It's Time To Turn And Face The Strange, David.

How a man named Bowie changed more than just the music industry.

And these children that you spit on/As they try to change their worlds/Are immune to your consultations/They're quite aware of what they're going through

Musician. Actor. Artist. Innovator. These four words can only begin to describe the journey of one man's life. David Bowie flipped the music world on its head with songs like "Space Oddity", "Heroes", and "Ziggy Stardust". But Bowie was so much more than a singer-songwriter. He was an abstract alien, a chameleon, a colorful, permanent stain on an otherwise minimalist world. Bowie didn't adapt to the changing music industry, he forced the music industry to adapt. Despite his overwhelming success in the arts, he will be remembered, in my mind, as an androgynous leader of the weirdos.

From Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke, David Bowie has changed his persona unlike any other artist before him. The creation of modern-day alter egos stemmed from the multitude of eccentricities provided during David Bowie's career. With these alter egos came new music, themes, and story lines, all of which played an important part in the transformation of music in the 1970s and 1980s.

But, Bowie spoke to people through more than just his music. He kicked down the doors of a straight-laced society and became a mouth piece for the LGBTQ community before it was safe to embrace one's sexual identity(ies). His androgynous looks transformed a revolution, allowing individuals across the world to embrace liberation. Love knew no bounds, no color, no gender, and neither did Bowie. He fell in love with both heterosexual and transgender women. He proclaimed he was bisexual when the idea of a man being anything less than heterosexual was blasphemous. However, this sort of thinking doesn't work in society. Just because you sweep it under the rug doesn't mean it stops existing. This kind of emotional burying prevented men and women from living a normal life for decades upon decades. But, at least for a song or two, Bowie could provide solace in an otherwise cold and confusing world. Bowie helped people to feel comfortable in their own skin, no matter what form that may take.

So, as Bowie moves from one form to another, we recognize more than just the artist, the musician, the actor. We recognize the soul of a man who challenged the way we perceive humanity. We recognize the avant-garde pioneer, who made it OK to express yourself. As the world mourns such an amazing artist, let's remember all the good he left behind. And the stars look very different today. As they almost always will.