By Ashley Conde ’17
This summer, senior Sienna Bruinsma wrote a letter to Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony Award-winning creator, composer, rapper and former star of the Broadway musical Hamilton. After weeks of patiently waiting, she received his reply!
To say that Bruinsma is a Hamilton fan is an understatement. She describes the musical, which won the Pulitzer Prize, as the soundtrack of her life. She knows the score by memory, owns the playbook, and religiously follows the inspiring words of Lin-Manuel Miranda that he regularly shares on Twitter and Facebook.
It was Miranda’s inspiration that prompted Bruinsma to write to him in early June. “I felt it was my duty to express my appreciation for his positive tweets and genius directing,” she said. She said she spent a week laboring over her 5-page letter, complete with collages and drawings. To catch Mirada’s attention, she even drew on the outside cover of her letter.
The student’s hopes of receiving a reply began to dwindle as the weeks elapsed. “I was praying for one, but didn’t really expect it,” she said, acknowledging that it is rare for celebrities to reply to their fans.
However, in late July, the senior received a personalized, handwritten note from Miranda. In scrawling writing, Miranda thanked Bruinsma for her letter and wished her well:
Dear Sienna,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write and share your story with me. There’s nothing wrong with being a fangirl! I loved the artwork. Good luck with the rest of your studies!
Siempre,
Lin-Manuel Miranda
While his letter is something Bruinsma said she will always cherish, this experience also confirmed for her that Miranda “cares about the people who support him, which is important for a celebrity.”
The Bamboo 
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