Ok, guys. That's it. The end.

I want to thank every author who took the time to sit down and share these moments of their lives with me and all other RENTheads. It's a brave and beautiful thing to do, and every one of you should be so proud of yourselves. RENT is ending soon, but in the last 100+ chapters we've compiled 107 beginnings.

107.

Jonathan Larson lived 35 years, and he died before he had even really started doing what he loved. When his life ended, he left us with something to love instead of him: something for his family and friends and thousands--millions--of people that he never knew. All of these human beings were touched by his work. This man, who lived in a world where people sank and never even tried to swim, wrote into a show all he could about the pain of his generation, and the confusion and fright that accompanied him and his friends. He said to his loved ones that he wanted to write music that would be remembered, music that would change people and make them realize how differences and similarities balance out into the ties of love and family that we cling to, especially in the worst times.

Every person who submitted their story to this collection was a subject of Jonathan's genius. He knew, with a certainty that Americans are hard put to retain in this day and age, that human emotions--love, above all--are the strongest forces we have at our disposal. By loving RENT, and seeing ourselves within the world that he captured on stage, we can reach out and find each other in a place where things like RENT--symbols of youth and love and strength and grief and support--are rare.

107 stories, over the course of 12 years. And that's just a single cup of water from the ocean.

107 beginnings. 107 changed people. 107 ways that the world is different because Jonathan Larson was here. If anything, we can be proud of that: we can give Jonathan a small fraction of what he deserves. I am not the same because of RENT. None of us are. And when you really think about that--changing a human being--it can seems like something small. But then again, it can be bigger than belief.

I am so proud and so grateful to have been able to read and share these stories. I am connected to so many others, those I have met and those I haven't, by a show that we all find ourselves in. I value this connection so much, and I do not underestimate it. I don't know quite how, but I will be there that last night, and I will pour every ounce of myself into celebrating RENT, and celebrating the people around me. You. The Larson family. Cast and crew. Everyone.

So thank you. Thank you for giving me what I never imagine I could have. Thank you for reaching out and trusting, to whatever degree, that your memories and love for RENT were safe with me.

Love,

Esther, the RENT Panda