forever michael.
I can’t stop feeling so sad. Mourning and celebrating Michael’s life, watching videos over and over, seeing it all over television and watching people tweet and comment on youtube videos, I keep tearing up. When I heard someone walk by talking on their phone proclaiming “Michael Jackson is Dead!” I turned in shock and felt my heart drop. What? Michael Jackson??? Are you sure? Are you kidding me?
Then I found it was true. And my heart sank. All those songs that defined pivotal moments in my life…the creator of those masterpieces, gone home to God.
We’ve lost something bigger than a legend. Bigger than an icon. Bigger than a generation. We’ve lost an artist who single-handedly changed the entire world with what he created. There’s no one else more famous, more influential, more iconic…I mean, his music defined my entire childhood. I don’t even know how to imagine a world without MJ. I really…I don’t want to. In a time where we are constantly asking where the true artists are, where the true music is, losing him makes me feel more fearful. I feel so thankful that I can understand the the true talent and legacy of Michael Jackson- yesterday I thanked God over and over that he let me grow up during Michael’s glory days.
His music helped us feel young, electric, alive. His inspiration spawned hundreds of other artists to attempt to do the same.
It is unfortunate that we scrutinize our celebrities to the point where we drive them to some kind of insanity. How we fervently love and hate them at the same time, watching every move with a magnifying glass, loving them deliriously one minute, then snap back to ridicule them as soon as we find something to laugh or gossip about. How we dehumanize them like they’re not real people. There are some people who only know Michael Jackson for the things people mock him for, without understanding the true meaning of what he brought into the world. Without understanding the kind of sacrifice it takes to spend your entire life being publicly watched, being photographed, offering much of yourself to everyone else leaving not much else for yourself. Privacy is a luxury we don’t often recognize. Discretion costs more than some of us can ever understand.
Thank you Michael, for having the ability to make me feel forever young.
Welcome Home.
