Trust me, I still have more to say in the beauty/youth unit, because I probably won’t ever run out of things to say there. But I thought we needed a little break from that. So, tonight, let’s talk about Kanye West.
Do you remember when Kanye West was incredibly inspirational? When he got in that near-fatal car accident, and immediately started writing about it? When he worked his butt off, and swallowed his pride, living with his mom I think until he was 26 years old so he could do nothing but pursue his dream….
My dad and I saw him in concert and it was one of the most moving experiences I’ve had. He was truly a gifted performer.
I don’t remember exactly what Kanye West said at our concert, but I do remember I wrote this as the takeaway from the night: “You have to be the fire inside yourself. No one will ever push you as hard as you’ll push yourself. You need to be your driving force”
He was really just amazing.
Then obviously he went pretty nuts.
I thought his downward spiral was a phase. I didn’t realize it was never-ending.
I get it. His mom was his best friend in the world. She died from a surgery he paid for. I’m sure he couldn’t stop asking, “Why didn’t I say no?” or “Why didn’t I get a better doctor?” Or why a million other things.
Right after he lost his mom, he did that heartfelt, beautiful tribute at the Grammys. I thought his loss was going to help him make beautiful art.
I was incorrect.
I do think it’s very understandable that someone can’t come back from such a huge tragedy – that when someone loses the one person in the entire world who he knows loves him just for him and who helps keep him grounded – how does he come back from that?
But it doesn’t make it any less sad.
Every time a song of his comes on my iPhone (since I love him and he used to be a pretty big staple in my workout playlist), I get a bit bummed out. I think about who he was, what he could’ve been, and what he became.
(I’m sounding really judge-y toward Kanye West, but I’m not trying to say he’s a bad person. I’m just saying he used to be Kanye West.
As he basically said in his 808s and Heartbreak album – sure, he has everything… but he has nothing. And I wish that things had worked out differently for him.)