[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Janet ] [ Earth's Children ] [ Writing ] [ Anthropology ]

I have been a huge fan of Janet since I was a little girl.  I liked her attitude; she was tough, she wouldn't let anyone mess with her.  Her music became a source of strength for me as my mother became more and more ill (and abusive.)  After mom died, Janet's music was about the only thing that could bring a smile to my face.

The janet. album came out around the time of my mother's death and contained songs that expressed pain (like "This Time,") songs that explored sexuality (like "if,") a topic I had just started exploring around the age of 9, and songs that made me cry because her voice was so beautiful to me (such as "Again.")

Throughout high school I struggled with depression.  In 1998 Janet released an album exploring her own depression, The Velvet Rope.  Her song "Together Again" helped me deal with my mother's death for the first time.  I want that song played at my funeral, whenever that may be.  Her song "You" helped me realize that I couldn't keep blaming everyone else for my pain and that I needed to deal with it myself if I wanted to get better.  "What About" addressed an abusive relationship and rape, something I experienced the first time that fall.

Around 2000 I had money for the first time, and purchased many interviews with and articles on Janet.  The more I learned about her, the greater connection I felt with her as a person, and the more I came to love her as an artist.  Janet's albums are always portraits of what is going on in her life at the moment; they are honest and deeply personal, two qualities by which I define myself.  

When she finally released All For You in 2001 I had already hit the bottom of my depression and was building myself back up.  The album exactly expressed what I was feeling at the time.  "Someone to Call My Lover" was instantly a favorite,  and her song "Better Days" became my new anthem.  It still is.