I recently lost an extremely influential person in my life. This man was not a parent or relative but was indeed a father figure to me being that he was in my life from the time I was about 5 years old (I am now almost 22) and dated my mom for a number of years. He was a hard working man who did everything he could to support his family as well as my mom, my sister, and myself. He was rarely in a bad mood and managed to take anything bad that happened to him in perfect stride. I strive to live by these attitudes and values in my own life, and I believe it is vital to do so.

Along with the attitudes and values touched upon, because of him, I am a huge sports fan. Sports are a great release for me when I am stressed, upset, or even in a good mood, and I thank him for getting me involved in sports. He got me my first hockey stick when I was 6. He came to almost every game I played. He took me to my first-ever professional hockey game. We watched the Super Bowl every year. He supported me when I played baseball (no matter how many times I struck out). Despite what you may think about sports, sports are one of the things we bonded over and probably the most notable thing we bonded over.

A few months back, I got a call from my mom telling me that he only had months to live. I knew he was sick, but I didn't realize the severity of his illness until that moment. I had not seen him for a little over a year due to the fact I have been living several hours from home because of college. I made it a point to go see him before he passed, however, I kept putting it off because I didn't want to see him in that state. About a week and a half ago, I talked to my mom and she mentioned his illness was worse than the doctors thought and that he only had a few days to live. That weekend I mustered up some courage and went to see him in the hospital. It was not easy seeing him lying in his hospital bed, completely helpless. As hard as it was, though, I am extremely happy to have seen him one last time. He passed away a couple days after I saw him.

Rest In Peace, Vic.