I got my first tattoo in 2016. Another in 2018, and what I thought was my final one in 2022. I thought about all of my other favorite things and just couldn’t decide what to get or where to get it, so I said I was done.

November 20, 2024, I am an absolute wreck, watching Wicked for the first time. Defying Gravity has always been my jam, but I knew I would never get that phrase tattooed on me, as I felt it was overused. Cue Elphaba soaring over Oz, you can hear Madam Morrible’s speech repeating in the background and still Elphaba sings “Unlimited” three times. Each one gets stronger, until it leads into the final line of the song. I instantly knew. I had a Wicked tattoo in my future.

Naturally, due to the story being told in two parts, and where I wanted it placed, a second tattoo was needed. My original idea was another Elphaba one, as I had never seen an ounce of myself in Glinda. But the more I thought about it, I realized how much of an impact Glinda has on Elphaba. I had always acknowledged that on some level, but in the last year it has changed the way I feel/think/look at Glinda.

So leading up to For Good, I decided to take a deeper look at Glinda, and hoped that I would find a word for her. I was not disappointed. In fact, most of the crying I have done watching/listening to the For Good songs, has revolved around Glinda and her story. I have begun to see that I am not 100% Elphaba, and that I do have a Glinda side to me.

So, as of yesterday, my Wicked tattoo is complete. Elphaba teaches me that I am Unlimited, Glinda teaches me that I can be Good, not based off what others say is Good, but based on what I know, within myself, is Good.