Today was a professional development day in Lawrence. It's always great to get together and collaborate, especially because we rarely get to do so. We were taking a break after our morning session when I checked my facebook. Post after post revealed that Prince had died. I have to admit, I gasped. You see it in movies and read about it in novels and I have to say I always thought the
gasp was a tad dramatic...until I did so myself. I can't say why I was so shocked. Perhaps it was because Prince was an integral part of my teenage years. I saw
Purple Rain a handful of times and wore the vinyl album down so much that his incredible voice and rebellious lyrics were interspersed with pops and cracks. Maybe it was because Prince had always been a trailblazer and someone who seemed larger than life. Or maybe it was because he was always unapologetically himself in a world that demands conformity. Who knows, really. All I know is that when others in that room heard me gasp and questioned the reason, they were just as shocked as I was when I revealed the answer. He was that kind of musician. I know the next few days will be filled with speculation about his death, tributes to his music and his life, and a country blanketed in purple. I will forever remember singing
When Doves Cry into my hairbrush as a kid and dancing in an alley in the rain with my friends to
Let's Go Crazy...one thing to remember, there is no idolizing where Prince is concerned. Instead, there is a great appreciation for an artist whose music left an indelible mark on my teenage years and whose music can take me back to that alley in a heartbeat.
Today was a professional development day in Lawrence. It's always great to get together and collaborate, especially because we rarely get to do so. We were taking a break after our morning session when I checked my facebook. Post after post revealed that Prince had died. I have to admit, I gasped. You see it in movies and read about it in novels and I have to say I always thought the gasp was a tad dramatic...until I did so myself. I can't say why I was so shocked. Perhaps it was because Prince was an integral part of my teenage years. I saw Purple Rain a handful of times and wore the vinyl album down so much that his incredible voice and rebellious lyrics were interspersed with pops and cracks. Maybe it was because Prince had always been a trailblazer and someone who seemed larger than life. Or maybe it was because he was always unapologetically himself in a world that demands conformity. Who knows, really. All I know is that when others in that room heard me gasp and questioned the reason, they were just as shocked as I was when I revealed the answer. He was that kind of musician. I know the next few days will be filled with speculation about his death, tributes to his music and his life, and a country blanketed in purple. I will forever remember singing When Doves Cry into my hairbrush as a kid and dancing in an alley in the rain with my friends to Let's Go Crazy...one thing to remember, there is no idolizing where Prince is concerned. Instead, there is a great appreciation for an artist whose music left an indelible mark on my teenage years and whose music can take me back to that alley in a heartbeat.
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