Now that the dust has settled, and Amy Winehouse’s death has sunk in, it seems a good time to talk about it. I’ve never known Amy, never met her, but I feel like I have. Maybe it’s her songs, or maybe it’s because she’s a Camden girl, like me. But as soon as I heard her I was convinced that she was a talented, beautiful genius. I first heard her in a car in Italy. My friend’s sister had made a mix-tape (yes, it was that long ago!), and we were playing it on the drive from the airport to their house. I was about 14 years old. I jotted down the words of the song, and googled them when I got back to England a week later. That’s when I found out all about Amy, and I’ve followed her ever since.

Her first album changed my life. Really. The songs stuck with me and I found a singer/song writer that sang EXACTLY how I was feeling. I also loved the way she looked; a strong, slightly plumpy jewish girl, who I thought was gorgeous.

When her second album came out I was shocked by her apperance, but still very much hooked on her songs. They were darker, but as I’d grown older, so had she and her music. So I was still an Amy-fan.

Now, in hindsight, we all know Amy’s downfalls, and we all have our 2-pennies-worth to put in. But I think out of all this there is a serious message.

For years Amy dealt with addictions; addiction to drugs, to drink, and to to the man she loved. Amy was a normal girl (with amazing talent). She loved like the rest of us, cried like the rest of us, and lived like the rest of us. It’s difficult to pass judgement on a girl who is very much like me, and every girl I’ve met. I’ve loved more than I should, and drunk more than I should, but in most circumstances, it’s because I’ve had a hard time with living in the world that is set up for me. It is said that Amy was “on the mend”, and perhaps she was, but how much mending is there to do for a young girl who has had to deal with the world around her?

So, maybe after all is said and done with Amy’s death, it will bring to light the difficulties with being not only a woman, but a person in today’s world. Her lyrics spoke the tragedy of a loved lost, while her life paralleled it.

Rest In Paradise Amy.