Houston Legacy Marred by Early End

Whitney Houston died on Saturday, 11 February, 2012 at the age of 48.

She was born in New Jersey, and she knew from a very young age she wanted to become a professional singer.

At age 15, she became a model and was one of the first African-Americans who appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine.

At age 22, she released her self-titled debut album. Her rendition of the national anthem during Super Bowl XXV was considered one of the best in history because of her voice.

This all went downhill in the late 1990s when Houston started having problems with her marriage to music artist Bobby Brown and started getting involved with drugs. Her addictions soon caused changes in her voice.

Whitney’s cause of death is still unknown. Coroners will not release the official cause of death until they have checked every possibility multiple times. Some students and teachers have their own theories on what might have happened. The majority of the theories have been, not surprisingly, drug-related.

“Sadly, I would say years of drug and alcohol abuse,” history teacher Jennifer Goss said.

Coroners state prescription drugs were found in the hotel room where Whitney was found.

“I think she died from prescription drugs and alcohol,” sophomore Elaine Huang said.

This death deeply affected her family and friends. Her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, has been to the hospital twice because of her mother’s death.

Jennifer Hudson paid a tearful tribute to Whitney Houston by singing one of Whitney’s hit songs, “I Will Always Love You,” at the Grammy Awards. She changed the last verse of the song in loving memory of her fallen friend.

The people attending this event also had a moment of silence to pay their respects to the fallen pop star.