Out of all the celebrities I’ve enjoyed in my lifetime… I don’t think anybody has impacted me like Melissa. There are a few amazing women that run up behind her, and even a few men, but Melissa is, to me, everything a woman should be: A Godess.

I’ve listened to her music my entire life. Her first album came out shortly after I was born and my mom, aunts, and uncle were all addicted to her from the onset, which meant I listened to her a lot.

18 years later, I still listen to her constantly. Her music runs the gammut of my emotions from A to Z. It makes me happy, giddy, pissed off, afraid, lonely….she can do so much with a guitar and a poem. Her words are so personal and they are so very deep.

And that’s just her music.

I have a much deeper connection to Melissa for a wide variety of reasons, though.

Melissa was the first lesbian I ever knew about. As a child, I knew OF lesbians, but never knew there truly were any. Melissa was the first I ever knew about, because my mom made the comment “I don’t care if she is a lesbian, I still love her music!” My mom was homophobic…but that comment helped me to accept my own blossoming sexuality in later years and to come out to my mom. And knowing that there were others out there like Melissa, Ellen DeGeneres, and various others…made me feel like I wasn’t a bad person. Especially since Melissa had written so many songs about love, and being a lesbian, that meant they were about other women…that really helped me so much.

And then there’s the rest of her:

Melissa overcame the boundaries placed upon her as a woman, a musician, a lesbian, and even a breast-cancer victim.

She’s successful beyond words: Not because of her looks. Not because of rich parents. Not because of anything other than the fact that she is a survivor and has determination that burns like a fire.

She is everything I hope to be, and I thank her for inspiring me to be the best person I can be.

Yes, I want to be a musician. Yes, I’m 3/4 lesbian. Yes, I am a woman. But despite those connections between she and I, she doesn’t make me want to be a better woman or lesbian…she just makes me want to be a better person.

She just makes me want to be better, and I hope to the powers that be that someday, just once, I can shake her hand and thank her for all she’s done for me. Maybe, maybe…if I’m lucky, I’ll get the chance to hug her and tell her that she is truly everything I wish to be, and as such, inspires me to soar.