Dear Kobe,
Its been exactly a year since your shocking untimely death and I don’t think anyone has quite been able to shake it. Ironically enough, your death was followed by the most tragic pandemic in the history of this country. We saw more deaths in 2020 then, get this, during World War 2. At times, it has felt as if the world might be ending. But I’m sure you know all of this already. I am a 100% sure you have kept close tabs on all this stuff while you’re up in heaven playing one-on-one with all the greats and of course, Gigi.
I wish you were still here with us…in person. I say it like that because I feel like you are still here with us in spirit and inspiration everyday. I still use many of your motivational interviews, quotes, and highlights to push myself each day. When adversity starts to run high, I dig deep and I find myself reaching for ideologies that you had instilled in many of us when we were younger. Younger, watching you dominate over men and boys alike in the NBA. However, I wish you were still here in person because you continued to give us inspiration every day, every week. There are thousands of people that die young every day on this earth but their ability to touch so many people are not nearly what yours was. And for that, I cannot fully let go of your death. I think about how much more you were capable of doing to help and how much more you would have done to influence the youth into shaping a better world. How would Kobe have reacted to all this political nonsense that took place in 2020? How would he have impacted the way individuals digested all these polarizing events that took place in 2020? I would bet anything that you would have been able to spin the narrative positively and created much greater hope for the thousands out there that have been struggling. You would have done everything in your power to help thousands out there that were powerless.
I have never personally gotten to know you, like many others that have been tragically scarred by your death, but on some level, I feel as though for me, this scar is going to take a long time to heal. When I was young, you were a role model to me. I tried to shoot my jumpers like you, crossover like you, drive to the hoop like you, although I was never even close to as polished as yours, but I kept at it on the playground and in my backyard everyday. Because Kobe Bryant would have never stopped and he would have continued to try and get better. I had your posters up in my room and argued with every damn person that Kobe is going to be just as great at MJ and of course, shouting in fun filled debates, “Kobe is better than LeBron!”. God, I miss those times terribly. Simpler times.
A year ago today I can recall exactly where I was and what I was doing when I began to read the news and started to receive an endless string of texts, calls, DMs and notifications. For me it was instant denial at first. I did not want to believe it. I saw it on Instagram. There is a lot of fake stuff on these platforms all the time, I said to myself. How stupid of me. I almost wanted to laugh it off because why would someone try to spread a rumor so awful? But as that realization slowly crept up on me, the “awful” part of that question got personified to a worse level. As the rubble of that crash cleared, they made more discoveries and the news broke instantly all over the country and world. I can still feel the disbelief in peoples voices and reactions as I informed some for the first time.
But I digress. Because Kobe, you would want us all to have moved on. You would want me to fight the hard feelings and continue to use you as an inspiration to grow each day. You would want me to use this energy to help others and to make this world a better place. So Kobe, today, although I have not yet fully come to terms with your passage, I will no longer mourn. I will no longer sulk. I will celebrate the life that was and what could have been. I will smile when I remember all the joy your amazing performances on the court brought to my life. I will grind harder with every passing day to make sure that I improve as a person and that I help all those around me get a little better everyday. Thank you Kobe, for instilling in me these values that I will carry the rest of my life and for all you have continued to give us even though you’re just watching from the sideline of heaven now.
Sincerely,
Mo
