Maybe, I thought, it would just be better if I became a cocoon - at least then I wouldn’t run the risk of being hurt. Maybe I just didn’t want to be seen anymore. Being disabled and fearing rejection isn’t a very pleasant combination, trust me, and before I knew it, I felt like I was starting to hide. Not to mention that I’ve always grappled with a pretty big fear of rejection. I mean, I recently admitted to the entire Internet that I was the Beast, so there’s that. For so long, I was so afraid to be myself, to show anyone any part of who I was, for fear that they wouldn’t like what they saw. Mariah sure doesn’t mince words, does she? She gets right down to it with a massively powerful truth statement. And then I heard this voice - it sounded like an angel speaking to me from amidst the clouds, somehow telling me that everything was going to be alright. There I was, a wee little lass just trying to figure things out, come to grips with my disability and trying to find someone who understood just exactly what I was feeling. I couldn’t have been more than 12 when I first heard the song. That’s a powerful song right there, if you ask me… And maybe more importantly, it’s one that’s stuck with me for more than 2o years. I found myself identifying with many of her hits, but there was one in particular that pierced me straight through the heart.

With her trademark sound and heartfelt lyrics, it was pretty impossible not to feel something - anything! - when one of her tunes came on the radio. That is the Mariah I first fell in love with, and she went on to define so much of my youth and teen years. Mariah has had some missteps lately in both her personal and professional life, but who hasn’t? She’s human she’s made mistake, just like we ALL have so many times in our life.īut today, I’m more talking about old-school Mariah - you know, the classic Mariah from the ’90s who riffed high notes while singing about butterflies and dream lovers. Now, friends, before you roll your eyes at the title of this blog post, just hear me out for a moment. Editor’s Note: Song lyrics denoted in bold italics.

Mariah carey hero live 2010