A bright and talented star reclaimed her place in the sky early Saturday morning, June 11, 2016, when an armed man shot her at a show in Orlando, Florida. By now, the Internet will know that I am speaking of Christina Grimmie. For a brief background, Christina began gaining popularity from the moment she started her YouTube channel in 2009, where she frequently posted covers of herself performing songs on the piano. It was evident that she had immense talent at such a young age, and this was further validated when all four coaches turned their chairs around for her on The Voice. She chose to be on Team Adam, and she ended the season in third place. In the time that followed, Christina released many singles, and at the time of her death, she had an EP, entitled Side A, released.
I woke up at 11 on Saturday. I grabbed my phone from my bedside table, and I opened up two unread messages from my best friend.
"Christina Grimmie was shot!"
I will always remember the emotions that I felt when I read the next one: "OH MY GOD, SHE'S DEAD".
I felt a mix of disbelief, horror, and an overwhelming sadness as this truth sunk in. I remember sitting up in bed and staring at my phone for several minutes before I closed the message and typed her name into Google. The only things that I saw were news articles about her passing, and I do not cry, but my eyes certainly got misty. Above all, there was absolutely no room for me to deny the truth. She was gone.
I spent the rest of the day listening to her old music, like the covers she posted five years ago, because this is the Christina that I first saw. The reason that her death has hit me so severely is due to the fact that she was the first person that I subscribed to on YouTube.
In 2010, when I was nine, I went on YouTube for the first time, because I was curious about it. I had heard friends from school talking about the cool videos that were on there, and I wanted to know more. I didn't really understand what I saw, nor did I know what to click on first, so I settled on watching music or lyric videos. Then, my gaze drifted over to the right side of the page, where there was a long list of suggestions, videos that I might like. As I listened to "Hallelujah," by Rufus Wainwright, I stumbled upon the thumbnail of a girl at her piano with a poster of Sonic in the background. The title disclosed that she was singing Leonard Cohen's version of Hallelujah, and I clicked. I then took the steps to create a Google account just so that I could "like" her videos and subscribe to her, because her talent had grabbed my attention.
While I never commented or followed her on any social media, I slowly watched her grow from a small YouTuber to an absolute star in the eyes of public. She went from a quaint number of subscribers to a massive following of adoring fans that loved her voice, that loved her. In the days that have followed her death, countless celebrities have commented on how heartbroken they are about her passing. Some, like Selena Gomez, Charlie Puth, or Justin Bieber, have even performed a commemorative song for Christina at their own, respective concerts.
I originally planned to use Christina as a springboard to the topic of gun laws, but I decided against it, for that can be discussed at another time. I will not force my political agenda onto people who are mourning her loss. Instead, I took this opportunity to sing her praises in the only way that I knew how: the written word. Christina's talent has had such an impact on me and countless others, and I hope that she rests in paradise, and her family can find solace in their faith. I send them my best wishes.
