When I started my job as a Community Programmer of the Transfer Community for EMU's Housing and Residence Life, I never thought it would be anything more than a job. I expected to get along with my residents, but never could I have known how much I would come to bond with them over the next few months.
Say hello to my family, a.k.a my residents. These people make my job worth doing, and have become so much more to me than just my residents. At the beginning of the year I created a GroupMe, and I attribute that group chat as the main reason that my residents are such close friends today. I call them my kids and they call me snack mom. Crazy shenanigans are the norm on my floor, and to be honest I wouldn't want it any other way. My residents trust me to be there for them, and they know that I would do anything to make them happy.
Some would say that I take my job too seriously, or that residents are not supposed to be my friends. However, I do not believe that I would have been able to build such a successful community without making friends with my residents. They call themselves "squad" and just as I am here for them, they are there for each other. They go to the store together, and make each other get well soon gift baskets when one of them is sick. In every sense of the way we are a family, and I can not help but feel so blessed that I have them.
Of course, our family would not be complete without the R.A. on the floor. Just as I am "mom" to the residents, Erin has become somewhat of a big sister to me. She knows how to deal with conflict well, and is always there to listen and help me when I need her. She is an overall amazing chick, and without her I know I would be lost.
This week, interviews for next year's housing staff have begun. Many of my residents decided to apply, telling me that they "wanted to be a C.P just like me." Some of my friends who do not work in housing and residence life ask me if all the long hours and little frustrations are worth it. Without hesitation I always reply yes. Housing and Residence life gave me the home away from home feeling that I had been craving the entirety of my freshman year. Seeing my residents hang out with each other, and want to hang out with me, makes it worth it.
I want to thank my staff for always being the support system I need. To my residents, I want to thank you for letting me be your "mom" this year. Thank you for allowing me to show you everything Eastern has to offer. Thank you for putting on pancake breakfasts, and for texting me at two a.m. asking me if I want to go out for ice cream. Most of all though, remember that the end of this year will not be the end of the first floor fam. I may not always be your C.P. but I will always be your friend. I will always be here for you, and just remember to shut up, because I love you.
