Although this blog comes a bit late following Michael Jackson's death, Michael Jackson's life and legacy should always be be celebrated. I heard the news of Michael Jackson's death as I was returning home from a long camp up at UF in Gainesville. I wasn't around a TV at the time but one of my friends called me. I was literally in disbelief at first. I didn't believe her. Following her call, a friend that I haven't spoken to in awhile called me and dramatically told me the same news. I believed it then. My role model had died. Of course I still had to confirm, however. And after 5 more brief phone calls and texts from friends and family, I understood that the news was true.
I'd always been made fun of for looking up to Michael Jackson, much like he was made fun of. In middle school I even carried around a picture of him in binder with some of his songs printed on the paper. Something about him was captivating. The passion he had for what he did. And the way he entertained: with such precision and genuine love. He spoke quitely and with humility. I would never categorize Michael Jackson as a weird man nor would I designate him the title "freak." Yes, I will stand up for him. He was clearly a confused man and a lonely man, but he was a brilliant man, and undeniably a great man.
I'd always been made fun of for looking up to Michael Jackson, much like he was made fun of. In middle school I even carried around a picture of him in binder with some of his songs printed on the paper. Something about him was captivating. The passion he had for what he did. And the way he entertained: with such precision and genuine love. He spoke quitely and with humility. I would never categorize Michael Jackson as a weird man nor would I designate him the title "freak." Yes, I will stand up for him. He was clearly a confused man and a lonely man, but he was a brilliant man, and undeniably a great man.
And although I will be looked upon askance for admiring a man with such a tarnished reputation and questionable life, I still will always admire him and respect him for the comfort and satisfaction with myself that he has given me. Through Michael Jackson I finally understand that perfection, even as he is the epitome of entertainment perfection, is an insatiable feat. I cannot be perfect just as he cannot be perfect. I saw him as a perfect man once just as I saw Martin Luther King Jr. as a perfect man. But I understand now. We are all human, and thus, we are all imperfect in more ways than one. And my unccessful pursuit for utmost perfection, which left me stranded in a lost cause and often pushed me to tears, is now just that - a pursuit. We can pursue perfection, but we can never attain it.
RIP Michael Jackson: August 29, 1958-June 25, 2009
