Michael...
I couldn't even begin to tell you how much you have impacted my life. When my mother was 15 she was pregnant with my sister and I. She jammed out to J5 everyday. When I was just a year old Billie Jean came out. My mother sang the song to me, but said my name instead. Mindy Jean. She has told me that for as long as she can remember I have been singing and dancing to your songs. I do remember coming home everyday after school and watching Moonwalker, wishing I was one of those kids! We have both had a similar relationship with our fathers so growing up my initials became MJ instead of MC and thus came my name by everyone...MJ.
Thank you for giving me someone to relate to in the darkest and lightest of moments. When you understand that parents will be parents and forgiving them for what you feel is wrong is a purifying and just closure.
When I was 16 I met a man that did not treat me well. I got pregnant and one of my most favorite memories is holding my 2 week son while he was crying, then putting on your music and slowly dancing and rocking with my eyes closed to one of your songs. I was holding my baby and feeling him and the music and when I opened my eyes he was asleep. But the meaning in your song was so powerful, I couldn't let him go. I just sat and stared at how beautiful he was and it gave me confidence that I could be a great mother.
Thank you for your voice and your music and giving me a bond with my child. He is now 11 and his favorite song is 2000 Watts.
When I was 20 I got pregnant again by this same man that did not treat me well. For the sake of privacy I will not mention how badly he treated me, but I will say that I ended up in an abortion clinic because I did not want to have another from him. They took me in and showed me the videos, told me what would happen and when I was sent back to the waiting room but in my head I was ready to go. I hated this man that much. I sat and watched as a man rubbed a rosary and "You Are Not Alone" came on. I was not even close to religious at the time. BUT I still got a weird feeling.
My son is now 8 years old.
I thank you for being available to me when I thought the best decision for me was actually the worst decision I could have ever made.
This beautiful son of mine was born deaf and autistic. He didn't say mama until he was 9 months old and didn't start talking until he was three. He was very reclusive, but one day I started playing your music. He screamed and jumped around in circles. He actually heard it. Ever since then I have been educating him on your life, your messages, and your music. Now, he won't stop talking! His vocabulary is out of this world. He has watched your videos and actually learned software to direct his own videos and movies, he has a lot of friends, he is on a basketball team, and he mimics your dance moves and wants to show everyone what he has learned. I have the most awesome video of him dancing to Thriller! I wish that you could see it one day. His favorite song, however, is Smooth Criminal.
I thank you for giving inspiration to my son, when at one point I felt I would be helpless and hopeless, and giving him and me motivation to move forward.
In 2001 I ended up leaving this horrible man. I married in 2008. Exactly 14 months later you "died" and I left him.
Ironically I took him back 7 months later...and he brought me one of your albums. (I actually just realized JUST NOW that I married 7 years later and after 14 months (7+7) I left him. I've been obsessed with the number 7 since Pudge Rodriguez was with the Rangers in 1992 when I was 11 and that equals 21 which is 7x3 or 7+7+7)
I have never been a religious or spiritual person. To be quite honest whenever I thought of God or Jesus it always gave me a very uneasy feeling so I avoided it. I was curious about this feeling from the 9th grade on so I researched a bunch of religions but none of them made sense so I could never commit. I just pushed it to the side hoping the feeling would go away.
After your "death" I cried. I cried for two weeks and then I was thinking about what I had seen and started researching. Then I saw that other people had been thinking the same things that I had! I always looked to this site as a "what's new" and what will confirm my beliefs for almost a year and a half. Mo and Souza are right on target!
I finally decided to register recently to see what everyone was saying, but I was so scared that my beliefs would be criticized as asinine, not knowing if the research I had found over the 18 months would be accepted. But it was. For the most part anyway. There are so many people in this world that know you, that feel you, that love you, that want to figure out how, when, and why you would do something like this and then figure out where and how you will come back.
The 4 W's and the H.
Your genius is absolutely amazing. I thank you now, the time being, for making the music if played loud in the mornings, motivates me to clean house, to do laundry in the afternoons and gives me good dreams in the evenings.
You have been there for me. Throughout my entire life. I thank you in 100% L.O.V.E.
Through everything you may have to face: I WILL BE THERE. A SOLDIER IN YOUR ARMY.
You will always be in my heart,
MJ