10/01/18 | Nothing's Gonna Touch You In These Golden Years

I remember exactly where I was when I heard of David Bowie's passing. I was in the High Dependency Unit at hospital, in limbo after being told I needed new lungs but not yet knowing if I was able to be listed. In short, not a Good Place. When I was thinking so much about my own mortality the fact that one of my idols had gone so suddenly was a huge shock, it was too mortal for someone so extraterrestrial. I felt so numb, which was weird because I'd never felt like that over the passing of a celebrity before.

Except Bowie wasn't just a celebrity, he was a true icon to me and so many others. I grew up listening to him as my mum is a huge fan, I remember looking at her records and being in awe of this strange man with the different coloured eyes. His music brings back so many memories of childhood, from singing along to Sound & Vision in the back of the car to bopping around the living room to China Girl when I thought no one could see me. Doing the dance to Golden Years from A Knight's Tale with my friends in the playground and practising my catwalk to Fashion (again, when I thought no one was there!) Of course Labyrinth must be mentioned. As I got older I began to appreciate him as a person too. He showed us it was ok to be a bit strange and different, as someone who always felt like (and still do in many ways) I don't quite always fit in with the crowd it was comforting. The press vilified him in the early days but still he carried on doing his thing.

So I sat there in HDU feeling heartbroken yet at the same time thankful for the joy he provided me over the years and for the many hours I'd spent escaping whatever stress was going on in my life by listening to his music. I decided that if I got my second chance at life I was going to try be a little more Bowie - live how I wanted to and worry less about others opinions. And that's exactly what I'm doing now I have these new lungs! So thank you Starman for inspiring me to live my best life. I think we could all try and be a little more Bowie.

xx