I will never forget how nervous I was for that first unit meeting. It set the tone for the entire year, and as a first year RA I wanted to make sure I did it right. I wanted to be tough, but not too tough; it was important to me that you all knew you could come to me for anything.

As parents left and the meeting started, I watched you guys sit down next to your roommates and the other people you’d met. I watched all the guys huddle together in the back of the room, and I got a glimpse for the first time at your personalities. I had gone through the classes and the training, but I had no clue what I was getting myself into.

See, what they don’t train you for is when your unit is amazing. There were little things here and there, to be expected, and maybe quiet hours seemed like a recommendation rather than a rule *cough cough, lounge* but they taught us how to handle that. They didn’t teach us what to do when your unit became your family; when you got used to seeing your residents’ faces every day, and when you knew that if you ever needed anything there was a group of people who would be there for you the same way you were there for them if they needed it.

They don’t prepare you for the best-case scenario; a close-knit unit who does so much on their own already, programming for you is easy because they all want to go. They don’t train you for the end of the year, when you start checking people out and you realize you’re not gonna live with these people next year. You start to miss them before they’re even gone—and you aren’t trained for that.

So, B3, now that we’re coming to the end of the year and Finals are happening—I just want to take a minute to say thank you. Thank you for learning with me and bearing with me as I went through my first year. I know there are lots of things I can improve on, but I appreciate having a unit that understood. Thank you for a year filled with lots of laughter, support, sass, and kindness. The long nights on duty, the training, the nerves and the questions; you all made it worth it.

Thank you for being the reason I’m returning as an RA next year.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have had each of you in my unit this year. You played such a huge part in my sophomore year of college, and I know you all are going to do great things. I can’t wait to follow each of you as you move on in college and in life—and don’t think this is it, because I fully intend on being the nosy RA even after you guys leave. Don’t ever hesitate to reach out; I will always be here.

I love you guys; thanks for being the best unit a gal could hope for.

Love,

Your RA