Thank You, Alex.

It just continues to compound. It’s so much and so debilitating. This year, I’ve had to share a lot of tears for people I never had the privilege of meeting, and that in itself, is painful. 2020.

Alex Trebek, you’re very possibly the greatest game-show host to have ever lived. It was you, Pat Sajek, Regis Philbin and Bob Barker that had me glued to the television day and night. The witty responses, the pop-culture references and the love for the game you hosted — the passion — all of it, I ate it up, gleefully. I gained such a grander perspective of the world because of Jeopardy. Thank you.

Consistency, humility and compassion are the three qualities in a person that I find the most admirable, and you displayed that for so many years. You were excellence. You were class. And when you were diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer, you were resilient. You brought us along every step of the battle. You made it a point to include the hundreds of millions that you touched over your long career in this journey with you, and for that, I am grateful, Alex.

You shared your intimate life with us and never allowed us to mope around in fear and sadness. Every update you provided was an encouragement and challenge to remain faithful and kind. You were battling for your life yet churning us on to be better.

In my inner circles, I’ve held conversations about a dream to become a game-show host one day. I actually played around with the thought yesterday. That’s a credit to your influence Alex. Thank you.

I’m glad you’ve won this battle and gone home to glory. Our heroes don’t die — I’ve had to continue to remind myself of that this year with Kobe’s, Regis’, John Lewis and Chadwick Boseman’s deaths. So, Alex, thank you for marking my young heart with your consistency and kindness. Thank you for living fully. Thanks for being my hero.

I love you.