Vanessa Bryant Admits She Cried While Sending Eldest Daughter Natalia Off To College — See Photos From Move-In Day!
The big woman on campus! On August 18, Vanessa Bryant shared photos of her and late husband Kobe Bryant's 18-year-old daughter Natalia settling into dorm life at USC.
"Fight On ✌🏽!!" she captioned a few of the family photos, referencing the school's fight song for their athletic teams.
One day later, the mom debuted a few more pictures, admitting, "Today was rough. (This was before the tears came down). Missing ✌🏽forever. I love you @nataliabryant BE EPIC and FIGHT ON. ❤️💛."
"I love you!!!" responded Natalia.
In March, Natalia shared the exciting news when she got accepted into the California university.
"Tears of joy. I’m SO happy for you Nani!" her mom gushed on Instagram. "I know daddy is so PROUD OF YOU. I am so PROUD OF YOU!!"
"Your hard work and dedication was so worth it. You pushed through the most excruciating pain imaginable and you succeeded," she continued. "I wish Daddy and Gigi were physically here to celebrate but I know they’re here in spirit. We love you so much!"
Vanessa is also a mother to daughters Bianka, 4, and Capri, 2, in addition to Gianna, who was 13 when she died in the same January 26 helicopter crash as her father last year.
"This pain is unimaginable [but] you just have to get up and push forward. Lying in bed crying isn't going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again," the matriarch told PEOPLE. "But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that's what I do."
Vanessa, Kobe, Natalia and Gianna in 2018.
Vanessa, who has taken over the NBA player's Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, explained that she tries to keep her spirits up in her family's honor.
"I can't say that I'm strong every day," she acknowledged. "I can't say that there aren't days when I feel like I can't survive to the next."
"I guess the best way to describe it is that Kobe and Gigi motivate me to keep going," she said. "They inspire me to try harder and be better every day. Their love is unconditional and they motivate me in so many different ways."