How Johnny Depp Changed My Life

Before I start this thought off, I should probably say that originally, I wasn't supposed to start this blog until January 1, 2010.  I wanted to smoothly enter into this whole blogging world with more knowledge than I currently have, a notebook filled with all sorts of ideas, and everything else.  But something got to me and I just had to write.  I should be frustrated, maybe a little upset at my plans changing so abruptly, but that's the thing with inspiration.  It's kind of like love; it just happens, especially when you're really not looking for it.

Anyways, the reason for this first blog is none other than Johnny Depp.  And really, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Not only is Johnny Depp People's Sexiest Man Alive, but now he is one of Entertainment Weekly's Entertainers of the Decade.  He's always been my everything.

Go ahead and roll your eyes at my choice of diction, my adoration of a celebrity who will probably never know who I am.  It's okay.  I don't have to meet him, don't need him to know who I am to gain any sort of satisfaction or momentary bliss from it (though if such a thing were to happen, let me assure you it would not be momentary).  I am simply content in knowing that he is alive because he has quite literally changed my life.

I still remember the first time I ever saw him - really saw him.  I had just gotten home from visiting my father back in Michigan, and my mother took my brother and I to a local dollar theatre.  Because it was my brother's turn to pick the movie, we ended up seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.  I wasn't too happy about it, but my mother reminded me that Orlando Bloom was in it, hot off The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (though I had always preferred Pippin to Legolas).  Upon first seeing Orlando Bloom, my interest wasn't exactly piqued, though he had an endearing quality about him, boyish charm that couldn't be denied.  But I was harder to win over than just one look, one smile.

And yet, the moment Johnny Depp sauntered on screen in black eyeliner and two gold teeth, with that sway, I was hooked.  He was unlike anything I had ever seen before, a masterpiece too beautiful to describe, but rough around the edges to entice even the most frozen of hearts.  With that enthralling score by Klaus Badelt backing Johnny's pirate captain as he stood on the mast of his small, sinking vessel, my thirteen year old eyes realized this was most certainly love at first sight.

I ended up seeing that movie two more times in theatres, bought it the day it came out on DVD, and now own it on BluRay as well.

As a Sagittarius, my curiosity regarding all things piratical was piqued, and I researched everything I could about pirates.  Yes, I read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Piracy.  I looked stuff up on the internet.  And I have been on the ride at Disneyland countless times now (though I haven't quite memorized the song.  Yet.).

My muse had fully formed, and everything I had wanted to write about finally came to me, so I wrote.  And wrote.  And wrote.  Belonging to Fanfiction.net (a place where people go to in order to read and write things belonging to any sort of fandom), Pirates stories flared up.  A big trend was second-story fiction where YOU were the main character.  I wrote some, I read some.  And then, Fanfiction.net decided to enforce a rule that they had otherwise been lax about, and every story (save for a select few) were deleted from the site.

But no matter.  I had to write.  And I did.  Not just with characters from the movie, but with my own characters.  And low and behold, I actually finished them.  While my imagination is quite rampant, my attention span was too impatient to actually let me finish a story.  But not anymore.

And I didn't just write stories, but poetry.  As a poet, I believe it is my job to make words as beautiful as songs but without the help of any intruments, and I must humbly say that I am quite content with how some came out.  But when you have a muse that inspires you in such a way, you can't take all the credit.  And I don't.

But it's not just me he inspires.  I know there are people out there who feel the exact same way about him that I do.  And maybe your muse isn't Johnny Depp, but rather someone else.  And that's perfectly fine.  But surely you can relate to what I'm saying and what I'm feeling.

Johnny Depp is more than just a pretty face.  He is compassionate and caring, and has this ability to be cool without trying.  He is talented and humble, gracious enough to sign an autograph or take a picture with a fan or two.  And just like the wine he adores, he gets better and better with age.  And he changed my life seven years ago, and will undoubtedly continue to do so as I get older.

But please know that my words really cannot express what I feel about him or how thankful I am for him.  To quote from Sir Elton John:  I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is while you're in the world.