After making her Instagram public following the tragic deaths of her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant, Vanessa Bryant has bravely shared how much she is grieving the losses within her family. In her set of posts yesterday, Vanessa revealed that she'd been invited to Gianna's school ceremony as they retired her jersey number (#2) and honored her legacy.
On the posts, Vanessa gave a tender and emotional tribute to her daughter. "My Gianna. God I miss you. I’ve been so lucky to have woken up to see your gorgeous face and amazing smile for 13 years. Wish it would’ve been until my last breath. Mommy loves you to the moon and back."
Sharing a picture of Gianna's jersey, she added, "My Gigi. I love you! I miss you. You’ve taught us all that no act of kindness is ever too small. Mommy is still and will ALWAYS be so proud of you mamacita."
The pictures and videos showed teachers and administrators talking about Gianna (known as Gigi) and her impact on the school, as well as her basketball teammates and fellow students honoring her. "In my 20 years of coaching basketball, Gigi was one of the fiercest competitors that I’ve ever seen," explained her basketball coach.
Gianna and Kobe were actually on the way to a travel basketball game with fellow students, parents, and one of their coaches on board—all nine people in the helicopter died in the crash. It's a devastating loss to the community.
Not all Vanessa's posts were open for comment, but those that were had comments flooded with love and appreciation, thanking her for sharing this private look at the grief within her family and community. People offered thoughts and prayers to her.
Here are a few of the posts (you can go to her profile to watch the whole thing):
Very sweet.
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