Cool

Cool means being able to hang with yourself. All you have to ask yourself is 'Is there anybody I'm afraid of? Is there anybody who if I walked into a room and saw, I'd get nervous?' If not, then you're cool.

~ Prince

- - - - -

Maybe his passing is the death of cool. I am more affected than I expected to be to hear he has died. I feel like some things that would have caught me off guard or make me think differently won't be created now. He did, wrote, sang, filmed and otherwise created that stuff - the stuff of surprises. Often.

I went to see Prince for $5 when I was in college. It was a great concert. In 1993 I went to see the world premiere of "Billboards" - based on Prince's music and performed by the Joffrey Ballet - at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City. That's when "Thunder" became one of my favorite songs of all time.

I wasn't a super-megafan. I know some of those people. That's not me. I am pretty moved by his passing, though. It's one of those times when you know that there won't ever be anyone like that again. I know that's true for every person. This person, though... He made a huge impact on music and culture. And he was not like other people in very visible ways.

I used some of Prince's lyrics and words to wrap up my last class this semester.  They included: 

"Act your age, not your shoe size."

"A strong spirit transcends rules."

"Compassion is an action with no boundaries."

"The gatekeepers must change."

"No child is bad from the beginning. They just imitate their atmosphere."

Just like Prince surprised the world over and over again, he also inspired me to surprise myself by quoting from the song "Sexuality" in class this week. Thanks, Prince.