Think back to the first time you saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch, on stage or on screen.
Then think about how everything changed.
You realized there were other outsiders like you.
You could be weird. You could be QUEER. And it was a good thing.
And you resolved to never, ever let yourself be boring.
You embraced mythology.
You started to really question religion.
And learned the power of sarcasm.
You began to see life as a search for your missing half.
And gender as something fluid and performative.
You discovered that clothes could be multi-purpose.
And you learned a valuable lesson about washing bras.
At your lowest, you wondered if it was all just bullshit, and you were searching for something that didn't exist.
Even if there was some grand cosmic plan, you weren't certain it would ever go your way.
And if you did find your Tommy Gnosis, you were sure it wouldn't last.
(You also realized you'd never find ANYONE as sexy as Michael Pitt, because seriously, come on now.)
But maybe it wasn't about anyone else. It was about YOU.
You mastered the art of self-deprecation.
You learned to laugh off the insults and the confused stares.
You accepted yourself for who you were.
And really who gave a fuck if anyone else got it? You could be whatever you wanted to be.
You found strength and comfort in creating your own identity, haters be damned.
And you saluted the other freaks out there. You were united in your difference.
And no one could take that away from you.
