My Best Friend’s Eulogy

Hi guys, I wanted to open this message by being forthright in that 2 weeks after my best friend’s death, I’m still numb while navigating this life. When an unfathomable event in life slaps you in the face, it forces one to reconsider what we deemed as important prior to the event. I’ve been looking at my strategies for life under a new perspective, all while keeping the quote: “Pain is the Greatest Catalyst for Change” by Victor Frankl in mind.

Kevin, this is my tribute to you. You know these tears I shed while typing are for you brother. I will always love and respect the person I was gifted in this life to watch you become.

Kevin Boone Crick, a name and being that will reverberate within my soul everyday until I too take my last breath. Yes, a sobering statement; I bring this up because it clearly shows the impact he had on my life. However, what I want to talk about today is not the relationship that Kevin and I had together, but the relationship & value he brought to the world.

Kevin had the same foundation about him from the time I met him to the very last time we were together. Foundation? Yes foundation; one of the most important words of our lifetime that is being shoved to the back burner with my generation. When I talk about Kevin’s foundation, I want to discuss a few different points: his respect/compassion for people, his integrity & work ethic, his competitive nature, and his way for staying grounded in his principles & values, and how sticking to this formula gave him the subtle, sometimes loud, intrinsic confidence that we all felt and wanted to emulate when around him.

I was fortunate enough to spend most of my life with Kevin the King. From the time we spent together, I was blessed to be able to observe & compare how he treated strangers with how he treated people he loved. Whether Kev was dealing with the former vs. the latter, all conversations originated from a foundation of respect. Kevin’s gigantic heart shined in conversation, I say this because he listened to help and understand, and not to respond. This is almost hard to believe because he’d constantly surprise me with how witty his advice was and/or condescending his comeback could be in the moment (LOL).

Next I’ll sprinkle his integrity & work ethic for you guys, but first a short story. Most people know I was a year older than Kev. When the time came for me to leave Sherman and head to Lubbock, Kevin and my relationship was what felt like at an all-time high. That said, the looming truth neither of us wanted to face was the day I had to leave for college. I remember the day before leaving, he and I heard a particular song in his car, we made slight eye contact, and both broke down balling crying, going through the ol’ “I love you man” conversation we’ve all had with close friends. From this day I made it my mission in life to get Kevin to Lubbock, in as non-cholent fashion as possible, although I knew he could see right through me. Long story short, he committed to Texas Tech and the rest is history. The point of integrity/work ethic I want to make is that from that day forward, Kevin and I pushed ourselves to the absolute limit with getting the best grades possible, and without cutting corners. I wanted to get better grades than Kevin and Kevin wanted to do better than me, and this leads me to the next point of the healthy competitive nature he had with everyone.

We all know you can’t mention Kevin without speaking about his twin brother, Kyle. Kevin and Kyles relationship stemmed from competitive nature, which unfortunately for me made them better than me at everything we ever tried. From board games to the Friday Night Lights, everyone in the room and/or team knew Kevin was going to fearlessly show up and demonstrate the best of his ability regardless of the odds or situation that was in front of him/us, & in the most direct manner possible. Kevin’s competitive aura gave everyone around him more confidence to rise to the occasion. Me knowing that Kevin would never falter gave me his sense of confidence, which has in turned help shape my competitive nature.

Last, and the farthest thing from the least, was Kevin’s ability to stay grounded in his principles & values through the thick & thin. A quote that Kevin had on his social media platforms from an early age was “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor” by Franlin D Roosevelt. I remember reading it and immediately being jealous because I wanted to steal it from him to put on mine LOL. As I read this quote in-between the lines and from Kevin’s POV, I read “No matter what hand I’m dealt, I’m going to stay grounded and stick to the script so I don’t’ stray outside myself.” What do I mean when I say straying outside of oneself? I mean that when we face difficult times, our animalistic tendency is to react impulsively. Well, Kevin did the opposite. Rather than react impulsively, he took a step back in order to live intentionally. This is the quality he had is the one I envy the most. Kevin’s conservative nature was demonstrated everyday of his life, and he is by far the best manager of money I’ve seen, all while without being a greedy SOB LOL.

All in all, these positive qualities will be how I will remember Kevin, and I hope the way you all will remember him as well. Kevin would not accept our misery past this service — he would tell us all to get on with our lives — with total vigor. Let’s join forces and band together in order to move forward for im.

(End of Eulogy.)

To the one that knew me inside & out the most in the world. We never had to say a word to each-other, we always knew where the other was mentally in the first 3 seconds of being around eachother. I will forever miss you’re endearing smile & the refreshing outlook on life you carried. Whatever positive qualities I bring into this world, I’m doing for you my brother. ONE LOVE!