Going into my freshman year of college I had no idea what to expect. But, I was set on not making any friends while I was there. I am a social butterfly and I love making new friends, but I was going to a private Christian university. I wasn’t a Christian, I didn’t want to be there, and it was my last choice school. Now, you're probably wondering “If you aren’t a Christian why did you apply to a Christian university?” It's simple. My school is by the beach and I had no idea it was a Christian school.

School began and we had our first hall meeting during which we met our Resident Assistant (RA), she gave us the rules, and we sat down and said a fun fact about ourselves. Typical, right? She went on to say something that I found to be really weird at the time: “I’ve been praying for you guys.” I was like how? You don’t even know any of us, so how could you be praying for us? I misjudged her, and I assumed from then on out that she was a goody-goody Christian.

I went on to distance myself from all activities on campus. But, I eventually got tired of being alone and listening to all the fun happening down the hall in my RA's room, so I caved and decided to get over myself and join them. I came to a realization: maybe these people don’t suck as bad as I thought, they seem really cool.

One day my RA asked if we could grab coffee together. I instantly got nervous at the thought of hanging out with her, but I said yes to be respectful. I remember I was so nervous that day. I didn’t want her to ask me about my life, where I came from, what my home life is like, or what's my “story." At the time, I didn’t trust her enough to give her pieces of myself. I was scared. We ended up meeting outside and we sat on a bench by the pond. First, she said: “Crystal, I want to know more about your life.” Called it. My initial response was “Why?” Why on earth would this girl I just met want to know more about my life? The conversation we had that day set the tone for our friendship and it changed my life, but before I could trust her I made her tell me something about her life before I was going to open up about mine. I didn’t expect her to be so willing and open with me, but she was. She trusted me, and I started to trust her too. It was not easy to be open up with her about who I was, but at the end of that conversation, I felt better, for someone had taken the time to just listen to what I had to say.

As the year progressed our friendship grew into something great. She taught me several important things about faith and friendship, for these were things no one ever took the time to teach me. I have a relationship with the LORD now because she took the time to teach me what it means to be a Christian. She is selfless. One day she said to me, “your real dad might not be able to love you in the way you want him to, but you have a Father in Heaven who loves you better and greater than anyone ever will.” I will never forget that. She is always there for me on the good days and bad days. She is there to celebrate all my victories and help me cope with all my losses. She always lends a helping hand and she gives me a shoulder to cry on. She wasn't just my RA this past school year. She is one of my best friends, and she is my mentor. She can always tell when there is something wrong with me by the tone in my voice or the look on my face, and she can get me to talk. She had a way of making me feel better simply by her being there.

We cultivated years of friendship over the course of one school year, and we know each other better than we know ourselves. She continues to take time out for me even during the summertime when we are 800+ miles away from each other. She holds me accountable, she is the best example of what it looks like to trust in Jesus, she is the true definition of a ‘mom,’ and she is definitely the best person to have rooting for you. People ask me all the time how we became friends, and my only answer is God. He knew what He was doing placing me on her hallway. He knew I would need her. There have been many days and nights when she has put my feelings before her own. Again, she is selfless. We each had a lot going on this school year, but through it all, I knew she was going to be there to see me through whatever the day brought me.

Today, I am a completely different person because of what she has instilled in me. I am not the same 18-year-old college freshman who walked into my Christian university with a closed mind. I’d like to think I am wiser. Yes, I have made mistakes along the way. But, she persistently teaches me how to bounce back from these mistakes. Now I have an open attitude towards people, I have a better understanding of what having true friends looks like, and I now know how to lead and love those around me. Most importantly, I now know how to embody Christ.

This is my first piece of content for Odyssey and I couldn’t have chosen a better topic/person to write about. School is over now and summertime is here. Even though she is not my RA anymore she will always be my “big chicken nugget” and I will always be her “chicken nugget”.

Here is my advice for coming college freshman: Your RA’s sole purpose is not to write you up or hand out tickets, for that is a lot of paperwork that they would much rather not do. They want to be there for you. Use he/she as a resource and get to know them. You may end up deciding to watch 100+ episodes of your favorite TV show on a Tuesday afternoon, or you two may find joy in an impromptu music jam session in the car at 4 AM. You'll never know unless you make the effort.