In the early morning hours of June 11th, 2016, YouTube star Christina Grimmie was announced dead after being shot hours before at an autograph signing with her fans in Orlando, Florida. She was only 22 years old. Grimmie rose to fame around 2010 when her covers on YouTube began to gain traction and she was discovered by a talent manager who saw her cover of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA." She went on to release an EP in 2011 titled "Find Me" that consisted of eight tracks. She found fame through her amazing raw talent, her energetic and kind personality that shone through her videos, and her faith in God that was evident from her social media posts. She was a runner-up on NBC's "The Voice," and has performed or toured with artists such as Selena Gomez, Taio Cruz, Tyler Ward, and Rachel Platten. She was touring with Orlando-native band Before You Exit when the shooting occurred.

I remember when her "Rolling in the Deep" and "Forget You" covers were released. I remember when her first EP was released, and then her debut album. I was right along with her and her other fans as she journeyed through stardom.

I could write a ten-page paper about fan culture. I could tell you how, even though many people view it as at best, a waste of time, at worst, perverted, it's a very real and amazing thing. Fan culture, at its core, is a deep appreciation for an artist or entity, and a sense of togetherness with other fans. With this fandom comes camaraderie, like-mindedness, and love for other people. Yes, sometimes bad things come out of fandoms, but nothing in the world is always good. But the great and amazing things that can happen all because a group of people who like the same thing or person is astonishing. In that vein, we, as humans, are typically naturally empathetic people. This is why we can watch a TV show and feel sad or angry or happy right along with the characters, or why we sometimes feel that horrible secondhand embarrassment when watching something awkward in a movie. This is also why we can feel mournful when a singer whom we have never even met dies.

Christina Grimmie was not just a singer, though. She loved her family and friends and her fans, she loved God, and she loved video games. She was a typical 22-year-old, and I suppose this might be why this event resonates with me so much. It's easy to feel sad when someone dies because humans are naturally empathetic and it's usually fairly easy to conjure up that emotion. However, it is a different story when you can personally relate. She was, demographically and interest-wise, just like me. I love singing and music, I love gaming, and my family and God are so important to me. To know that someone like that––like me––has been killed in such a horrible way is devastating. I can only imagine what her family is going through as they deal with this tragedy. She was an amazingly talented person with a bright future snuffed out way too soon.

Rest in peace, Christina.

Postscript: If you are able, donate to the Gofundme set up by her management team for her family.