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As a child I used to stand in front of the mirror singing songs by artists like Whitney Houston. Yes, ladies, we have all done it. She had something about her that we all wanted to emulate.
After her death, I was presented with the question of whether I believed Ms. Houston was still a positive role model after all the things she went through. My answer was simple: Yes. She never stopped being one.
Houston set the vocal bar with "the note," and achieved more than any single female artist has to date. She was the first black woman to be on the cover of Seventeen Magazine. She also was the most awarded female of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
However, in 2002 Houston confronted an ongoing rumor about her drug abuse and the world found out she was using drugs. In an interview with Diane Sawyer, she announced her addiction to cocaine and also repopularized the phrase "crack is whack." Houston showed us that she was indeed human.
She worked her way to the top and watched her career slowly crumble. In her case, she had a spotlight on her the entire time.
With the added pressure of the public disowning her as "America's Sweetheart" and with her drug addiction severely increasing, Houston managed to find light in her dark life. Is that not admirable?
For many years, no one was sure if she could come back from the strain she had put on her life. A more sober Houston opened up about her life in 2009, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. She showed the world she couldn't be stopped.
But on February 11, 2012, in a Beverly Hills hotel suite, she was pronounced dead at due to causes as-yet unknown. Her funeral was broadcast on various television stations on Feb. 18. As I watched, I was asked again whether Houston remained a role model. My answer was still yes.
I watched entertainers like Kevin Costner, Alicia Keys, Kim Burrell, and R. Kelly show up and express their support for Houston's family and legacy. And I knew she had certainly made a positive impact on people.
I saw fans who had never met her, cry like they had known her all their lives. All I could think of was the lives she touched with her voice and her strength to succeed through even the toughest times.
Anyone choosing to admire Whitney Houston would be making a great choice.
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