post by Stephanie Nelson
Confession time: My name is Stephanie, and I’m a Hamilfan. (If you know the soundtrack, you’ll notice I even just quoted Aaron Burr to start this post.)
I’ve been OBSESSED with the soundtrack for a bit over a year, and even though my Southern mouth can’t keep up with some of Daveed Diggs’ faster moments, I do pretty good for a little Southern white girl trying to rap. I’ve taken all the Facebook quizzes on “which Hamilton character are you”. (I usually end up with Burr.) I own the Hamiltome. So when I took a little time out of the office last week to head to Chicago, I JUMPED at the chance to see the show in its Chicago home, PrivateBank Theatre.
The show was amazing! Knowing the soundtrack the way I do, I was afraid a different cast’s interpretation and voices would throw me off, but not so. I left the show ready to see it over and over and over and over. But on the 13.5-hour drive home, I had plenty of time to reflect on it. And the thing I kept coming back to was: “Am I really a Burr?”
Aaron Burr, at least in the show, is known for holding back. He wants to assess every situation to make sure he’s on the “winning” side of everything…but that’s often what keeps him from winning. He stands back too long and someone beats him to the punch. Or, while he’s gathering intel for himself, he doesn’t say much, so he really stands for nothing.
Hamilton, on the other hand, speaks his mind on everything. His mouth gets him in trouble…a lot. I believe in transparency and being truthful, but this dude takes it to a fault and rats himself out on things.
After 13+ hours of reflection, I’ve come to the determination that I’m not always a Burr, nor am I always a Hamilton. As a business owner, I stand by how transparent I am with my clients, but I also stand by choosing not jumping head first into every new social outlet with every client. I stand by waiting to see how a piece of content works before committing to building an entire strategy around it, but I also stand by responding to comments and reviews really quickly, sometimes without completely thinking the response through. To me, the balance is what makes my day-to-day fun and different and exciting.
So who are you – Burr or Hamilton? Do you stand by and wait to see what happens? Or are you a little more tumultuous and impulsive?
