Let me start by saying that I hate doing things by myself. I won't even go to the movies by myself. Which is why it was shocking to many when I bought a ticket to go see Aladdin the Musical in Chicago super last minute and planned to go all by myself. I'm honestly surprised my mom didn't have a heart attack. I'm not 100% sure why exactly I did it but after I dropped $75 on a ticket, I wasn't about to just not go. Chicago is about a five and a half hour drive (not including city traffic) from Saginaw. So, I decided to take the train.
It worked out pretty perfectly actually. I drove to East Lansing in the morning, my train left at 9, I arrived in Chicago around noon, had lunch, the show was at 2 and finished around 5, my train home left at 6 and arrived in East Lansing at midnight. All in all, I was home and in bed by 1:30 AM. Yes, it was an obnoxiously long day but it was amazing and I'm so so glad I did it!
It was my first time traveling completely by myself. And while I was a little nervous the night before, I surprisingly didn't feel that nervous throughout the day. I actually felt pretty calm and relaxed. It was really nice to be able to just focus on myself and not feel like I needed to make sure others were having a good time. Which is a big part of the reason I didn't ask anyone to come with me.
None of my friends that I usually do things with are really into musicals but I absolutely love them! And I feel bad asking someone to spend money to go see or do something they wouldn't go see or do otherwise. Hence, me taking a huge leap out of my comfort zone and going alone. And even though it was out of my comfort zone, after the experience I had, I would definitely do it again, and plan to.
The show itself was absolutely phenomenal! When I first opened the Playbill and saw that the majority of the main characters were being played by understudies and standbys for this particular show, I was a little nervous that it wasn't going to be as good as the soundtrack I'd been listening to all year.
Shame on me because the entire cast was amazing! Korie Lee Blossey as the Genie was so energetic, witty and just gosh darn excellent. Adam Jacobs as Aladdin was, of course, amazing since he's been in the role since the very beginning. And Zachary Bencal (Babkak), Philippe Arroyo (Omar), Mike Longo (Kassim), were a hoot to watch! 10/10 recommend!
At the end of the day, I learned two major life lessons from my trip alone to Chicago. Now, these are going to sound super cheesy and I guarantee you've heard them before but until you actually experience and learn it for yourself, I don't think you actually truly learn the lesson.
Number one, it's okay to do things on your own. Just remember to be safe and smart about it.
And number two, stepping out of your comfort zone can help you grow and learn more about yourself.
