We Miss You, Kobe

I woke up on January 26, 2020 as excited as ever. I was in a new relationship which was long distance as a couple hours separated us, but today she was at her new house which was only 40 minutes away. Once I got the message 'home' I grabbed some gas and hit the road.

Little did I know before I made it there my life would be changed forever.

The drive was fine, January an hour north of Toronto can be a crap shoot sometimes. It was fine, until roughly 15 minutes away from my destination, a text came through that I never wanted to see.

"Kobe Died". Wait....what. 

I set my phone back down and almost like I was pretending I didn't see it, or read it properly. I started feeling a knot in my stomach that reminded me of the time I found out about my Grandpa passing 21 years before. 

As the details starting coming out, the texts continued, until roughly ten minutes later I reached her house. When I walked inside, and was greeted, I immediately got asked if 'everything was ok'. 

I couldn't lie. I was hurt. I started to cry as I explained the news. You would think being broken up about news regarding someone you never met would have been easier to explain but it was tough as hell. 

Kobe Bryant was and will always remain someone who inspires me everyday to be a better version of myself. Bean entertained us for decades on the basketball court but off the court is where he made the most impact. 

He was different in all the right kind of ways. He pushed himself to jump outside of his comfort zone and to master new crafts all throughout his life. He understood hard work was the key and a mindset that was powerful and unbreakable would be able to take you anywhere you wanted to go. He was focused, determined, and ambitious as hell. 

Kobe Bryant, I miss you. 

We miss you.

We always will. 

Here's some of my favorite Kobe moments. Rest easy, Bean.