Growing Up Rent

In case you’ve missed my voice this week over here on the blog, check out this not-food-related-memoir piece I wrote for Medium called “Will I Lose My Dignity? Growing Up Rent.” And prepare to have that song stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

11 thoughts on “Growing Up Rent”

  1. Adam…I just love you. I know I don’t know you at all, but you are the ONLY food blogger I follow, and as I’ve said before, it’s because you are just such an excellent writer, and (the curse of the successful blogger) I feel like I know you because of that.

    I’m going to New York in two weeks to watch my brother marry a wonderful man. And I know it will be emotional because I remember these moments, except my brother would share them with me: “Jenn, come listen to this!” And I’d roll my eyes but secretly love Into the Woods or whatever musical he showed me in the tiny computer room in our house that only had dial-up internet. Because yes, I too love musicals, but I love him so much more.

    Thanks for sharing your memories and moments.

  2. That’s such a lovely piece, and so personal. There are several songs in Rent that make me tear up while watching it live (especially if the actors cry, too!) or just listening to the CD. I actually wrote my master’s thesis on Rent and audience involvement/fandom. I was so taken with it that even now, though dated, I still find it to be an incredibly moving show.

  3. Just to underline generational differences, my song was “Maria” from West Side Story. It got the point that my Jewish father screamed at me – do you have top keep blasting that shicksa’s (non-Jewish female) all over the house :)?

  4. You are a piece of shït and yes I know you. Everyone knows you raped that kid and you are going to go down for it.

  5. Thanks for writing this. I was a freshman in college when Rent came out, and reading your story was like reading my own.

  6. For me, RENT showed me that there’s a place for everyone and that it’s OK to be different – whether you’re gay, straight, dramatic, crazy, wild, sarcastic, whatever – and that you can find your people. And I totally did. And they liked RENT, too. :)

    Also, TOTALLY psyched about the Into the Woods movie! I didn’t even know they were making it until I saw a trailer on Apple TV. I wonder if they’re going to do the whole show, or just the happy first half.

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