One Day More: How Les Miserables Has Impacted Me

This last week, on October 8th, the 30th anniversary of the London production of the musical Les Miserables was celebrated. It's been running on the West End for 30 years now and has shown no signs of ever slowing down. It has millions of fans worldwide. But today I don't want to talk about numbers, I want to tell you why this musical is so special to me.

The first time I saw Les Mis was, admittedly, the movie. I was a 14-year-old kid walking into a crowded theatre with my mom and brother and I knew...next-to-nothing about it. I think I knew maybe...two songs. I had no clue what to expect.

But I was sucked in. It caught my attention and, if I'm being honest, wasn't really like anything I had ever seen before. It had a huge scale, and yet it captured the human spirit. It was set in turbulent political times, but it focused on the common people.

This musical has impacted my life in ways I never thought it could.

Les Mis helped me to understand the importance of love in our daily lives.

Jean Valjean helped me understand the life-changing power of mercy and forgiveness - something I am still learning to this day and will be learning all my life.

Enjolras taught me to fight for the things that are important. While some of his political views I might not agree with, his determination and drive is something truly amazing.

Jean Valjean helped me gain a greater understanding of compassion. Again, this is something I will keep learning my whole life.

The Les Amis de l'abc, otherwise known the Barricade Boys, taught me about friendship -- deep, abiding friendship.

Javert taught me that not every antagonist is a villain. But there's always tension between people with good intentions and differing beliefs.

Les Mis taught me that epic stories often have the most surprising and true things to say about human nature.

Have you ever watched Les Mis? Are you a fan? How has it impacted or changed you?