Two days ago I received a phone call that shook me to my core. My friend, and old roommate Matt was senselessly killed in a drive-by shooting near my house. I was absolutely shocked when I heard the news and had a lot of trouble letting myself believe it was real. I wanted so badly to be back in DC to see the rest of my roommates and friends and just hug them.
I've been struggling with figuring out the right things to say, or if I should even say anything at all, but I can't feasibly continue writing this blog without mentioning it. This trip is as emotionally challenging as it is physically and learning that news challenged me in a whole new way. It's part of this trip now and there's no way of talking about my experiences without bringing it up.
I'm never going to understand why something like this happened, especially not to someone who brought such joy to the people around him. I lived with him for several months but it only took me a few days to realize what kind of person he was. He was genuine in a way that few people are. He would ask you questions and listen with such intent and such sincerity - his focus and curiosity about your life was unwavering and he would never cease to make you feel special.
It was that way whenever he asked me about Bike & Build. He was so excited for me when I told him what I was planning on doing and he got me even more excited every time I talked with him. His positivity and zest for life was just so contagious.
I'm obviously still sad, and know I will be for a while, especially since his death was so senseless and unexplainable. But for that reason I don't want his death to go in vain. There are positive things that I can take away from this tragic situation and I want to focus on those.
First of all I just want to thank my Bike & Build family for the outpouring of love when they heard about what happened. Everyone made me feel so loved and constantly asked if I needed anything or made sure I was okay. I have seldom witnessed that amount of support from a group of people and it's incredible to see the capacity of human kindness in the face of tragedy. I was sad I couldn't be in DC, but if I couldn't be there this was definitely the next best place.
I also thought biking the next day would be hard, but it ended up being an incredible way to process and reflect on everything. I wrote "I ride for Matt" on my calves and it gave me strength the whole day. I kept his spirit with me and pushed myself during the tough parts and cherished the truly amazing ones.
It's unfortunate that it takes a tragic event to put life into perspective, but now more than ever before I feel the need to live everyday to the fullest. And more than that I hope to channel Matt's positivity and kindness in my day to day life. It's obvious that he made an incredible impact on so many people's lives including my own and it seems that the best way to honor him is to make this world and the people around us as happy as he would have.
I will miss him dearly, but I am so happy that he was a part of my life as a roommate and a friend. Rest easy, my friend.