amelialourdes | goodbye, michael.

i didn't think that i was going to write anything today. i don't know what else to say that hasn't been said or i didn't want to clutter the friends list with more michael. though, for me, there is never enough michael.

many of us grew up with him. we saw him from his "i'll be there" to "never can say goodbye" to "dancing machine" to "thriller" to "bad" to "dangerous" and to "blood on the dance floor" and "invincible". he was literally there as we (his fans) grew up. i was born in 1985 and i remember when the singles from bad were all over the radio. i tell this story a lot but it's because the memory is so vivid. i was in my mom's dental office and i heard "man in the mirror" for the first time. i remember feel so excited and happy to hear a new michael jackson song on the radio.

i felt that way every time that i heard a new michael jackson album or song. i know a lot of people have these stories. michael's been so part of their lives and most of us share in that experience of having a michael jackson memory. i consider myself really, really lucky to have discovered his music at such a young age because he's truly rooted in my life. i've never stopped being a michael jackson fan and i never will.

it has really hurt to watch the memorial. i haven't really stopped crying since they started. the memories, the speeches, the montage, the michael songs, his daughter speaking to the crowd for the first time. he really did as good of a job as he could do protecting those kids from the media. it's kind of incredible in this day how we could not see their faces or even hear from those kids until now. i imagine he didn't want them to suffer the scrutiny that he'd faced at such a young age.

but, he'll definitely be missed. i don't think that we'll ever see anyone else like him.

today is a remembrance day for him and his music and his dancing and his originality so i'll leave you with a few videos.

this is the man in the mirror from the moonwalker video. it's the version i grew up watching.

here's the famous billie jean video from the motown anniversary special.

this is probably one of my favorite songs of his in his entire catalog. it's such an inspirational song. it's just one of those songs where if i need to kick ass, i'll listen to it to get inspired and feel pumped and confident about myself.

never can say goodbye. it's appropriate.