I was feeling a little nostalgic this evening, so I would like to take a moment to do a shout out article to my best friend Ashley. She is graduating this semester from SUNY Plattsburgh with a degree in Hotel Restaurant and Tourism Management. I can not explain how proud I am of her! She has come so far in just the four years that I have known her and it has been a joy to be there every step of the way.
I met Ashley my freshman year at SUNY Adirondack. It had been my first time away from home and I was really nervous. We had texted each other prior to meeting, and it seemed to be going okay. We had all the same interests, in the creepiest of ways,from TV shows, favorite color (green), and even the way we talked. She had told me she was from Queens, New York, which scared me a little. Being from upstate, you assume everyone downstate is a little… ghetto, in the nicest of ways, so I was a little skeptical. Growing up in a small town you become isolated from what the “real world” is. But, I was determined to have an open mind.
Flashforward to move-in day, I was both scared and stressed out of my mind about moving into a dorm. My entire family and boyfriend decided to tag along, a headcount of seven. Image seven people trying to move a bunch of totes into a small dorm room. A little hectic, right? Yeah, it was. The first time we met in person, I honestly can’t remember how it went down. My family was still there and three other families were coming in and out of the room, but what I think I remember is that she was almost completely unpacked, picked the better side of the room, and said a quick hello and then randomly left. Whether that’s what happened or not, I’m gonna stick with it.
Anyway, so Ashley leaves, and all my totes are in the room, plus a thousand groceries that my mom insisted on buying me. My mom and sister made my bed, and then they left. They literally left me there, all alone in this new place, completely terrified. I had no idea what to do, except cry. But then I told myself to suck it up, and I started to put things away.
Ashley came back to the room with her parents and I was just sitting there like a loner, not sure what to do with myself. I am confident that she thought I was a weirdo. I had like four boxes of cereal, a phone that ran on minutes (my phone broke right before move-in day), and I was just sitting on my bed. Lucky for the both of us her parents like to talk. I think I might have bonded with her parents more than her on the first day. But they are awesome, so it really isn’t a surprise (if you are reading this, I miss you!). But, the exact moment we both knew we were destined to be together was when her dad was telling me all about Ashley and her Harry Potter addiction. He had told me that she had all the movies and watches them all the time. It was clear she was embarrassed that he just told me this, but in my mind, I was peeing myself with excitement, and I responded in the only Theresa way I could by saying “ME TOO, I have a wand.” Which maybe you don’t announce to people that you just met, but it seemed to work out for us because the rest is history. I can not image what my life would be like without her.
Ashley, you are the Ron to my Harry. You are the most passionate and caring person I know. I am so proud to call you my best friend! I can not wait to see what crazy adventures the future holds! Congratulations on this big milestone!
Love Always,
Theresa