Ms Uwonkunda's Ramblings These are thoughts in my head

‘On earth we weren’t meant to stay’

Whenever a singer, movie star or sports personality dies, we all turn in to ourselves and remember the first time we heard their songs, saw their movies or watched them wow the world with their raw talent.

I woke up to news of the passing of music legend, Whitney Houston. I had a text from one of the most unlikely sources; my big sister Angélique, whom you really can't call gossip savvy. In my sleep-filled mind, the shock didn't register until a few minutes later when Twitter confirmed the reports, that she had indeed died.

As a kid growing up in Rwanda, the first introduction to Whitney's voice was on a rather blurry video tape of I Wanna Dance With Somebody. The make-up, the hair, the colours and playfulness of it all, just blew me away. I would get re-acquainted with Whitney's music some years later as a young refugee in Kenya, when a friend lent me my very first tape, Whitney's I'm Your Baby Tonight. On the cover she sat down in ripped jeans, leather jacket leaning against a motorcycle. That tape was rewinded so much I was afraid it would ruin my friend's possession. I listened to it over and over again, and despite speaking little English and understanding even less, her voice transcended the language barriers. She wowed me and since that day, I've been a Whitney fan.

A couple of years later, with my English now in place, I bought Whitney's My Love is Your Love. That purchase was my very first album. Ever. Yet again, the cover blew me away and boy did I wish I could look just as good in such a tight dress. So simple, yet breathtakingly elegant.

I remained a fan, through the drug-filled years, the efforts of comebacks and numerous setbacks because I had signed on for "better and for worse".

48 years is a young age to pass, but I'm sure she is now looking down on us telling the Lord, she spent her life with all of us, reminding us that "On earth we wasn't meant to stay".