Look at these two photos. The same man, twenty years apart.
Above, a twelve-year-old boy with a borrowed guitar, sitting on the steps of the Avon Theatre in Stratford, a small town in Canada. He sang on the street for tourists. His single mother raised him amid financial hardship, and watched him from across the street so no one would steal his coins. He made two hundred dollars on a good night. With that, one time, he took his mom to Disney.
Below, that same boy sings at the halftime show of a World Cup final, before the entire planet.
But between one photo and the other, not everything was glory.
Justin Bieber had everything too soon, and the weight crushed him. The dark years came: the scandals, the mockery, the depression, the problems that almost destroyed him. The world, which had idolized him, set out to kick him while he was down. Many wrote him off as finished, another child star burned by fame.
But he came back. He took care of himself, healed, matured. He found the peace that early success had stolen from him. And he returned, stronger, to win back the respect he had lost.
That is why his story moves people beyond the music. It reminds us that falling is not the end. That you can hit rock bottom and rise again. That the boy on the steps was still there, waiting for his comeback.
From the Avon Theatre to the World Cup final. It is never too late to get back up.
Bravo, Justin.