There's a lot controversy surrounding John Lennon, either concerning his abilities as a father, a husband, a friend, or just a musician in general. As imperfect as this man was, he aided me and taught me in ways I couldn't have imagined.
John Lennon stood out. He was different and eccentric in many ways but he seemed perfectly content with that. As a young kid in elementary school, I ended up getting bullied quite a lot and so I had a hard time fitting in because I was labeled as being "different" from everyone else. So Lennon's attitude about his own differences helped me realize that I shouldn't be ashamed of who I was.
His music struck a chord with me as well. John Lennon had come from a broken home and was abandoned by his father and so the pain of what he felt really came out in his solo career, particularly in the song "Mother". When my father walked out on my mother and my siblings, needless to say I felt like I had been abandoned. Life as I knew it changed dramatically as I began to see my father less than ever before. At the time, I clung onto the fact that John Lennon had experienced the same heartbreak and I felt comforted because now I knew that I wasn't alone in my struggles.
It's embarrassing for me to admit, but the song "Mother" used to reduce me to a sobbing mess and for a few years I couldn't listen to it without tearing up. It was the second verse that always got me:
Father, you left me but I never left you590Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYH8XU8faT
I needed you, you didn't need me590Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEkfCy4nxE
So I, I just gotta tell you590Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSplxEmHX88
Goodbye, goodbye
It was something I could relate to very well.
In Grade 5 I was marvelling over a new calendar I got for Christmas which consisted of photographs of Lennon with his faded lyrics printed in the background. I turned to one photo and read the words "You're all beautiful. You don't need anyone to tell you who you are. You are what you are." I ended up crying after reading that.
At the time I needed that message since I was so ashamed of who I was. I was bullied so much I believed those idiots that I was a freak, something to be reviled and sneered at. You don't need anyone to tell you who you are. Lennon, I realized, was absolutely right. I didn't need anyone to tell me who I was.
John Lennon taught me to love myself. He taught me to be proud of my talents and differences. I never thought it was a lesson I would get from a man who had been deceased for many years but it happened. Another artist that reinforced this idea in me was Freddy Mercury but it was John Lennon who opened my eyes to this.
I know Lennon was imperfect but to me, he helped me get through the toughest times of my life.
It's cliche to say, but I feel like he saved my life.
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