Dear First-Year RA,

You are my parent away from home.

More than than that you are my mentor, my "go to," my friend.

Thank you for being there for me I was nervous about moving in. You were the one who was there for me when I couldn't figure out where to go on the first day. I mean, I would have gone to the wrong buildings, classrooms, and just the wrong classes in general. I am so glad that you were there to help me out, because of you I didn't look like as much of a fool.

Thank you for enforcing the rules. As lame as that sounds (and I know people get mad at you), but I know without you, our hall would be crazier than usual. It is still crazy at times, but were college students, so thanks for being patient with us.

Thank you for hanging out with all of us. You know that those nights of endless laughter and goofing off will not soon be forgotten. "What happens in the dorms stays in the dorms." Those memories that we have made will not fade away. You have been a friend to me since my college journey began. I just want to thank you for that.

Thank you for helping me "get my life together." Or trying to help at least. There were nights where I was up all night writing a paper, or contemplating life in general, and you were there to help me. Your advice is normally very helpful. It is nice to always have someone to go to when I need help. (Especially since I don't live at home with my parents anymore.)

Thank you for my cute door decorations. It makes me excited to see how you will decorate our hallways and doors each month. Those seasonal decorations are just so cute! It is just a sweet surprise every time you put those things together.

Thank you for putting activities together for us. Whether it is a game night, or an educational event, to anything in between it is always fun. It's nice to have everyone on the hall get together every once in awhile. We are all busy, but you always seem to find extra time for us.

I know that it is all part of your job, but you never seem to be aggravated by us. You are always there for me when I need you. You have so many different things that you are involved in, but you always have time to try to get me involved. You want to see me succeed throughout my college journey, and you always believe in me. I don't know if you expected to mean so much to me at first, but I hope you do now. I am so glad to always have someone to go to when I need help. You have definitely made my first year more interesting, fun, crazy, and more enjoyable.

I don't know how my first year would have been without you. Thank you again for being my forever friend.

Sincerely,

Your Residents