Dear Kobe

I’ll remember all the debates my friends and I had over you vs. MJ & LBJ. I’ll remember all the highlights. All those ice cold mamba moments.

But today, my soul hurts. My heart breaks a little more with every text that solely reads "??". I cry with every headline I read and with every picture I see. With each reminder I am snapped back into the reality that someone I truly idolized and looked up to, is gone.

I think about how weird it’ll be to talk about you 20 years from now. I imagine the year 2040 when a 20-year old asks me about Kobe Bryant. I know I will pause deeply to remember. I will think back to how one of the most widely respected and impactful human lives of all time, showed me what it meant to live passionately. To have the relentless pursuit of excellence. An unwavering work ethic. A deep determination for the pursuit of excellence. To love deeply, to love those around you & to love your craft.

I will take a moment to remember that I got a chance to see you play the game that you were the best at. I'll remember that I was alive during the same era as one of the most iconic people of all time.

Kobe, you showed me how to believe in myself. It was your actions, not your words, that showed me how fulfilling life could be if I worked hard for it. Today & forever, you are a reminder of how important it is to spend the limited time I have here, with the humans I share deep and loving relationships with.

In 20 years from now when someone asks me about Kobe Bryant, I will smile and say that I am happy to have been a witness to your greatness.

I love you and I miss you so much Kobe. I will always remember you ????