The Marathon Continues

These past few weeks have been hard for me. I have to admit that I never would’ve thought that the death of a rapper 3000 miles away from where I live would affect me the way it has. But yes, I’m still thinking about a person I never met. It’s probably because Nipsey Hussle, AKA Ermias Joseph Asghedom, was not just a rapper; he was an entrepreneur, a community servant and an activist. So while many people may say "Oh well, another rapper got shot. What's the big deal? That's the lifestyle they portray and you get what you give," that doesn't sit well with me. He was more than just a music artist, and it's horrible to see his life taken away from him prematurely.

I grieve for Nipsey Hussle, his significant other, Lauren London, and for their children, not just because they were in the public limelight, but because once upon a time I too was the daughter of a murdered man. For those of you who don't know this about me, my father was murdered when I was eight years old. Although he wasn't part of a gang, he was a hustler (yes, a drug dealer). I am named after my father. His name is K-E-R-R-Y. My name is K-E-R-I. I am still to this day very much a daddy's girl. I watched this Nipsey Hussle death very closely because I thought about his daughter, who is somewhere between the ages of seven and ten, and what she must be feeling right now. Watching her father's ascension from a lifestyle he was trying to get her away from to gaining tremendous wealth and traveling the world. Then, purely because of jealousy, someone chose to take her father’s life.

At one time, I was that girl and I feel so awful for her right now. When you have your daddy ripped away from you, all you can do is be bitter, angry and even unconsolable. I know all too well that nothing's going to bring her father back. And more than anything, I know as a parent that Lauren London now has to think about their children's life without their father. I grieve as a business owner, knowing that the legacy I’m trying to build to last generations may be stunted because of my untimely death. It is very hard to be a parent and a business owner, but right now it's hard for me just to be a daughter who looks up to this guy and sees her father and wishes he was with her now to hold her hand.

So the past couple of weeks have not necessarily been all about business. Instead, I have used them to kiss my kids and, most importantly, look up reminisce about the good times with my daddy.