Women History Month Celebrates: Ashley Bookashy

Nearly five years ago I started working at my current job and in the mornings when I first got there a girl in a red Kia parked next to me every morning. As this went on the first few months on the job we started interacting and joking about how we kept parking next to each other, but in time this great woman would end up being my best friend.

Our friendship started at work, but eventually went well beyond those boundaries. As we started talking more and getting to know each other Ashley noticed I didn’t have a proper phone case and decided to get me one because it was giving her bad anxiety. I thought this was the funniest thing in the world, yet this was the beginning of our friendship. We eventually learned that we had similar taste in movies, books and writing and being that I am a big writer and she is a big reader, we started hanging out all the time outside work. I was writing while she was reading and we both watch great movies while multitasking. We even gave her the nickname “Ashley Bookashy” because of her love of books. We also carry the same sense of humor, most of which is very witty and vulgar.

Never had I ever met someone so positively introverted. She loves to read, loves coffee and if you ever want to hold her attention just bribe her with some snacks and you’ll have her full focus. Though she seems aloof sometimes, she cares deeply and is always considerate of everyone around her. As our friendship grew I also met her daughter who grew to love me very much and the feeling is beyond mutual.

The true reasoning behind our friendship isn’t because of the circumstances that brought us together, but because the kind of person that Ashley is. She’s genuinely the kindest woman you’d ever meet. Very empathetic, non judgemental and always being considerate of other people, even if they’re just a complete stranger. Ask her about herself and she would jokingly tell you that she’s not that great, but the truth is she’s better than she could ever understand. She befriended me during what was one of the worst times of my life.

I was struggling with feeling abandoned and worthless, but in our time together she has shown me that’s not true. She became part of my family and I became part of hers. In this time I also learned how great of a mother she is. Always attentive to her daughter and putting her needs first as a parent should. Family matters to her the utmost, even when they drive her crazy as all families do. Not to mention she is a hard worker to a fault, never letting a task go unfinished to the point where you may have to forcibly pull her away from a task at hand.

She’s taught me a lot. One of the biggest lessons she taught me is that my feelings are valid even when I feel they are not. She opened up her home to me during one of my darkest periods and help me sleep better and made my world much brighter. But perhaps her biggest mark of love was making sure I recieved the help needed when my mental health spiraled into a rapid decline. She would never admit it or even see it this way, but she saved my life.

So who is Ashley? A hard worker, an amazing best friend and incredible mother who has raised an amazing daughter who is also just as big a part of my own heart. Women’s History Month celebrates Ashley Smith and amazing woman who has made my life better.

Dedicated to my best friend, Ashley Smith.