Dear residents,

I want you to know that I really do care about all of you. Sometimes, I think residents think their RA is just there to get them in trouble and enforce the rules. Yes, it is my job to enforce rules but the rules we enforce are rules set in place to keep you safe. Your safety is our priority, it isn't just us trying to get you in trouble and be spiteful. I may just be your RA, but to me you're more than just a resident. Every single one of you mean something to me. Even if I don't talk to you a lot or you don't come to my programs, you are still so important in my life. I want you to be safe and make it through the year, not because it looks good on me if my residents don't go party, but because I want to see you succeed. I feel pride in my residents, and I love seeing them move on in life and accomplish things they used to dream about.

We, as RA's, have seen a lot in our jobs. We've seen residents hurt, we've seen residents getting loaded into ambulances, and some of us have seen residents just moments before they died. We don't want that to happen to you. We don't want to lose one of you. So, when we "write you up" for drinking in the hall, it's not because we don't want you to have fun, it's because we've seen what happens when someone drinks without interference. Yes, you probably would be fine if we didn't stop you from drinking that one beer, but we are not willing to take that chance.

I think of you all as my "children", basically. So seeing you make questionable decisions and seeing you stumble in, barely being able to walk up the stairs hurts me. I feel like I have failed as your RA. I feel disappointed in a way and I want to make sure you drink water and you wake up in the morning. But I have a lot of residents, and I can't walk you into your room, tuck you in, give you water, and check on you in the morning. I have to pray that you know how to take care of yourself. I have to pray that you will wake up, and maybe learn what your limits are. One weekend, my residents sat with me and played board games all night long. Some of you told me you had plans to go out and party, but decided to stay with me. I had never felt so proud. The fact that you could have gone out, but instead stayed with me to play lame board games for hours on end made me feel like I had done something right. It made me feel like maybe by the end of the year, we would all be so close that next year, some of you would be dating each other, some of you would be going to the beach together, some of you would visit each other over the summer. It made me feel like we were starting to build an incredible community.

So, I'm writing this so you all know why I tell you not to go out and party. I'm writing this to tell you why I always want to play games or watch movies with you guys. I'm writing this to tell you how much I truly do care about each and every one of you. Even though there is a really high chance none of you will ever read this, I'm writing this because I had to tell someone about how amazing and how full of potential my residents are. I'm writing this because being your RA has been one of the best experiences of my life and I am so blessed to be able to live and learn with you all. I'm writing this because you all are my children, whether you like it or not, and I couldn't be any more proud of you.