I had under 5 seconds to try to explain the role that Defying Gravity, Wicked, Rent, and all the other things she’s ever done have played in my life, and while that is not nearly enough time to tell your hero what they mean to you, I did somehow get out of my mouth in those 5 seconds that Wicked & Rent are so important to me that I have lyrics from both of them tattooed on my body. I knew I was gay at ten years old when I saw her as Maureen in the Rent movie, and listening to Defying Gravity on loop has pulled me out of some of my darkest times. Her work has played a bigger role in my life than most other things, and getting to tell her that to her face was an experience I will never forget.