I don't remember much of October 07, 2015--the whole day is a blur. My roommate and I spent the entire day crying our eyes out along with the other students from George Walton Academy who accompanied us at the University of North Georgia. I can't speak for everyone, but that day I experienced the greatest loss of my life. The day we received the phone call that Coach Head was dead, and we suddenly became numb. There was a period of time that that there was no sound and no feeling. Nothing seemed real. To be completely honest, it still doesn't.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been one of the students that filled a desk in one of his classes. I was never good at history and never cared about it until Coach Head's class came around. I came out of the class at the end of my sophomore year with an "A" and a completely new outlook on life. I was extremely blessed to have been able to experience his infamous "Virginia Trip" not once, but twice: once my sophomore year and once the year before I experienced the most drastic change in my life thus far--college.

It's been a year now since our little small town was shaken so drastically by the death of one man. Coach Head was the most loving, Godly, selfless and influential person that I had ever personally met. Many might say that nothing has changed--the sun still rises and sets, the leaves still change from green to shades of orange, yellow and red and rain still falls like normal; however, every heart and life that Coach Head touched has a different air to it. We all remember each day to "never lie, never cheat, never steal," and "don't whine, don't complain and don't make excuses--" he reminded us to give "your best and your heart." We remember to pray more than we normally might and that a relationship with the Lord is the best relationship to have and the relationship we need to work on the most. His loss has made me a better Christian, as it made me realize that life is short and that eventually, when we all return to dust, I'd like to be reunited with those I loved most.

A year later and although another teacher has taken his classroom space, nobody else in this world could replace Coach Head and the legacy he left upon hundreds if not thousands of people. So many people visit his grave on a weekly basis to sit and chat with one of our best friends and mentor.

Nothing makes the loss of Coach Head any less hurtful on the heart, but time makes it a bit easier and more bearable. Seeing how many lives one man affected has made so many people change the direction of their life in order to make such a significant impact like he did. It's been a year and it doesn't hurt any less--we miss and love you more and more each day.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” -- Matthew 5:4