“Live Like Bryce,” three words that now hold a stronger meaning within Converse and across the nation.

He was the definition of pride, strength, kindness, and joy. Most of all, he was nothing short of an inspiration to our entire community, if not, the entire nation.

We can only aspire to achieve the level of positive influence that he had.

Bryce Wisdom took his last breath on July 27, 2020, at 11:39 p.m. Whether you personally knew Bryce or not, he seemingly had a place in everyone’s heart. He had a way of lighting up a room with his positivity and always had a smile planted on his face.

He had a way of showing love without saying it.

He smiled when it was the hardest.

He brought people together without even trying. 

He even brought our entire community together, shining a national light on good ole Converse, Texas. Now, he is looking down on us and his family, reminding us he is still by our sides, especially now when life is so hard for so many.

“I won,” Bryce shared with his mom, hours before his passing. 

Yes Bryce, you won.

His friends will now hold him near and dear to their hearts. 

“I heard about him and his fight and it encouraged me to never let anything get in the way of what I believed. [He] truly changed me for the better,” Bryce’s girlfriend junior Ariana Smith said. “The loss of Bryce is hard on me but I’ve already received multiple signs that he is still with me and by my side. Deep deep down, I am stuck, but I understand that he is at peace. I’m staying strong for him because that’s what he would’ve wanted.” 

He was loved and cherished, especially by his Judson Football family.

“My relationship with Bryce meant way more than just friends. I’ve known him since 3rd grade and have grown up with him. I treated him like a brother and loved him like one. I don’t know if I would ever have been the same person without Bryce,” senior Robert Rigsby said.

As teenagers, we are all still in the beginning chapters of our lives. We are still learning about life’s hardships, one being comprehending loss. For some of us, this may be our first major loss in our adolescent lives. For many, this is the first loss of someone who we grew up with and called a friend, someone who we naively thought would be in our lives forever.

However, we have now learned – life is so fragile. 

Loss, in general, can have a deep and foreign impact, engaging new feelings that we’ve never felt. Many of us are in shock, pain, disbelief, and we are mourning and grieving. In a time like this, we need to be there for each other, check up on one another and remind ourselves Bryce is no longer in pain.

He is at peace, looking down on us all, as our guardian angel.

Now, we have to follow the path set forth by him and his mother Diana, fighting for change in whatever ways we can.

“I miss my baby so much already. But now the work continues,” Diana Wisdom said in a Twitter post. “Time to fight for our kids that battle cancer. Time for more research, support, and a cure. No other family and child should ever have to suffer and it will be my life’s work to make this happen” 

Bryce Wisdom is now ingrained into the legacy and history of Judson High School, a young man that seemingly brought this entire community together during our most divisive times. Knowing him and what he stood for, he would want us to never take life for granted, love each other, and be there for each other. 

Live like Bryce, with a smile on your face, even when it’s the hardest. 

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