by Molly Horton

Created on: June 30, 2009

The life of Michael Jackson is complicated, dramatic, and ongoing even in his death, to say the least. Thursday, June 25, 2009 the world lost legendary singer, dancer and star Michael Jackson. The end of his life came fast and without warning, and we are left with so many things to remember him by, negative, fantastic and just plain strange. In his fifty years, he went through many events and issues all in the public eye.

Michael Jackson's appearance might be the most obvious of the issues. If we look back to his childhood, or even his Thriller days, it's easy to see the transformation. The skin lightening, numerous nose jobs, and hair hanging straight and in his face are just a few. The past few years Jackson was seen with what appeared to be painted red lips and very frail, sickly body. He certainly was not the young healthy looking man that belted out Beat It and spun around on his toes over and over back in the eighties. It was hard to imagine that this was even the same person.

Something that has always remained steady and recognizable is Michael Jackson's voice and music. His voice was remarkable and his songs seemed to capture worldwide attention, and still often do. People may have a handful of Jackson songs that they can name and love, but just then another Jackson song might come on and you quickly realize there are so many more that are loved, and simply forgotten. There are just too many to remember.

Some of the more negative happenings of Jackson will also be remembered unfortunately. At the top of the list would likely be his trials and tribulations regarding accusations against him for child molestation. He was never found guilty by law, but so many believe that he was guilty right until his dying day. It had a very tarnishing affect on his reputation. Even now, in his death, it is being speculated that he had a prescription drug problem. Although it may be weeks before we know if this is indeed true and did indeed contribute to his death, once again people will form their own opinions.

Isn't what we should be remembering about Michael Jackson exactly what his job was and what he gave us? That would be his groundbreaking music and entertainment abilities. He was also a huge humanitarian which ca be witnessed by his organization We Are The World in the eighties. That was exactly what was meant for us, not all of the other things, yet he will be remembered for it all. Let's hope that his children will be properly cared for and try to remember Jackson in his prime. After all, I think most people would agree, that's when he was loved by all.

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