The Girl With Gastroparesis and Her Obsession with Wicked

I have a slight obsession with the Broadway play Wicked. Ok, slight might not be an appropriate adjective, but I don't know if there's a stronger word for it. I have seen the play--brace yourself...10 times(this Saturday will mark my tenth time)...yes, I said TEN times, here in California and I could see it ten more. I have read the book, bought the sound track, bought a necklace (Elphaba's, of course), dressed up as a character from the play (Elphaba, of course), attended Behind the Emerald Curtain, and watched as well as downloaded videos from the play. 

Hello, my name is Christine and I am a Wicked addict. 

There is just SOMETHING about that play that resonates with me...deeply. I identify, very well, with Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West). She's an outcast, misunderstood, feels unloved, IS unloved, everything you can imagine. However, she's EVERYTHING you wouldn't think of when the Wicked Witch comes to mind. She's a fighter, she's a champion, she wants to wrong the rights of the world...she just wants to be loved for who she is. 

That is how I feel about being diagnosed with, not only Gastroparesis, but IBS, vertigo, migraines, the surprise diagnoses of peripheral neuropathy, and (mild) POTS. These diagnosis are my "green skin", things to hold me back, make me different, just like Elphaba. But then we embrace what makes us different, what is meant to set us apart and we FLY!

Wicked has taught me more than one could EVER imagine a play about witches could! I've learned to "Dance Through Life" blissfully like Fiyero and change my way of thinking. My first several times seeing Wicked, I was healthy and blissful, but now that has all changed. I have learned that things aren't always about me--Galinda I am not! I have learned to not hide who I am or what it is that I am experiencing--like The Wizard. Each main character speaks to me in a different way and is applicable to my Chronic Illness Journey. 

I hope to one day make it out to New York to see Wicked on Broadway. That is a dream of mine. I would probably BAWL the entire time! I would love to meet Kristen Chenoweth (a fellow chronic illness sufferer [she has Ménière's Disease]) and Idina Menzel, two people who helped--and continue to do so through the original soundtrack--bring the main characters to life for me from the beginning. But, for now, I will continue to catch the show any time it comes to Southern California. 

I HIGHLY suggest that if you even have the SLIGHTEST possibility of seeing Wicked, that you see it. I promise that you will not be disappointed. See for yourself the show that has touched me so much and see how it touches you. If you've already seen it, let me know how Wicked has impacted or inspired you!