A Great Humanitarian Is Gone.

Everyone tried to call me when they heard the news, anticipating how it would devastate me. My first reaction was more relief than disbelief. Somewhere inside I had known that Michael was not much longer for this world. I was relieved because his life had seemed so full of pain to me, and in the last ten years it had become unbearable to watch.

Last night I attended a celebration of the Man, the Myth, the Musician. Watching video after video surrounded by fans as enthusiastic and as true as myself, I got lost in the magic. I sang at the top of my lungs, laughed, hooted, and danced. It felt great.

But when I woke up this morning, I couldn't stop crying. The other side of the relief had taken some time to hit me, but I couldn't escape the immense loss anymore. What I thought of was the gentle person who gave so much of himself to truly see change come to the world. The man who's face was genuinely alight in the presence of children, and how much it hurt him to see suffering.

When Kurt Cobain died, I saw a young guy wearing a shirt that said Kurt Cobain= John Lennon. To tell you the truth, I had a hard time finding the connection. But what I thought of today was how, in reality, in the way they lived their message, Michael Jackson was much more similar. He really used his place as a super star to try to show people what it really meant to give- to truly start with the Man In the Mirror and change his ways.

For the rest of my life I will rock, dance, sing, and scream to the King of Pop's music. When I think of the man though, I will think of the soul behind the celebrity- the one who wanted to Heal the World, and who's message of light and love reached so many people on this earth. The world has lost one of it's most genuine, giving, and influential humanitarians, and that is the legacy that I hope will live on alongside the music and the moves.

Michael, you touched my heart so many times, and I will miss your beautiful spirit. I really do hope you are happy and at peace now.