Whitney Houston - We must mention the drug use

I have written a tribute to Whitney Houston on another blog:  http://suzettenaples.hubpages.com/.  We must look at a person's entire life when doing a retrospective of their life and that is why I chose to look at the beauty of her music and songs and the beauty of her life.  But, along the way, Whitney succumbed to drugs and alcohol.  Was it because of an inferiority complex?  Was it because of the pressures and stress of fame?  Was it because of the tabloid headlines so constantly negative lately?

We will never know the state of Whitney Houston's mind at the moment of her death.  However, I think we all know, even without the toxicology test results, that drugs and alcohol had taken its toll on Whitney Houston.  Yes, there are very recent photos of her looking desheveled and "out of it."  It is said by some people close to her that she was again drinking heavily, and exhibiting "erratic behavior."

To all those people who looked up to Whitney Houston and were her fans, appreciate the short time she was here with us on this earth and her voice and music.  But, also beware of the pitfalls of fame and using drugs and alcohol as a crutch through the tough times.    When times were tough for Whitney, she chose the weak way out - to take drugs and alcohol to numb the pain she was feeling.  She so much as said that to Oprah Winfrey several years ago when interviewed by Winfrey.  She admitted to abusing pot, cocaine and alcohol.  And, who knows what drugs she took that she didn't admit to.

To young people and others who looked up to Whitney and saw her as a role model:  Don't follow in her footsteps.  Don't think it is okay to use drugs and alcohol to numb the painful feeliings you are having.  Better to feel the pain.  Be strong, instead of weak.  We all have free will and choices in this life.  Use your will to say no to the easy and weak way to deal with pain.  Be Strong and take the tough way of dealing with your pain.  Feel it, and get therapy and the help you need, if necessary.  But, don't try to drown yourself or your pain away as Whitney did.

Whitney Houston ruined her voice because of her addictions.  She was trying for a "comeback."  If you don't succumb to drugs and alcohol, then you never need to "come back" from anything.  Drug and alcohol free, you are always on the road moving forward, not "coming back."

It is easy for us all to look at the beautiful Whitney and listen to her gorgeous voice and forget the reason why she is dead.  It is a death that most likely could have been prevented.  No doubt, she wore out her body and herself from all the drug and alcohol use.  Both take a terrible toll on the body.

 But, she left a daughter, only eighteen years old who still needs her mother.  Whitney still had a daughter to guide through life, even though we say Bobbi Kristina is an adult.  Chronologically, she is an adult, but emotionally she still needs her mother.  It is too bad Whitney didn't stop to think she had to preserve herself for her daughter, just at the cusp of womanhood and needing her mother's help and guidance, now more than ever.

So, let us learn from Whitney Houston's faults and flaws.  Let that be the important lesson we learn from her.  And as we listen to her beautiful voice in her recordings, remember to BE STRONG and not to succumb to the crutches of alcohol and drug use Whitney Houston tried to use to get through her life.