Happy Birthday Michael Jackson — Turning The Ordinary Into Extraordinary
Of course he was ordinary.
He was just an ordinary child from a family of ten, the second youngest boy, born on the ordinary day of August 29, 1958. He went to an ordinary school, lived in a ordinary house in Gary, Indiana in a house too small to fit his ever-growing family. He had an ordinary story of the same ordinary, poor black family that faced the same ordinary struggles of Black America in the early sixties on the brink of the Civil Rights movement. And then he discovered an ordinary talent for music, the gift of song and dance-the same as any other child who has ever had to dance in their pajamas in the middle of the night to entertain company.
Michael Jackson was ordinary.
You see his story was simple - no formal training, no vocal coaches or pageants, or no scholarships to performing arts schools. Just his talent-nurtured and surround by his family; his love of song-secured and supported by his brother’s instruments; and his gift of dance- a homage to the rhythm of the soul and funk gods and tribal beats of our ancestors. Yes, it ran deep within him. Who would have thought that an ordinary little black boy with the blood of African queens and kings running through his veins would turn out to do the extraordinary?
Few of us in our lives are ever really able to witness magic happen. With Michael, not only were we blessed to witness it but we were able to share it with each other. When he captured our eyes as a kid, we were amazed. By the time Off The Wall was certified platinum, the hold he had on our hearts was immortalized. By simply studying and perfecting his craft, our beloved MJ took the most ordinary pleasures- singing, dancing, recording, arranging- and fueled those things into an extraordinary career and life that touched the world.
By simply studying and perfecting his craft, our beloved MJ took the most ordinary pleasures- singing, dancing, recording, arranging- and fueled those things into an extraordinary career and life that touched the world.
His biggest legacy is not solely in his music. It lies in the way he made us feel. Amazed, excited, happy, hysterical, frantic, proud that one of us had not only been a success story but became the ultimate success story. An example of ordinary perfection taken to iconic heights. A true testament to the fact that you can definitely start ordinary, but you don’t have to end up that way. If you put enough fire, passion, discipline, work ethic behind your dream you too- no matter where you’re from, no matter how many obstacles you’ve faced-can make it.
On June 25, 2009, we were faced with an ordinary day met with an extraordinary lost. Physically he may not be with us, but his spirit lives in us all, no matter what path we are taking. What will you do today that will turn your ordinary into extraordinary?
Rest in power, Michael Jackson.
Follow Melissa on Twitter at @Melissa_Kimble.
