How to deal with celebrity death

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I'm a big fan of Alan Rickman and David Bowie and I was quite devastated by their deaths in January. I mean, they literally died within a few days of each other, at the same age (69) and of the same cause of death (cancer)! I spent the entire month of January in mourning. I've loved Bowie since I was a kid and Alan since my early teens (after watching his non-Harry Potter roles). I still remember where I was when I heard of their deaths and how I reacted to them. When Bowie died, I was in my bedroom, getting up for school and I had the radio on when his death was announced on-air. I was immediately shocked and confused and I was like that for the rest of the day. A few days later, I was using my phone during lunch break in school when I found out Alan died via Twitter. I saw his name (just his name, not the hashtag #RIPAlanRickman) trending and thought he was in a new movie. I tapped his name out of excitement, which turned to shock and despair as soon as the page loaded. I told a teacher how I felt about Alan dying when lunch ended and my parents when I got home.

Occasionally I still think about Alan and Bowie and hope they are happy now. I don't believe in god or heaven but I just hope they're in a nice place now, away from sadness and pain. I know there's fans of Alan Rickman who know him from outside Harry Potter, but I was worried that people my age would only know him as Snape and we wouldn't be able to relate to each other because I've seen his other characters. I was also worried that my age group wouldn't know Bowie either because of all the cheesy pop music they're into. I did many things to cope with their deaths, such as taking up every Bowie album and Alan Rickman movie up to my bedroom and putting them in a box under my bed. I spoke to my parents and other people I trusted about both Bowie and Rickman. It did help me feel better.

I have written this post to share my experiences with you and hopefully get advice on how to deal with them. If anyone on WP has had similar experiences, feel free to reply to this post.

I was slightly sad at David Bowie's passing.

One of my favorite songs of all time was "Space Oddity."

He had a good marriage with the model Imam, it seems. She must be devastated--but she's handling it with class.

Probably the reason why I am only "slightly sad" at his passing is because I never met the guy.

But I can understand you being devastated if his music, his persona, or whatever was an integral part of your life.

I hope things become better for you during your mourning period.