Michael Jackson's Death Gave Me My Life

So, it's June 25, 2014.

Well, not really. I'm writing this in February, but scheduling it for this date. So it's February for me, June for you readers.

Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff.

Anyway, so on this day, five years ago, my life changed.

Michael Jackson passed away.

Michael was always in the soundtrack of my life somehow. He was in great company with BSB and Garth Brooks. I was listening to music when my sister told me he was in the hospital, and I was watching when his death was announced.His death didn't exactly hit me until that August, and then the devastation set in. I cried for days. I wrote, which is something I still do when I am distraught beyond belief.

However, his death was the catalyst for everything that is happening in my life now.

I met someone on a Michael Jackson forum, who became my best friend (and as of this writing we aren't really friends anymore, and I'm hoping that will change.). She was my lifeline through thick and thin, and I could always count on her to be there when I needed someone to talk to.

Through that wonderful person, I met the man who would become my husband, and a girl who is like my little sister. My husband and I didn't click at first, but then we did and the rest is history.

Through that man, I was given a daughter, who then gave me the motivation to become a self sufficient woman.

So when people say Michael Jackson changed their lives, please do not scoff, as it is possible. It happened to me.

"After All This Time?" "Always..."

Yes, some Harry Potter references to a post that will be about my favorite band of all time.

Let me paint the scene for you. Yours truly is about five or six years old, in 1996 or 97. My aunt is about twelve or thirteen, and is babysitting the aforementioned child and her younger sister.

All of a sudden, the children hear something coming from the radio. It sounds creepy at first, but soon becomes a fun song to dance to.

And then, they hear it.

"Backstreet's back, alright!"

Thus, began a love affair with one of the biggest boy bands in the world. I became a huge fan, squealing when their videos came on, collecting every poster in the world. I endured ridicules from classmates after their star faded from America, yet I carried on, my love for these five boys never dwindling.

Fast forward to August 20, 2013. My sister and I, now 22 and 21, are sitting in a couple of chairs at the TWC Pavilion in Raleigh, NC. This was going to be my first concert, and how appropriate that it was a Backstreet Boys concert. They were one of my first musical loves (they compete Michael Jackson and Garth Brooks in my heart).

The concert was just amazing. It was better than my wildest dreams, and I hope I can attend another one. I don't have many words to describe what I felt when I saw them in person. I didn't see them on a TV screen or in a poster, I saw THEM. And now I know what the term "star struck" really means.

Now, my husband is ready to murder me because I have infected my daughter with the Backstreet love. She can sing along to nine songs of theirs, and that number will probably grow. She LOVES "Madeleine" and "Show Em What You're Made Of" (the latter being my song to her as she grows up), and will dance to "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" every time it's on.

Hey, it's better than Justin Bieber!