I’ve been a Mariah fan (or “lamb”) since the ripe young age of nine and one of the questions I’m asked the most is “why?” Well, aside from the obvious answers (amazing pipes, awesome songwriting skills, redonkulous shoe collection), there are things I’ve learned as a Mariah fan that have practically become life tenets. Here are five lessons that ring true whether you’re a Mariah fan or not (which, let’s face it, we all are):

Crazy is okay if it’s served with a heaping side of talent.

Sometimes you’ll be mid-MTV-Cribs and realize you need a rose petal bath. Or maybe you’re filming an episode of TRL and decide that pants are optional and everyone needs ice cream, stat. But who has the most #1 singles of any solo artist? And who out there can match Mariah’s five-octave range? Maybe you need to be a little bit batty to be a lot bit talented.

If you love something, love it 190%.

Or, as Mimi would say, love it “grandtastically”. Mariah loves butterflies…but not in the same way other people love butterflies. She loves it all over her house (have you seen The Butterfly Room?), all over her 12 studio albums, her clothes, her bling bling, her body (yes, she has the obligatory butterfly tat). Sure, normal people might consider that obsessive behavior. But when you’re passionate about something, why stop at ‘like’ or ‘love’, why not just dive headfirst into ‘over-the-top infatuation’?

Live like you’re eternally 12.

Mariah very famously eschews birthdays and instead celebrates the anniversary of the day she turned 12. For the record, she recently celebrated her 32nd “anniversary”. But really, the point here is to live life with the innocence of a child, don’t take things too seriously and also SPARKLES AND GLITTER!!!

Find your ‘lambily’ and surround yourself with them.

I suppose another way to put this is, “haters gonna hate”. There will always be naysayers out there (Mariah probably as more than most), but what really matters is spending time with the folks who have your back — your friends, your family, your fans (or your lambs, in Mimi’s case). Nothing else matters.

Never give up.

Not only is this a recurring theme in many of Miss Mimi’s songs (Hero, Make it Happen, Can’t Take That Away), but you can see how the diva herself has lived this mantra. Many folks would have called it a day after the Movie-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named-That-Rhymes-With-Splitter. But Mariah came back at it in full force with more #1 singles and chart-topping albums, not to mention roles in Oscar-worthy movies (Precious, The Butler). I mean, if Mariah can bounce back from Glitter, anything is possible.