Motivation Monday In The Heights - When I Grow Up

Motivation Monday In The Heights - When I Grow Up My Motivation for today comes from a personal place. It was announced today that a classmate of mine from NYU, Javier Munoz, has been cast as the lead in In The Heights, a Tony-Award winning Broadway show. Granted, many of my old NYU classmates has been on Broadway, some in leading roles. But reading about Javier touched me in a different way. While we have not been in contact since graduation in 1999, Javier is one of those sweet, kind, good people with a ton of talent and even more drive and determination. I was in class with him for at least 2 out of the 3 years I was at CAP 21 (if not all 3 its a little fuzzy) and whether he was performing a song, or a scene, or a monologue, you could see all the work he put into it and he soared. Whats even more motivating is what Producer Jill Furman  said about Javier, who has been in the chorus of this show since its inception:   We didnt need to look beyond the In the Heights family to find our new Usnavi. The role is so ingrained that Javier lives it onstage in a rich and powerful performance, however, his generosity of spirit as a human being is his greatest qualification for the role. The corner bodega could not be in better hands. Im not positive that this is the case, but it seems that they didnt even audition anyone for this part. Because of Javiers talent, drive, heart and professionalism he was given this role. If thats not motivating, I dont know what is. Ive been meaning to see the show, and I wanted to go before Lin-Manuel  Miranda stepped out of the role. But now Ill wait and bring extra hankies. I have a feeling Ill cry for a whole lot of reasons all the way through. You can read the other installments of Motivation Monday here.