I’ve always been a fan of the theater. I grew up taking theater classes and performing on stage. My friends in high 
school and I were all Broadway obsessed and loved ourselves some Rent. I remember I used to wish I didn’t have to go to school so I could listen to the soundtrack and sing along to it. #sadButTrue
Needless to say, our obsession with Rent led to a love affair with Idina Menzel. Rent, Wicked, If/Then, Once, Glee and Frozen . . . She’s such a talented actress and songstress.
I’ve actually never had the privilege of seeing her perform live… Until now! She’s currently on a world tour and stopped on Pittsburgh. One of my girlfriends and I bought tickets last December to see her this August!
As she took the stage and began to perform, something became apparent to me that I’ve never put together before. Almost every song she sang was about being strong, powerful, rising above your circumstances, and similar themes.
So many times during the show she stopped and talked about how important it was to be in the moment, to appreciate every little thing and to be grateful. I couldn’t agree more with her.
Idina talked about how the last 2 years of her life have been amazing (with the explosion of Frozen), but at the same time, her marriage fell apart and she got divorced. Everyone has highs and low in their lives. On the outside looking in, I’m sure we all think she’s living an amazingly awesome life, riding the Elsa train full steam ahead, enjoying every day with her son… But, just like us ‘common folk’ she’s had her share of shit as well!
Through adversity we gain strength, confidence and agility. Many of our celebrity role models aren’t always the best role models to have. I love when I see a strong women getting up in front of a crowd and preaching about what we really need to remember.
Not familiar with her songs? Here are a few that prove my point:
Idina Menzel – Brave
If this is the moment I stand here on my own
If this is my rite of passage that somehow leads me home
I might be afraid
But it’s my turn to be brave
Idina Menzel – I Stand
‘Cause I stand for the power to change,
I live for the perfect day.
I love till it hurts like crazy,
I hope for a hero to save me.
I stand for the strange and lonely,
I believe there’s a better place.
I don’t know if the sky is heaven,
But I pray anyway.
Idina Menzel – If We’re Always Starting Over
If we’re always
Starting over
Every brand-new morning
Then we’re always
Starting out
With the end in doubt
We can leave life for tomorrow
Or grieve all that we thought we’d do
Or make each moment new
*Moment of silence for that amazing voice*
Forget celebrity’s, even with social media we look at all the people we know (or knew) at some point in our lives and judge our lives based on all the amazing things they post on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. I feel like you have to take all of that with a grain of salt, because dwelling on what others have and what we don’t have can really start to take a toll on you. Healthy or not! And when our health isn’t exactly where we want it to be, it can be so disheartening to think so many people’s lives are so much better than ours.
Living with chronic illness it can be very hard to not live in the moment. Whenever you start to feel like life is out of control, that you wish things were different or you miss part of your life that used to be – Stop. Take a breath. And try to redirect your attention on the positives in your life. No matter what, I bet you’ll find you have a ton of positives!
Just like the lyrics in Rent tell us, “No day but today…”
And there really isn’t any day but today.
Nothing is certain in this life. Living in the moment and enjoying what we do have in that moment is so very important.
Thank you Idina for spreading the amazing, positive message that you do! You’re amazing and we appreciate you so so so much!!!!
Wishing You A Painfree Day!
