- Stevie Ryan, a 7-year-old Utah girl, gave up "Hamilton" music for Lent, attracting the attention of creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
- Stevie's mother praised the sacrifice as a valuable life lesson for her.
SALT LAKE CITY — Some people give up sweets for Lent, others give up social media, but one 7-year-old Utah girl gave up the Tony award-winning music from "Hamilton." That sacrifice is attracting the attention of its world-renowned creator.
Stevie Ryan is just like any other 7-year-old girl.
She loves dolls, colors and her sisters, but above all else, she's obsessed with the title character from "Hamilton."
She even dressed as him for Halloween.
"He's my favorite character, and I also have the same birthday as Alexander Hamilton. Not Lin-Manuel Miranda," she said.
So when Lent came around, she knew what to give up.
"I couldn't decide to give up my favorite food because it just would be way harder. So I chose 'Hamilton,'" she said.
She wrote about the decision for a class assignment, vowing to never do it again.
And when her dad's coworker posted the work, she didn't throw away her shot, tagging "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda in it.
The original Hamilton himself commented, quoting the second act song "Wait For It."
Miranda wrote, "There are things that the homilies and hymns won't teach ya."
"It was shocking," Stevie's mom, Jeanna Ryan, said. "And Lin-Manuel responded, and she just, she was like, 'Oh, I'm kind of famous.' And then I told her where the post went, and she just said, 'I'm lucky Lin-Manuel saw it.'"
Jeanna Ryan said she's proud of her daughter for giving up something she loves.
"It's a great lesson and practice in life, and it just brings up something that we can talk about, and then for her to just work through for 40 days," she said.
She's also glad, though, that Stevie didn't decide to give up the one thing she loves more than "Hamilton."
"I was thankful she didn't give up fries because that would have been a disaster," Jeanna Ryan said.
