January 26th:

I’m in tears as I write this.

Still in denial. I’m physically sick to my stomach. I can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t function, can’t focus in class... it’s just hard right now. When you love someone so much and something tragic like this happens to them, there’s just no way to grasp it. Not for a long time.

January 27th:

It still doesn’t seem real. And it won’t for a while. He was so relevant to all of us even though the majority of us didn’t know him personally. But it felt like we did since he’s a big part of our identities.

He was literally my entire childhood, as for millions of others. Everything in my life as a young boy was about Kobe.

January 28th:

This is a video from 2016 when Kobe checked out for the final time.

I honestly wasn’t even done getting over Kobe’s retirement. I was still sad that Kobe wasn’t playing basketball anymore. For almost 4 years and counting. I purposely didn’t watch his highlights, didn’t watch his ESPN ‘detail’ episodes, didn’t listen to podcasts that he showed up on, and didn’t post much on my Kobe page (@kobebryant_ig) simply because it made me even more sad. For some people it helped, but for me it made everything so much worse. I still wasn’t ready to accept it. I just wasn’t over his retirement. But I was getting there. And then this happened. But my mood changed on Tuesday morning. I woke up with a sense of strength and I think it’s because I know that Kobe would want me to push through it and use it as fuel. He’d want US to push through TOGETHER, exactly how we are doing so right now.. And from that point on, it’s been all positivity coming from me. Messages from Vanessa’s and Jeanie, and everyone else has given me strength. I feel strong right now.

January 29th:

All I would wear was Kobe. All I would talk about was Kobe. This was at my high school graduation. I pulled out a Kobe jersey from beneath my garment. Here’s a video.

He made me fall in love with basketball and the Lakers. I rushed home every single day after school since the 2nd grade to finish my homework in time for tip off, to watch Kobe pull off things we have never seen before, every single night.

He inspired us to be great in any and every field of life. He’s pushed me to do great things using just his words. It wasn’t just basketball. And that’s why the entire world mourns his loss. Because we could apply Kobe to literally anything.

January 30th:

I’m just numb at this point. I woke up and didn’t understand what took place. The headlines I read, the memorial pictures I saw... it just doesn’t seem real.

January 31st:

All we can do now is appreciate the gift of life. If you’re reading this, you are blessed and privileged, no matter what is going on in your life. Just be grateful and make the best of every opportunity.

I miss you so much, Kobe. We all do. And we know that you’re smiling down at us from heaven.

We will make you proud.

Love always,

Aron Cohen

#RipKobe