As sung by the cast of Rent, there are 525,600 minutes in a year. When I heard “Seasons of Love”, I felt like it was being sung directly to me and the characters were asking me, “How do you measure a year?”
Every minute in my life has become a memory, and as the number of minutes in my life increase, so will my support system.Those very people who can tell stories of the “laughter and strife” in my life have, in turn, touched me in ways that I am still realizing. Whether it was “midnights” spent up talking about life or a “cup of coffee” to help me get through finals, my network of family, friends, and teachers have been willing to give me advice derived directly from the lessons they have learned from the minutes that make up their own.
Around minute 7,358,400, someone walked into my life and changed it for the better. As I said before, my mom and I were on our own for the majority of my life. However, when I was 15, my mom married the man who would later choose to adopt me and become my father.
My dad started to become another person I could rely on. When I was little, I worried that when my mom got married, the man she chose would decide I was not worth the minutes it took to look after me. Instead, my dad became someone who would begin to create and share more minutes with me than I ever thought possible. From teaching me to drive a stick-shift, to simply helping me with homework, my dad made me realize every minute in life matters because they make up the years that make up a lifetime.
Not long down the road, minute 8,409,600 came along and at the age of 16, I became a big sister! It was crazy to think, after so long being an only child, I was going have someone looking up to me. Yes, I have younger cousins I babysit and spend time with, but somehow this felt different. I am the big sister. I am supposed to lead the way, be the example.
I am still terrified I will make a mistake and let down both myself and my sister, but a “truth that I have learned,” is that being a good sister does not mean I have to be perfect. Being a good sister means I have to create a unique set of minutes just for my little sister and me.
When I first saw Rent, I took the meaning behind the number 525,600 to heart. I realized I have a limited amount of time to celebrate the life I have been given and each minute counts. My life began as a series of minutes strung together, but since then, I have tried to “measure my life in love” rather than worrying about things I cannot change. So, as my milestone minute is looking for me, I will be sure to continue to enjoy and experience the “Seasons of Love”.
