6 months Later...

Hi all,

So here's my first journal in 6 months!

My reason is much of what's happened.

I lost two more betta fish after losing my other one. My Mom got sick in February and in March I was unable to attend Wondercon in LA.

The biggest shock for me this year was when Prince passed away in April, as it turns out he is my 4th cousin!

However, I did not know this until 1 month later. Sadly some people now think because I discovered he's my relative that I'm just looking for a way to get an inheritance from his estate, Paisley Park...now anyone that knows me can tell I'm not like that. I've always been kind, compassionate and never do anything out of personal gain or greed.

As a result of sharing my discovery, I've been bullied online twice! I think people are just jealous that my connection to Prince is something they wish they had.

Will all the trials and tragedies I've had since 2012, if my family does qualify for an inheritance from my cousin Prince would really help my family...we've suffered so much and it would enable us to help other people.

The only reason why I decided to check to see if Prince was my relative  was out of curiosity. He and I are very much alike. I am sorry that we didn't meet, I believe he and I would have been very close.

I just hope others realize I love my cousin and had I found this out sooner I would have gone to great lengths to contact him. Words can't describe how hard it is to read the negative things said online about your relative and by the same token, the same person that was not only loved and respected by many is also part of your family.

I did send my information to a genealogy firm that is looking for Prince's family, for now they're just keeping different reports, mine included in their records. I just wish folks would understand I sent it in for legal reasons, withholding information is a serious crime and I would have a guilty conscious if I didn't file a report. At this point, the court is just processing claims by immediate family but there is a strong possibility they may start looking at other relatives which is where me and other people in my family come in. I'm so upset some people assume I'm using my connection to Prince to either get attention or have some other ulterior motive. I would NEVER do such a thing!

Overall, I'll never stop loving Prince and will always defend his reputation. I have several relatives I've never met but I still think about them and wish I had met them. Trust me, when you hear or read about someone who said or did something  that caused your family member pain or had the intention of doing so, it hurts!

Losing Prince, honestly I haven't cried this much in a long time...I hope with time people will realize they shouldn't judge a book by it's cover and accept the fact he and I are family and that both of us are talented individuals.

Though I have felt better than I did 6 months ago. It seems the rut I was in before is finally going away.

Will post how things go. I really hope this Summer will be pleasant... I'll be going to California in August and I can really use a vacation.