His pure heart...His voice; his music; his dancing; his poetry; his magical, innocent, and childlike spirit; his love for animals, children, and all of life on earth; his philanthropy; his way of uniting people; his kindness, his incredible looks; his eyes; his smile; his everything. He was (is) a great teacher, a creative genius, a phenomenal entertainer, and an extremely compassionate, gentle, loving and generous soul. I believe he had many great lessons to teach us, if only we will listen. He awakened my spirit in 1982.

I think Michael is partially responsible for me becoming the person I am today; in a sense, he helped raise me without ever having known me. His music was there for most of my life, and most of my childhood can be associated with his music and videos - such a huge part of my life, even more than I realized. His charitable actions did not go unnoticed (by me). His messages were loud and clear (to me).

Michael meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Whether they like - or love - him for the entertainer he was, the man, the humanitarian, or all of the above, he impacted in a positive way millions of people throughout his life.

He delivered messages of love throughout his life; I believe that was what he came here to do. It is up to us now to continue his legacy of love.

One of the many things Michael sought to do was bring people together, no matter their race, creed, upbringing, where they live, talents, etc., all in the name of love (not fame - he used his fame to promote his cause, which was love), and the world can learn a lot from his examples.

I could write a novel about my thoughts about Michael and what he means to me, but I'll stop here...

“Let your soul plant its love like a seed into the hearts of all beings in this world. Then breathe love and life into that seed every day, and watch it grow.” ~Valerie (Me) :)