& What If
April 5, 2023
Writer: Brooke Edelman
Editor: Keara Keelty
We all know the story of Romeo and Juliet. And if you did not read it in your high school English class during your Shakespeare unit, you are probably familiar with (and obviously love) Taylor Swift’s song “Love Story.”
So, when my mom told me that my family was going to see &Juliet on Broadway, I thought I knew exactly what to expect. Yet the second the actors came on stage, the whole experience exceeded my expectations. The bright lights and characters led to nothing but the brightest smiles from the audience and the cast. With a permanent smile on my face from scene to scene, singing along with my family and best friend alongside me, I didn’t want the show to end.
&Juliet is based on questioning if the most famous love story had a different ending. What if Juliet didn’t die? The show continuously poses the question: what if? Through bringing unexpected twists and turns to this famous love story, the play renders modern ideas behind the new direction of a new life.
What if we didn’t let our stories be written on the pages? What if we wrote our books of life day by day, rather than planning out the ending before chapter one is even complete?
We, by nature, live an incredibly competitive and calculated society. Most of us took similar steps to get to where we are today: do well in school, build your extracurriculars, and work to stand out to the admissions officer that reads your application. This similar process stays with us for the rest of our lives: find a space and make it yours. By staying on this course, you would expect to stay on the “right” path and never veer left into an unknown direction.
For most of my peers and I, we came to Michigan with the idea of following through with our “Why Michigan” application essay: we want to accomplish all that we had once dreamed of. Yet, we are also tasked with finding ourselves and enjoying the experience along the way. What if I happen to like the class I took as a requirement more than the classes I’m taking for my major?
Well, the world won’t end- although that is tough to believe.
Straying from our original path and intentions is a difficult process. According to Shakespeare, Juliet wasn’t supposed to be without Romeo; according to cultural norms, we aren’t supposed to switch our plans from the original blueprint. But what if we did?
By taking a leap and living day by day rather than sticking to the plan you once made opens up millions of opportunities that you might note have considered. Each decision you make in life is affected by a previous one. Our lives are the reality of a domino-effect, as each movement affects another until, ultimately, there is no further place to go.
“Do you have a plan?- I don’t even have a pla-,” Phoebe from Friends once pondered. This quote, which happens to be my senior year yearbook quote actually brought out an inner-imbalance: Phoebe’s free spirit doesn’t necessarily mesh with my Monica-ness (quite ironic). The Monica in me, the person who is organized and obsessed with checking boxes off my to-do lists, always has a plan. But, the Phoebe in me wants to live in the moment and not talk about the future. I just want to be here in the current moment, right now, and the “pla-“ could wait.
Sometimes, you simply need to go with the flow of things; decide your doings in the moment, and let the dominoes fall into place. Let your decisions spice up your life. Add a “what if” spin, and own it. Because, why not? Take charge of your life for YOU, your own character development, and your plot - you decide your ending; don’t just give the people and the pressure of society what they want. If Shakespeare wrote Juliet’s ending just a bit differently, a whole new life would have been waiting for her. Unlike Juliet, Shakespeare isn’t writing your story. Don’t shy away of creating your own plot twist!
