I woke up this morning to news that Whitney Houston passed away yesterday.

As a young girl I always thought of Whitney as the epitome of beauty and grace. If there were ever a most beautiful woman on earth, I was sure she was it. And she was probably the first celebrity I was ever truly taken with—her big smile, her long limbs, and her curly hair all glued my eyes to her image on TV. And she was always so polite, which further solidified her as my role model.

What happened to Whitney in later years really broke my heart, but I was always quietly rooting for her. I hoped she would eventually find lasting happiness.

In 2000, when I was living in New York, I went to a big bash somewhere—gosh, details are so fuzzy now—and the iconic Whitney Houston gave an impromptu performance on stage. She was wearing jeans and maybe a leather jacket, and she had a hat pulled over her eyes which made her look so very sad, but not surprisingly, she sounded amazing. Her voice captivated everyone. I remember thinking that it was either a blessing or a curse to be so sad yet make everyone else so happy. Anyway, I felt very lucky to have been in that moment to see her on stage and hear her voice in person.

Hm, I think I’ll listen to her music all day today. Doesn’t that seem like a good tribute to her memory? RIP, beautiful.