A 15 year old’s thank you to Eminem

Eminem has been depicted by a certain type of press as an horrible monster. If it is true that some fans gave Eminem a bad name while some others totally misinterpreted his songs, it is a matter of fact that Marshall Mathers has changed many people s lives through his music.
This is the testimony of a fan who would like to stay anonymous. I will call that person L for the article s purposes.
L.discovered Eminem very early:
I was just 8 years old when I started listening to his music (I m 15 now), and at such a young age, I of course didn t understand it all, but the very first time I heard him, I knew that this is what I needed to hear.
The young kid came from a poor family who really struggled financially for basic daily stuff such as food and electricity. Alcoholism complicated the family s already difficult life:
All of my early childhood we’ve so poor that we couldn t afford heating in the winter, we often had no electricity, no TV, and barely any food. My mother did what she could, but she was suffering from depression, on many occasion s me or my two elder brothers would find her sobbing, not knowing when we’d next get to eat. My father was a drunk who stole what little money my mum had and spent it down the pub, getting wasted and then coming home and beating my mum and eldest brother.
L was experiencing some obvious psychological difficulties and became introverted, refusing to speak. To add to the dark picture, the family s eldesr brother was diagnosed with mental illness. L s brother experienced bullying at school and L was easy an outlet for his rage at home:
I was always so scared as a child that I refused to even speak. To add to every thing going on, my eldest brother had an un-diagnosed metal illness, Asperger Syndrome. He didn t no how to behave and this got him mad, so he d take his anger out on me and my other brother, he also didn t know how to behave and was a nightmare to live with, and so he was the victim of terrible bully, horrific things were done to him.
The area the family lived in wasn t pleasant at all, since most kids experienced bad beatings from their parents at home:
We went to school were every kid was a bully, it didn’t matter if you were a boy or girl or your age, everyone would have the shit beaten out of them daily, but I never blamed those kids as they were just the same as us, they were just venting >their anger, walking home from school everyday you could look into the houses of the other kids and see they gettin beaten by their parents.
For the kids safety, L s mom eventually kicked her alcoholic husband out of the house. However, the four kids past left deep scars:
After a while my mother finerly kicked out my father and so it was just the four of us, but all of us have been both mentally and physically scared by our past. My mother now, after 7 years, has a hard time trusting men. My eldest brother become so depressed that he latterly didn’t come out of his room for two years exept to use the bathroom, he shut himself completely off, though >out the two years he never once opened his window blinds, as he literly did not see or feel sun light for two years he s developed a very serious sun allergy, and now he can’t go out in it or itll burn and kill him, and all of this is on top of his mental illness has affected his life so much, he can no longer do what other teen’s his age do.
My other brother is now on drugs, and I’m sure he’s doing it to try and keep the past away, he has also >recently been diagnosed with heart desease.
L s mom eventually found another partner, but the relationship just seems to be dysfunctional:
My mum now has a partner (I m not saying names, so I d just call him B), but it is so dysfunctional, like
Em’s & Kim’s, how he describes it. Eminems song I Love You More is just like my mum’s and B s. B used to be the hardest man around, everyone new and feared him (and still does). He’s been in jail five times for things such as blinding someone and stabbing. He is perfectly fine with me, I get along with him, but he can turn into a psychopath if you get on the wrong side of him. I’m not exaggerating when I say mum and B can’t look at each other without a full on screaming match and sometimes violent. They have a kid together, my lil sis, but she’s horrible. All she does is shout and scream at us all, swearing and hitting. She does anything she can to get us into trouble and is so spoilt. A few months ago I was doing some school work and sis told me to get her a pen, but I was busy and she wasn t doing anything, so I told her to get it, so she started screaming, so I told her to hang on and I d get her one when I finished the paragraph, but that wasn’t good enough for her, and so she stabbed me in the hand with a screwdriver. My mum and oldest bro also hate each other, they can’t stand one another and are always screaming. The dysfunctional relationship between mum and B is the worst for me. They say so many horrible things to each other. So many times I’ve just wanted to cry and shout and just end my life.
L has been through a lot. Eminem s music has helped this young person to overcome a lot of difficulties. In fact, the music has had some important curative effects. Eminem’s impact has demonstrated L, that no matter how deep you fall, there is always some hope to get out of it; his sense of humor had a wonderful healing effect:
But no matter how down I get I can put on an Eminem CD and everything is fine, his music calms me. Eminem help to change my life, he shown me that you can get through the darkest of places and continue to lath and have a sense of humor. I do suffer from light depression, but Eminem is making all of the bad memories fade away. I can relate to what he say’s in his songs so much; were he’s been, I have to. Listening to his music has shown me to stick up for myself and not take bullying. He has changed my life in a why I could never describe, and for that I thank him. Eminem has opened my eyes and taught me to look forwards, not back. I also have to give my thanks to other artists such as Tupac & Proof (God rest their souls), who also helped me see the world as I do today.
I know that L might only be fifteen, but life made this person become mature earlier:
I’m only fifteen and many people say I’m to young to understand life, but I’ve been and seen so much that I’ve never had a childhood, I’ve always had to be the adult, looking after my brothers when my mother couldn’t. Yet, in a way I am thankful for the life I’ve had, it’s given me knowledge that nobody else I know of my age has, but it was Eminem who taught >me to see the positives in live, not the negatives. And so, I will remain one of his biggest fans until my death.
I would like to thank L for trusting me and sharing this story with me. L also wrote it for Marshall Mathers, as an expression of gratitude.
Not every kid in this world has it easy. Be thankful for artists like Eminem who help many kids and adults to go through difficult and dramatic situations.
Copyright © 2006 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved