Dear Ally,

I know you probably just got home from work, and you’re tired and want to do nothing at all, but don’t. I know you have to get up early tomorrow morning to babysit, but don’t turn off your phone. I know you don’t really want to hang out with your best friend right now because you don’t feel like moving, but do it now because in a few months she won’t be the same person she was before.  In a few months she won’t be your best friend anymore, and even though you’re better off without her, you still had some good times together before you both changed.  When she invites you out to the club, don’t come up with a million reasons not to go; just go.  Be young, make mistakes, and enjoy every minute you get to be free; before you know it you won’t be.  I know you loved your time in Europe and you’re already planning on going back.  You won’t be able to for a while, but you’ll get back there eventually.  Before you know it there will be a stay at home order that you’ll follow blindly. You’ll go days without going outside because you can’t go anywhere; when you can’t even sit outside for some fresh air because it’s been raining a lot lately.  You’ll hear things like shelter in place, quarantine, Covid-19. I know you miss him so much right now, but appreciate the time that you have with him more than you dwell on the time you spend apart. Soon your junior year will be cut short and you’ll be moving out of the apartment that you don’t even know you are going to live in at this point. Enjoy the summer sun while you can.  Drive up to Newport with your friends and go to the beach like you all planned to do, because pretty soon you won’t be able to go back. You’ll be robbed of springtime and Thursday nights into Friday mornings with the boy you love. Don’t wait for him to call you and tell you he’s coming to see you; call him and tell him you’re on your way to New York to see him because soon the state borders will be closed and you won’t be able to see him for months. I would give anything to be with him right now, but instead in home afraid that the world could collapse at any moment.  I know you’re probably out on a drive right now, pissed about something that happened; all I can say to that is let it go because there are so many worse things going on in the world.  My schedule is nearly the same every day and it makes each day feel longer. All my days are starting to blend together and it’s getting harder to keep track.  I don’t eat, I don’t sleep, and each day it’s getting harder to breathe. I wish I could tell you how to prepare for this, but I still don’t know.  All I can tell you is to appreciate the time that you have with people right now. Don’t let people that you can’t stand run your life for you, be stronger than you think you can be.  Another thing I’ll tell you is to appreciate your health and your life because you never know when it can all go away. The last time you’ll see the boy you love until this whole pandemic ends is on March 15th 2020. I haven’t seen him in 25 days, and I probably won’t see him for another 25 days, and that’s okay. You are stronger than you think you are.  There will be some nights where you feel like the world is closing in around you.  You’ll think you’re all alone, but you’re not. You are loved, and are safe, you are alive, always know that. 

Love,

Yourself