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5 things to miss about Prince now that he's gone.

'Dearly beloved / We are gathered here today / 2 get through this thing called life.'

Fans around the globe mourned as TMZ and The Associated Press reported the tragic news of Prince's death at his home in Minnesota.

The superstar musician, performer, and songwriter was 57.

Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images for Lotusflow3r.com.

His talent was potent. His mere presence could take your breath away.

Remember when he made a surprise appearance at the Golden Globes in 2015 and hundreds of celebrities lost their minds? Even fellow famous people knew he was in a league of his own.

GIF via "The Golden Globes."

Prince was the very definition of inventive: constantly redefining himself and his work while remaining soulful, cool, and full of life. To put it simply, he will be missed terribly.

Here are five ways Prince left an impression on the music industry and the world.

1. He wrote songs and performed with some of the biggest names in music, many of them women.

Prince is best known for his storied career as a musician and performer, but his songwriting prowess is the stuff of legends. He wrote and performed with many of the top artists in the industry, even occasionally working under a pseudonym.

Many of his most famous songs were written with or for women artists including Stevie Nicks ("Stand Back"), Sheila E. ("The Glamorous Life"), The Bangles ("Manic Monday"), and Chaka Khan ("I Feel For You").

Prince and Mary J. Blige perform onstage in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel.

2. Prince was an unapologetic Minnesotan, through and through.

Born in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Prince was always proud of his roots. He recorded many of his early hits at a warehouse in Eden Prairie, and Minneapolis essentially played a supporting role in his hit film, "Purple Rain." Paisley Park, his home and studio, is a well-known site in Chanhassen.

He loved Minnesota, and Minnesota loved him back.

3. Even when it would've been easier to play the game, Prince was always true to himself.

In the wake of people questioning his gender identity, race and sexual orientation, Prince's lyrics and style remained confident. Take the lyrics from the title track off his 1981 album "Controversy":

"I can’t understand all the things people say.
Am I black or white?
Am I straight or gay?
Do I believe in god, do I believe in me?
I can't understand human curiosity."

His aesthetic was provocative and innovative, cutting across gender lines and any sort of expectations for what a male pop superstar should look and sound like. Prince did things his own way, and the music, his performances, and the industry were better for it.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

4. He inspired a generation of artists and fans.

At the news of his passing, the outpouring of love and sadness was immediate. Tributes not just from musicians, but actors, writers, and creatives across disciplines is proof of his wide-ranging talent and appeal.

5. And the music. Oh man, the music.

He was a force of nature, and his music was nothing short of amazing.

Remember his Super Bowl halftime performance in the rain? THE PURPLE RAIN? It was truly masterful.

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images.

Prince made the world a little brighter.

While many mourn a legend gone too soon, let's remember the positivity and goodness he shared with the world through a lifetime of work and action and never forget what he gave us: music, style, creativity, and confidence.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

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Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship

Democracy

This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

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money

Identity

One man turned nursing home design on its head when he created this stunning facility

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Every night around 5:30 p.m., she stood up and told the staff at her Ohio nursing home that she needed to leave. When they asked why, she said she needed to go home to take care of her mother. Her mom, of course, had long since passed away.

Behavior like Norma's is quite common for older folks suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Walter, another man in the same assisted living facility, demanded breakfast from the staff every night around 7:30.

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Family

Grandma got a secret DNA test after noticing her granddaughter didn't look like her siblings

People think she was right to do it, too.

via Christian Buehner/Unsplash and Warren Umoh/Unsplash

The grandmother was suspicious.

A grandmother always felt her middle granddaughter Lindsay, 15, looked slightly different from the rest of the family because she had blonde, curly hair, while the rest of her siblings’ hair was dark “I thought genetics was being weird and I love her,” she wrote on Reddit’s AITA forum.

But things became serious after Linday’s parents “banned” her from taking things a step further and getting a DNA test. If the family was sure their daughter was theirs, why would they forbid her from seeking clarity in the situation? After the parents laid down the law, the situation started to seem a little suspicious.

“I told my son and [daughter-in-law] that there was something fishy around her birth she needed to know. They denied it and told me to leave it alone,” the grandma wrote.

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dna tests

Health

If you're grieving a loved one this holiday season, here's a gift you can give yourself

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.

Images courtesy of Kelly Cervantes

Kelly Cervantes wrote her way through grieving the loss of her daughter, Adelaide.

Kelly Cervantes begins the Introduction to her book with five words: "Grief sucks. It's also weird." It's a concise truth that anyone who has lost a loved one knows all too well.

Grief is a universal experience—none of us get through life without loss—but it's also unique to each person. Most of us are familiar with the popular "stages of grief" theory, but denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (along with guilt and a host of things) are less like sequential rungs on a ladder and more like pools you fall into at various times as you stumble your way through the grief process. Grief is not linear and it's not neat and tidy and it's not predictable.

Take it from someone who's been there. Kelly Cervantes lost her daughter, Adelaide, to epilepsy just shy of her 4th birthday. Using writing as a therapeutic tool to help her process Adelaide's medically complex life, death and everything that came after, Kelly created the book she wished she'd had as she was trying to navigate her own grieving process.

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grief

5 things to miss about Prince now that he's gone.

'Dearly beloved / We are gathered here today / 2 get through this thing called life.'

Fans around the globe mourned as TMZ and The Associated Press reported the tragic news of Prince's death at his home in Minnesota.

Here are five ways Prince left an impression on the music industry and the world.

1. He wrote songs and performed with some of the biggest names in music, many of them women.

2. Prince was an unapologetic Minnesotan, through and through.

3. Even when it would've been easier to play the game, Prince was always true to himself.

4. He inspired a generation of artists and fans.

5. And the music. Oh man, the music.

Prince made the world a little brighter.

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Confusion is common in Alzheimer's patients, but Makesh knew there had to be some way to minimize these conflicts.

Instead of rooms or units, each resident gets a "home" on a quiet little indoor street reminiscent of the neighborhoods many of them grew up in.

Instead of a boring panel ceiling, residents look up and see a digital sky, which grows dimmer late in the day to help keep their biological clocks in tune.

Throughout the day, nature sounds and fresh aromas like peppermint or citrus are piped in.

For Makesh, this isn't just about making patients comfortable, though. He wants to change how we think about the endgame of severe dementia.

Of course, we're a long way from a cure for Alzheimer's.

People think she was right to do it, too.

"You, white friend, need to speak up and say something when I can't."

1. You're going to have to get uncomfortable.

2. "Your black friend would like to say something to the racist lady, but doesn't want to appear to be that 'angry black man.'"

3. We are constantly monitoring our surroundings and adjusting our clothes, hair, speed, and speech to maintain white comfort.

4. "Your black friend wishes you'd play more than Beyoncé. There are more black performers than Beyoncé."

5. Speaking of which, performative blackness is really uncomfortable.

6. "Your black friend feels like a man without a country."

7. We would love it if we could stop talking about our anxiety and frustrations regarding racism. But right now, that's impossible.

The billionaire passed away on November 28 at the age of 99.

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.