Applying Mamba Mentality To College Life

When I was 9 years old I got NBA 2k9 on the Playstation 2 as a Chanukah present. It was a gift given to me at a family-wide party that we hosted every year, and when I opened it up I was giddy to say the least. I burst downstairs to my basement, abandoning all of the family small talk so that I could put myself into my own little world of basketball. As soon as the game had downloaded I had to play as my favorite team, the Orlando Magic. When I was picking which team I wanted to play against, it was a no-brainer. I had to play against the Lakers, and I had to beat Kobe. He was one of the best players in the league at the time, and his 2k skillset was no different. With the settings turned up, guarding his iconic fadeaway was almost impossible. To beat Kobe was to beat the game. Once I got past him, what team could possibly stop me? He was the gold standard and that's how I'll always remember him.

The tragic loss of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, as well as seven others earlier this year rocked not only Los Angeles, but the entire world. Kobe's legacy extended far beyond the basketball court. While one of the greatest players in NBA history, Kobe was also gifted as a motivator, a mentor, a director and most importantly, a father. As news of his passing continues to dominate social media weeks later, there's one group that I know will never absorb this loss. Current college-aged students grew up on Kobe Bean Bryant. When sports fans like myself first discovered a love for the game of basketball, it was #24 for the Lakers on our television screens putting poetry into motion. Every time he took the court you could see a different type of energy, a will to win that was unparalleled, a Mamba mentality.

That mindset has become commonplace in our sports vocabulary. Whenever we see a player start to develop a clutch gene or a flare for making things happen under the brightest light, we come back to Kobe. I'd like to propose that we, as college students, start to extend the Mamba mentality beyond sports, and exert it into everything we do. Kobe was an example of someone who was more than an athlete, so it's only right that we honor his legacy by attacking even the smallest of things with the work ethic that he would have displayed.

The next time I find myself lacking the firepower to attend a guest speaker in my field of public relations, or I decide I don't need to exert full effort into my graphic design course because it's only a required course, I'll be viewing things how the Mamba would have. The guest speaker is an opportunity to learn something you might've never known, or make a professional connection that will be essential down the road. That graphic design work is just a challenge that can unlock my peak academic performance and teach me skills I might've never known I was capable of. For 2020 and beyond, it's time we begin embracing the challenges in our lives, whatever they may be. Everything is beatable, nothing can overwhelm us. Kobe showed us that for every iconic moment, there was a steady grind that came beforehand and we should start paying attention to that grind.

Whether it's in the classroom, the gym, an extracurricular, or anything of the nature, let's all tackle college with the Mamba mentality at the top of our brains. To Kobe, thank you for inspiring a generation of athletes to push themselves beyond limits we didn't know existed. Your legacy will never die, and I believe there's an army of college students out there ready to apply your killer instinct, and your unwavering faith that hard work can open every door imaginable to their own lives. May you and Gigi rest easily.