The Idiosyncrasies of a Teenage Mind: A tribute to Kurt Cobain from a girl who was born the year after he died

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Nirvana's lead singer and guitarist, Kurt Cobain.

I never saw Nirvana live, I never bought their record the day it came out, I didn't cry when Kurt died, because, like with Woodstock and the Apollo 11 moon landing, I was born too late.
But despite never experiencing the wonder that was Nirvana while it was happening, they are one of my favourite bands of all time. And Kurt Cobain has always been an enigma I am fascinated by, occasionally obsessed with, constantly trying to figure out, and always wishing he was still alive today.

Kurt wrote in his suicide note, "it's better to burn out than to fade away" (a lyric taken from the Neil Young song 'Hey Hey, My My') and whilst I often contemplate whether he was right or not, sadly we will never know. But one thing I do know is that I am grateful everyday that Kurt was able to share his creative genius with the world before his death, because the art he left behind is still having an impact on people like me today.

So 20 years on from his death, I am not going to say "rest in peace" or "he was taken from us to soon", because all I really need to say is thank you Kurt. Thank you.