Thank You Melanie C!

I have been a huge Spice Girls fan since they invaded the world with Girl Power in 1996 when their first hit "Wannabe" topped the charts. Anyone who ever followed the Spice Girls had their favorite Spice Girl; mine was Melanie C aka Sporty Spice. I loved Melanie C because she was always dancing around in her track pants, sneakers, and either a halter top or sports bra; basically being sporty. I judged her for her looks because I didn't know any different. In my opinion she had the BEST voice of all the girls. It wasn't until Melanie C embarked on her solo career in the early 2000's that I started to appreciate her voice and her music so much. She has 8 solo albums so far and sometime this year; her 9th solo album will be released (and I'm excited to see what it's all about). Each solo album she's released has a different sound and vibe; so depending on what mood I'm in I can always find some Melanie C music to relate to how I'm feeling.

In October 2022; Melanie C released her much awaited memoir that came to shape over the lock-down period of the COVID pandemic. The UK edition "Who I Am" was released a few weeks before the US edition "The Sporty One. My Life As A Spice Girl" was released. I remember going into Barnes & Noble Rockville at Congressional Plaza and seeing the book faced out in the New in Non Fiction section. I was so excited to read Melanie C's story. I told myself I was going to take my time reading the over 400 page memoir and not read it in one sitting. But I was so wrong; once I opened up the book and read the dedication " To each and every fan - thank you for everything x" I knew I'd read it in one sitting. Each chapter in her memoir was a title of a single the Spice Girls released but mostly titles of the singles she released. I learned more about her childhood and life growing up, the craziness of the process of becoming and living the life of a Spice Girl, and then life after the Spice Girls had finally broken up (for the last time). The chapters post Spice Girl life was where I really made some deep and meaningful connections with her. It made me understand her solo music career thus far. .

I don't want to spoil too much of her memoir for those that haven't read it but I'm going to share one thing that made me feel a bit more at ease. Melanie C was diagnosed with some of the same mental health issues I was diagnosed with around the same time I was. It didn't surprise me as it must have been so tough to look a certain way and get worked so hard for the sake of being a Spice Girl. I'm really proud of Melanie C for bringing up the importance of making sure whoever reads or listens to her memoir takes care of their mental as well as their physical health. With that said; I'm happy I've been taking care of my mental health (as it's been a work in progress over a long period of time) by also taking care of my physical health. As a lifelong competitive swimmer and now a true veteran amateur triathlete and runner; getting in that physical activity boosts my mental health and makes me happy. For those that don't know; Melanie C is a triathlete and runner!

I'm so glad she shared her story. I'm happy I read her story and I'm happy I listened to the audio book (something I don't do much of) as it brought comfort to hear her voice reading it. I'm really happy I got to know the parts of her I never would have known otherwise. I now have a paperback copy of the UK version; which I'll get around to reading this year. Long Live 90s Pop, Long Live the Spice Girls,and Long Live the one and only Melanie C!