The Poetry Shed

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Featured Letter from the Future

Dear Maxx

Dear 2019 Maxx, 


It is late August where you are and you are probably getting ready for the fall at Salve. No way, you are already a sophomore! Crazy to think, right? I don’t want to rain on your parade or anything but I have bad news for you that will definitely be a burden to you in the future. Fall semester goes great, it’s the spring I’m talking about where shit really hits the fan. Ever heard of Coronavirus? No, yeah I didn’t think so. So there’s a virus going around that has completely caused a pandemic over the entire world. Everything is shut down: borders, stores, schools, even professional sports. Rudy Gobert ended the NBA season and the Bruins got screwed out of a Stanley Cup, but that’s besides the point. Salve is online learning for the rest of the school year and everyone is stuck at home in order to quarantine. If you would have told me last year that 2020 would seem like the movie Contagion, I would’ve said you were crazy. Everyone walking around with masks and gloves and cities looking like ghost towns. Still, I would argue the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl and Kobe passing away were still the worst things to happen this year. 


You’re probably at work or at the beach, while I’m stuck at the house for god knows how long until this whole thing blows over, if it even does. My fears about this virus include one of my loved ones getting it and not being able to recover, since it seems like the death toll climbs every day. Our daily routine is the same, going to class and doing schoolwork, just minus the classrooms and rugby practice afterwards. Oh yeah forgot to mention, you’re on the rugby team this year. Trust me when I say it’s a shitload of fun because Hank, Caps, and Linny play too. What I didn’t know then but can offer you now is my advice to be more aware of what’s going on around you. Obviously we couldn’t have prevented this but we can be more cautious with our actions and how to reduce the effects of something like this in our life. I know we were really looking forward to living in the quint in Hunt the whole year, but unfortunately it was cut short. Stay safe out there past me and one more thing, take Tiffani out on a date, you’ll see where it leads.


Sincerely, future Maxx