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Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called “life”

You grow up with the understanding that everything, everyone, dies. Family, friends, pets; they all die. If they haven’t yet, they will eventually. You know that you will one day die. It doesn’t matter if you understand it or not. Death doesn’t care about time, or understanding. It does not care if you are a sinner or a saint. It comes and all we can do it accept it.

But then there are the people, the icons, that we don’t associate with death. There are the people who are timeless, and you never stop to think what the world will be like without them.

One of those people for me was, Prince.

I wasn’t one of the people who had great epiphanies when I first heard a Prince song. His music was just there. Always.

Under the Cherry Moon was a movie I discovered one day on accident, and I fell in love.

Prince was unapologetic in who he was, what he believed in, and the music he made.

My first memory of my mom covering my eyes was during Purple Rain.

“Darling Nikki,” still gives me…special…feelings when I listen to it.

My first time being kicked out of a bar was because of a Prince song. I was 19 or 20, and my friend was dating a karaoke DJ. My friend and I had figured out that most of the time, bars were no cover charge on karaoke nights. What’s the best way to know what bars are offering karaoke on what night? Date a karaoke DJ. Anyways…we get up to sing some song, and then I see in a book of songs I am browsing: “7” by Prince.

Hell. Fucking. Yes.

I changed the song we were singing right then. “7” is one of my favorite Prince songs. I mean…I love most of his songs, but “7” is in my top 5, and if I am being honest, it is only number 3 below “Purple Rain,” and “When Doves Cry.” Again, anyways…

We start singing the song, and we are having such a fun time between singing and rapping this song. We are laughing and half-singing, half-speaking…it was just so much fun. After we were done, we bowed to the applause, and we started back to our table.

The manager of the bar came over to us and asked us who was giving us alcohol. We looked at him like he was stupid. I told him that he could smell my breath, we had not been drinking. I guess because they really had no way to prove whether we were drinking or not, and they didn’t want to call the cops and take a chance on losing their liquor licence…we were told to leave.

We weren’t just told to leave. We were escorted out by two bouncers; one for each of us.

Once we got out to the car, we turned on the same song we got kicked out for, and blasted “7” in the parking lot until they finally called the police and we were made to leave the premises.

Such fun. And all because of Prince.

He was there. Maybe not all the time, but he was there. Always.

I see so many people on the internet, and even in my own circle that don’t understand why people get so upset when a celebrity or an artist passes away. This is my answer:

Being a true lover of music is hard. There are so many people who help you get through the day. They get you pumped for the day. They help keep you motivated. They help you sleep better at night. They will never know if repeating their song or album got you through the roughest times in your life.

I don’t mourn because I knew Prince personally. I mourn because he was timeless. Timeless. He was timeless int he way that you felt like he would never run out of time. I mourn an icon that their songs can be listened to 40 years from now and STILL sound brand new.

I didn’t need to play his music or gush about my love for Prince every single day to cry and feel a great loss right now.

I hate 2016 right now. It feels like it is being written by George RR Martin. Somewhere there is a very lit concert going on right now.

RIP Prince Rogers Nelson.

Honey, I know, I know
I know times are changing
It’s time we all reach out
For something new, that means you too