Michael Jackson was my very first idol. I was a child who happened to love dancing, whether it was tap, ballet or jazz, and I loved pop music. My first memory of Michael Jackson was dancing to ‘Beat It’ during a dance recital. I was the only girl in the class who had fully mastered the ever-popular moonwalk. It came to me naturally and I remember trying to teach other girls in the class how to do it because they had trouble figuring it out.

I was a huge Michael Jackson fan for many years. Thriller was my most favorite album and I listened to it on a daily basis. I knew every song by heart and absolutely loved them all. After much pleading and begging, I finally convinced my mom to let me hang two of his posters in my room, as long as I didn’t use too much tape as she didn’t want me to ruin the walls when they came down. I also remember innocently thinking to myself, “why would I ever take them down?”

My cool friends were all into Duran Duran and other more hip groups during that time. I was often the butt of jokes for liking Michael Jackson, owning two pair of parachute pants and wearing big white socks with black shoes, but it didn’t phase me. Watching him sing and dance was electrifying. His talent and skills moved me in a way I couldn’t explain. He was mesmerizing and seeing clips of his performance at the Motown 25th Anniversary show still gives me chills.

I even used Michael Jackson as a gauge for how bad my colds were when I was a kid. For example, if I were home sick, was I too sick to dance with Michael? Like if he magically showed up at my door and wanted to dance with me, was I too sick to dance with him? If so, I was pretty darn sick and probably running a fever. If not, I wasn’t very sick.

Needless to say, the posters eventually came down. I don’t remember what motivated me to take them down, but they were never replaced with someone new.  It may be selfish, but this is how I will always remember the King of Pop. I do not care to think about his scandals, his eccentricities or his surgeries. He will always be an inspiration to me and I hope others choose to remember the good years too. Rest in peace, Michael. And thank you for the memories.