Here, again. Love this one, love all you guys.
The first time I saw Rent, I was seven.
I'm dead serious. I was seven or eight when my mom took me to see Rent on Broadway. A friend of hers offered to watch it with her and she had three tickets. And I recall wanting to get out of the house.
And on this viewing,I either fell asleep or blanked out, because I only recall some parts (Rent, La Vie Boheme, I should Tell You, and the Finale, for example). Pathetic, I know. And my mom and I went out not liking it.
However, about seven years later, I came across Rent again while I was channel surfing. Even though I tuned into the end credits, I ended up curious because of the music. I saw it again a couple of days later (from the near-beginning this time), and it ended up on my list of things I loved. My favorite parts were "La Vie Boheme", "I'll Cover You", "I Should Tell You", and "Seasons of Love".
While I was watching it one time, my brother went into the room. He has autism, and that makes it even harder for him to adjust to high school.
"What're you watching?" he asked.
"Rent. Mom and I saw it a while back," I explained.
"Oh," he said, and I realized something: AIDS is almost like autism. Autism's not deadly, but it's a life-changing experience when someone you know is diagnosed with either.
I'm not good at explaining things, so I'll be brief: Rent changed my life. It really did. If I hadn't heard the chords of "Will I" and "Seasons of Love", I would still be hiding from the things that make people cringe, like homosexuality.
I would still be teasing my brother (I do tease him, but I'm a lot nicer to him now.) I would be more like the ignorant pricks who take life for granted and laugh when people admit their innermost desires.
Well, I wouldn't go that far, but because of Rent, I'm more accepting than I have ever been before. And I'm willing to make every day worthwhile. No Day but Today, right?
All in all, Rent has a special place in my heart. Always have, always will.
By MJB aka AquaFlameElementalist