A Letter from the Future
by Adeline Ferolo
With almost a year approaching since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders, I have found myself reminiscing about the past. More specifically, all of the opportunities and small interactions I took for granted in a pre-pandemic world. The following letter is what I wished to receive on March 1, 2020—informing me of everything that is about to change.
Dear Reader,
I am from the future. More specifically, I am writing to you a year from now—Monday, March 1, 2021. Questions are probably sparking in your mind—Who I am? Am I a time traveler from the future? Why am I here… to warn you of a great danger looming ahead? Well, yes… but not exactly.
Before you dismiss this entire message as a hoax, I need you to hear me out. Think of this letter not exactly as a warning from the future, but simply a guiding message. Almost like a relic from the cinematic universe of Tenet directed by Christopher Nolan—Oh, wait. That movie hasn’t been released yet. (You’ll love it by the way!) Anyway, back to the purpose of this letter. There is no easy way to say this, but… a life-threatening virus is rapidly infecting people across the world, and as a result you will spend the next year of your life in lockdown.
The virus is airborne, making it virtually impossible to be in the same space with a stranger without succumbing to an anxiety attack, wondering if they could be infected or a carrier. Hence, schools have shut down. There are no more sports practices or extracurricular meetings. It is ill-advised to travel and possibly fatal to eat inside a restaurant. Life as you currently live it will seem foreign a year from now. Even the smallest joys have become romanticized memories of the past. Remember the buzzing energy of a varsity volleyball game during warm-ups? Well, the pounding bass of music, nervous glances at teammates, and spirited pep-talks are now just moments from an unattainable past. This information may be shocking, even frustrating—I get it. From spending late Friday nights at the movie theatre surrounded by the smell of buttery popcorn and the laughter of friends, to cheering your classmates on during packed pep-assemblies in the gym—these experiences are the ones I miss the most. Now you understand why I am writing to you, right?
Now it may be overwhelming to learn about the whole worldwide pandemic thing, but take a deep breath! All I can say is enjoy life just a little bit more right now. In a few months, it might feel like everything has become uprooted and totally out of control, but life will go on. You will continue to learn, grow, and have fun, even though it doesn’t look like it used to. And by the end of it, you’ll be able to look at life with a head-on, “try-me” mentality.
Sincerely,
Someone from the Future </3
P.S. I attached some proof for the non-believers in the back.
About Adeline Ferolo
Stories, arguably, are the most underrated form of currency that floods the digital world, through highlighted Instagram posts and viral YouTube videos. As a rising senior at Richwoods High School, Adeline Ferolo aims to express herself and the issues closest to her authentically through engaging, storytelling, and other mediums. She is a competitively academic student. Her interests range across many creative outlets—as an active writer for the Richwoods Shield, the monthly school newspaper, and as a contributor to the youth-led blog EnviroWrite, which explores rising environmental concerns. Recently she has discovered her passion for the medium of film after attending the National High School Institute summer program at Northwestern University, where she had previously studied creative-intensive subjects ranging from sustainable architecture to graphic design. Within the past year, she has focused her efforts on exploring the visual medium in both her academic and personal life, opting to create experimental videos for class projects and continuing to explore different aspects of the visual language.