Dear Ashley,

It’s 9am and if you’re lucky, you have today off. I knew living in Newport over the summer would be the best summer of your life. You’re about to head over to Rodgers and workout in the gym. After a nice 1-2 hour workout, you head home to Grafton street to see which of the girls also have a day off from the grind. Liv and Tilts have the day off too so you’re getting in a much-needed day in the sun at Rejects. You’re probably making your usual stop at Harvest market to grab a sammy for the beach. Ugh. You truly never know how good something is until it’s gone. Trust me, I would know. 

Right now, there’s a global pandemic taking place. It kinda snuck up on you to be honest. You went home for Spring Break expecting to come back to school in a week…You were really looking forward to spring semester with the girls. You had your first alumni field hockey game coming up and you were so excited to play with Amb again. Cancelled. The girls planned a trip to Foxwoods for your birthday too. Cancelled. Oh, and did I mention you don’t even have a senior week or graduation. Also, cancelled. Luckily you didn’t order a commencement dress. I feel really bad because you were so excited for all these things and to just be with your friends for one last go before college was officially over. It truly isn’t fair but I guess that’s the point of this letter. 

Life isn’t fair. That leads me to just remind you. Don’t take a single day for granted. Be thankful you could go to the gym today, buy your favorite sandwich from the market, and enjoy the beautiful sunny day with the girls. You can’t do that now. No one can. It’s like the world is on lockdown. It’s called quarantine. So, you’ve been in quarantine for around 3 weeks with mom, dad, Billy and the pups. Only “outing” for the day is the trip to Hannafords. How exciting!  

I know you’re probably getting bored of this now that your freshly painted tan toes are hitting the salty ocean water and you wish this letter would end. You for sure have a whole new understanding of the word bored. Enjoy today. The simple, everyday parts of your life can be taken away from you at any point. I wish you knew that sooner.

All the love you deserve,

Future Ash