Waving through a Window

Last year I came across the movie musical, Dear Evan Hansen, at a local public library and checked it out. Ever hear of it?

Google describes the movie as follows:

Evan Hansen is an anxious, isolated high-school student who’s aching for understanding and belonging amid the chaos and cruelty of the social media age. He soon embarks on a journey of self-discovery when a letter he wrote for a writing exercise falls into the hands of a grieving couple whose son took his own life.

Google search result

Oh.my.goodness.

I watched the movie with my teenaged daughter, and I cried like a baby. That movie resonated so heavily with me. (Admittedly, I cry pretty easily at movies.)

When it was over, I watched all the extra features, one right after another, and I wanted to watch the movie again.

The next morning I went online to find the lyrics to all the songs and printed them out. They were so rich in meaning to me. Later that day, I watched the movie again.

Then, I went online and ordered the DVD and the movie soundtrack on CD. I have NEVER done anything like that before. In fact, I eventually bought a second copy of both.

(DISCLAIMER: In my youth I went to dozens of musicals on Broadway — I love, love, love to sing & dance. I’d often get the musical soundtracks on records and/or cassette tapes, but that was 30+ years ago.)

After the DVD arrived, I watched the movie again.

What was so meaningful to me about it?

What I loved most about Dear Evan Hansen is that it was human and true-to-life, beautifully expressing what I know I have felt through various aspects of my life.

The following is a clip of the opening scene, with the main character (Evan Hansen) singing Waving through a Window, expressing what I believe to be the gist of the movie:

This movie inspired me to want to reach out to people more — not just to young people, but to people of all ages, to let them know that I want to see them — the real them (with flaws & all), and that I accept them just as they are.

These screens through which we communicate in the modern age (be they computer monitors or mobile devices) have become one-way windows, where we see out, but nobody can really see us.

I firmly believe that we all NEED to get offline, out from behind these screens, and pay more attention to the people around us.

If you have yet to see the movie, I highly recommend it.