Women Who Inspire Me: Ashlyn Hodges (my best friend)

During Women’s History Month it’s important to make note of all the women who inspire us. These women are our mothers, sisters, grandmothers, wives or girlfriends. Sometimes these women are even our best friends. An influential women in my life who definitely keeps me going is my best friend, Ashlyn Hodges aka Hodgy.

I first met Ashlyn Hodges in January of 2015 when I was taking my public speaking class at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina. We first caught each other’s attention when I started picking on her for her heavy country accent and she was actually amused by my jokes. As we got to know each other more as the semester progressed we ended up becoming good friends.

As me and Ashlyn became close friends I started learning more about her. Ashlyn pays more attention to those around her than many realize. As we became closer she learned about my mom’s death and my history with her. When I gave my final speech in my public speaking class about my mom Ashlyn was in tears and declared then that we’d be friends forever. With all of our back and forth on social media Ashlyn eventually brought me back to a place that I never imagined returning to after being gone away for so long, church. It was during my birthday weekend in 2017 that she and her family came to hang out with me and even invited me to church. I was hesitant to join, but I eventually agreed and it was one of the best choices I ever made.

Ashlyn’s family became my extended family and her church family also became family. As for me and Ashlyn we became best friends and even gave each other nicknames, I call her “Hodgy” and she calls me “Patty”. Ashlyn also became a source of strength for me during hard times. Whenever life got rough Ashlyn has always been here for me. She has always given me prayer, comfort, even went out of her way to come pick me up to take my mind off the noise from the rest of the world.

If you’ve ever been able to call Ashlyn Nora Sue Hodges (yes we call each other by our full names to annoy each other) a loved one then you truly have a gift of a person. With her emotional intelligence it is no surprise that she became a therapist. Ashlyn has always made it her duty to be a listening ear and to give a meaningful word to anyone who needs it. When one of Ashlyn’s loved ones is grieving, she is grieving. Every year on July 26th Ashlyn sends me a text message saying “I love you and I’m thinking of you”. She does this because she knows that July 26th is the day my mother died. She always said she wishes she could have met my mother.

Through Ashlyn I have learned more about the importance of being a supportive friend. When she graduated in 2017 I came to her graduation and she told me that I would be graduating next. Two years later when I graduated she was also graduating for the third time getting her masters, she came and supported me, just as I knew she would.

I’ve never told Ashlyn, but she’s not just a best friend and a loved one, but also one of my heroes. I have learned from her how much someone can truly love you unconditionally without wanting anything in return. She has also taught me how to be strong like never before. Whenever life gets hard I always think about how she has persevered through hard times. She has fought many battle and has become a stronger woman through trials that most people would fold under and for that I look up to her so much. Happy Women’s History Month to an amazing woman who has been my backbone, my strength, and has inspired me greatly, my best friend, Ashlyn “Hodgy” Hodges. She has saved my life more than she could ever understand.

~~For Hodgy.