I was about six years old the first time I heard Prince. It was late at night and my dad was watching tv and the song "Little Red Corvette" came on. I remember that moment because I loved the song so much, although it was many years later before I realized he wasn't singing about a car. One day, my mother was walking past my older sister's door and heard "Darling Nikki" coming from her room-boy, was she in trouble! My mom stormed into the room, tore the tape to shreds, and threw it in the trash. It wasn't until just recently that she learned my sister also had the album-an album she eventually passed onto me. Through my sister's gift, I fell in love with Prince.
Now, to be fair, there were other loves, Michael Jackson probably being the biggest. And, as I grew up, I discovered new music and went through many different phases (I still do). But, Prince was always there. Beautiful, intriguing, and enchanting. As an adult, I became busy with living my life and stepped away from music for a while. Hearing the terrible news on April 21st, though, brought a million emotions crashing down on me. I have never been affected by a celebrity death, like I have this one. I have been grieving for almost three weeks straight with no end in sight. This was a huge wake-up call for me in so many ways. I feel a deep regret for never having seen Prince in concert and an even deeper remorse that I took this wonderful artist for granted. I realize that he's not the only one and that it's time to step up and start paying attention again. To support the artists I claim to love. To see them and appreciate them while they are in their prime. To not wait until they're gone to finally realize all their beautiful contributions to our world.
This was also a lesson in becoming a kinder person and to becoming closer to God. To being a better Christian, or as Prince would put it, to punch a higher floor. Millions of fans have connected with each other and have shared their stories, their laughter, and tears, and shown more kindness in the past three weeks than they probably have in a long time. I even made a new friend from all this. We have the same name, so she caught my eye in the comment section of a post and we started a conversation. She said she couldn't find any magazines dedicated to him in her part of Canada and it made her really sad. I promised to send her some of mine and then I somehow lost the thread and couldn't remember where I had found her. I looked for her for two weeks and then suddenly, one night, there she was! I was so excited! I told her I had been trying to find her and that I still wanted to send her the magazines...She said when she read my message, she cried. Now, we are officially friends and I will be sending her magazines tomorrow. I think Prince would be very happy about that.
I know this story is long and it's not a story about knowing Prince or meeting him, or even going to one of his concerts. But, I love him just the same. I may not have known him, but my heart did. I hope one day to meet him face-to-face in Heaven and to spend all of eternity listening to his beautiful music. Until then, I will listen to what he left behind and smile knowing that out of the entire history of the world, I lived at the same time as Prince. I wouldn't want it any other way.