“one [novel], glory…”

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Perhaps you’re familiar with the musical  Rent.  (Now before my fellow-homeschooler friends stop reading this and disown me, hear me out.)  It’s a tragic story, made more tragic by the fact that Jonathan Larson died the night before it opened.  I don’t support many of the themes of the story, and I don’t agree with much of Larson’s philosophy.  As a parody of La Bohème, I think it’s a piece of genius.  All moral quandaries aside, the show itself has some definite moments of brilliance and others of…insipidity.  (“Finale A”, for instance makes me want to cry, while “Light My Candle” is crude and just…awkward.)  My favorite character is definitely “Roger”, partially because he’s one that any aspiring writer can relate to.

Perhaps the best known song from the show is the famous, “One Song, Glory”, sung by “Roger” (originally Adam Pascal) as he worries that he will never make his mark musically on the world before he dies of AIDS.  The words speak to a writer like myself who hopes to make her mark somehow, someday (though I don’t believe I’m dying yet).  And the song is made more beautiful by the fact that it’s sung by Adam Pascal (who I have a major crush on) in his lovely, raspy, rocker-like voice (which I have another separate crush on).


While the entire song is SO applicable to my dreams as a writer, there’s a bit that I especially love:

“Glory, in a song that rings true
Truth like a blazing fire
An eternal flame
Find one song- a song about love
Glory, from the soul of a young man
A young man…”

I don’t need to be the next Suzanne Collins, Shannon Hale, or Veronica Roth.  I don’t think I ever could be, by any means.  But I want to accomplish something, and to know that I have.  The theme quotation for my life is one by Franz Kafka.  He says, “I want to escape the unrest, to shut out the voices around me and within me, and so I write.”  My soul needs to write.  I can’t survive without stories.

In all humility, I don’t think I’m without talent, at least.  There’s a line in Aida (another favorite Adam Pascal musical) in the reprise of “My Strongest Suit” where Amneris and Aida lament that, “a life of great potential is dismissed, inconsequential”.  I’d like to believe that I have potential, at least, as a writer.  And I don’t want whatever gifts God has deigned to bless me with to go to waste, for my life to be inconsequential.  In one sense I would be happy just sitting at home writing for the rest of my life, but at the same time, I don’t want only that.

I need to do something.

With God’s grace, hopefully I will.

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  • October Skye

    You have a blog! I love blogs.
    I know exactly what you mean about not being completely satisfied sitting at home writing either. It’s nice to find someone who understands. 🙂

  • Well hey! Do you have a blog as well? You should send me the link. 😉
    And yes- isn’t that the cry of every writer? *sigh* I’ll just have to wait and see where my life goes. :/

  • Kim

    Okay, okay, okay. You’re not going to be the next something, but you’re going to make your own path with your amazing writing (and wind up on the best seller list. Of course). Both of the novels you have up new tug at the heart and are entirely addictive.

    I’m not a fan of Rent 😛 I’ve seen the movie and I just didn’t feel anything… except mild irritation. But then again, I’m not a musical person anyway (I like straight-up plays, hahaha).

    However, I really like how you looked at the lyrics – I can see why they’d be moving and what they represent. I also love the separate crushes 😀

  • Haha well thank you dear, for that encouragement. And honestly, the more I listen to Rent, the more I’m convinced that Jonathan Larson himself may have only had a couple of flashes of brilliance. My favorite aspect is the parody of La Bohème, but otherwise it is definitely weird. 😀 And I suppose I’m more inclined to like it because I love musicals so much. 😀
    Oh, and you like my separate crushes? Yeah. 😉 Me too.

  • Tiffany (J.A.)

    Good luck! 😀 I have this feeling that you and Sam are going to be well-known names some day. Seriously.

  • Thanks darlin’! I’m sure Sam will be- and I think you and I might make it too. You mustn’t forget what a spectacular writer you are. 😀

  • I’ve listened to several songs from RENT, and I’ve enjoyed them! I want to listen to more, but haven’t found the time really. DON’T WORRY! I WON’T DISOWN YOU! 😉

    And girl, you have potential. Like, major potential. I’m sitting here, just reading your stories and going….”Will I ever write like that?”

  • Are you kidding me, Reagan? You’re a brilliant writer. You make me try to be better. I’m not exaggerating; you’re fantastic. And I am dying to catch up on The Lightcatcher and Flyboy, only I haven’t had any time! You’re inspiring. 🙂

    And a warning about Rent- it’s sketchy and at times lewd. Also sometimes dumb. 😀 My favorites are “One Song, Glory”, “Another Night” (the movie version with Rosario Dawson as Mimi is BEST) and “Finale A”.

  • Yeah, I’ve heard about RENT being sketchy, but I’ll have to check out your favorite songs!

    Awww, thank you so much! I’m glad you think I am. That encourages me more than you can imagine. 🙂

  • October Skye

    It’s theoctoberskye.blogspot.com. It changes more than facebook :p

  • I think I can imagine, Reagan, since you were just encouraging me a second ago… 😉

    Thanks dear! I’ll check your blog out when I get a moment! 🙂 (I’m going out of town for a few days, so internet time will be limited if anything at all.)