Saturday, June 11, 2016

Christina Grimmie: Gone Too Soon



Think for a minute about your favorite artists and the reason you listen to their music.  Perhaps you like their style, or their catchy lyrics, or their music speaks to you.  We’ve all heard these.  For many of us, we feel like we know the artists we listen to because we can relate to them in some way.  While we dream of meeting them one day, we may never truly know them because they are celebrities and while they live among us, they live in a different world than us.

Christina Grimmie was a celebrity, who though I never met, I feel as if I knew her.  She lived in our world.  She was funny, charismatic and radiated joy in every video she ever posted.  It wasn’t just her larger than life voice that lit up the stage, but her laughter, smile, and goofy side too.  She was a normal teenager when she began posting her YouTube videos and when she went onto the Voice, she was just like one of us, living out her dream of becoming the singer she was destined to be.

I recall “discovering” her covers on YouTube and thinking how cool it would be to interview her.  She made videos I wished I could make.

I loved her rocker, sparkly, style.  I loved her countless hairstyles, whether it was choppy, or curly, or blue.  But most of all, I loved how her personality came out in every single performance she ever gave.  On her audition for the Voice, she literally gave me chills.  She got a 4 chair turn because she was THAT good.  I can’t recall ever shedding a tear over someone I’ve never met until today.

Even as I write this, I am in still in shock, wondering how such a sweet, innocent, 22 year-old who was always smiling is now gone.  Even in her last moments on earth, she was about to embrace her attacker.    I am angry and sad.  I don’t understand why these countless tragedies continue to occur. 
Christina didn’t deserve this.  Her mother survived breast cancer three times and now has to bury her daughter.  Her brother had to watch it all unfold in front of his very eyes.  The world was robbed of a true, God given talent who did nothing but bring joy to her family, friends and fans.  Sadly, I will never get to meet her or see her perform live and that angers me too.

As I drove home from work today, Aerosmith’s “Dream On” came on, and I think its lyrics are rather appropriate here: “Sing with me, sing for the year/ Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear/ Sing with me, just for today/ Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away…”

The Good Lord did take her away but I know she is up there smiling down on us with her beautiful smile.  Please take care of her up there and bless her family.  And Christina, please know that you inspired so many people to be themselves and to pursue their dreams.  You will be missed.  #RIP