiety was given a name, I began noticing it more often, which made it, feel as though it was getting worse.  Actually I was getting worse.  I realized my anxiety comes from thinking that people are judging me the way I judge myself.  It’s portrayed in teen coming of age movies as a character walking down the hall as peers watch, pointing and laughing.  In reality, nobody is paying attention.  Confidence is the cure to my anxiety.  Unfortunately, confidence does not come in a pill.  But as I said before, if I own I am, nothing else matters. 

Fat? Maybe? Definitely Not.

Growing up I was thin.  I attested it to constantly dancing and being Indian; considering homemade Indian food is extremely healthy.  Once I left home and moved to college my eating habits took a turn for the worse and I was not so thin anymore.  Top that with constantly drinking my hips and my stomach began to widen.  Looking back at pictures from those years I think, “Damn I look fat.”

Fortunately, I was introduced to dance like aerobics classes offered at the university gym.  I slimed down and my body was toned for the first time in my life.  However, during the time I spend working out, I found myself looking in the mirror thinking, “I wish my stomach was tighter and my thighs toned.”  I would go out to eat and second-guess my order wondering about the fat content. 

Those moments made me realize how easy it is to slip into an eating disorder.  I never truly understood how someone could look in the mirror and see something other than what is right in front of them.  When I started working out and watching what I ate solely to lose weight I understood how people could lose sight of who they are and focus on what they appear to be to others.

We live in a society where magazine covers consist of stick thin airbrushed models with “How to lose 10 lbs. fast” in bold letters.  Movies and television portray huskier women as not desirable, but the ugly friend.  Being thin was not about being healthy but being sexy and attractive. 

After graduating from college, I moved back home and began working at my father’s pediatric office where I devoured the “chocolate drawer.”  Months later a friend was packing for Medical School and left a scale out to weigh the luggage.  I weighed myself and saw a number I had never seen associated with my size before.  Right there I decided it was time not to exercise but to watch what I eat.  It was time for me to be healthy and make healthy choices.  It was time I stopped judging myself for the few times I would indulge in a little something.  Being healthy became my focus instead of being skinny.  That mentality gave me complete freedom to enjoy food and exercise in the moment.  I realized that appearance is not what you look like but how you present yourself. Confidence makes heads turn.  Intelligence keeps a persons attention. Striving to be healthy and making healthy choices should be the goal.  Not the ability to walk on the beach in a tiny bikini.  Own who you are and nothing else matters.