The school year is about to start. For parents across the country, they are preparing to send their "prized possessions" off to a distant far away land. For the incoming students, they are excited to embark on a journey where their parents' careful eye is not looking over them every five seconds. For the RAs out there, we are mentally preparing for what will be an interesting year.

August is the training month. Typically, RAs will flock to their respective schools two weeks before move in and hear from many different campus partners. Some of these include Title IX, the Mental Health office, the respective police departments, and so forth. The days are long and on top of sitting in one place for eight hours at a time we also have to make bulletin boards and door decorations.

We do the work because we love it. We love to students that we work with, even though they may fall at times. We give back to our universities because we have gotten so much out of the institution ourselves. Whether we are working with incoming freshman about to take their first class or seniors about to commence, we recognize that every student needs someone by their side as they navigate the "collegiate" waters.

We will most definitely see some things that we wish we didn't. We will be woken up at 2 a.m. with some really serious situations that will need our full cognitive focus. We will also be woken up at 2 a.m. with concerns over an ant in a bathroom. This is the job that we signed up for.

There is no doubt about it. The RA role is hard. There will be some tough and uncomfortable conversations that we will have with our residents. We also are going to have to draw the line and mark our boundaries. So often, fixers are drawn to the RA role. (I was one.) Over this next year, we are going to have to learn that some situations are just out of our control. The hardest lesson to learn will also be the prioritize our self care.

When do we eat? When do we sleep? When do we study? After all, we are full time students. Balance is so hard to figure out without the role and with the RA role it's darn near impossible. But, we have a support system. We have our fellow RAs, our friends, our Residence Directors, our Community Directors/Area Coordinators. However, there is still one phrase that we don't hear quite as often as we should. So here it is.

THANK YOU.

Thank you to every RA out there because you have answered the call. You have chosen to stand out and be a role model for the student body at your school. It is because of you all that many of the students in the country will know that someone has their back even when it might seem like no one else does. As Resident Advisors, we are often the first line of defense and it is imperative that we all know our value not only to our respective universities, but also to ourselves. By the end of our respective trainings, we will be ready to tackle the challenges that are on the horizons. And so again, to every Resident Advisor/ House Staff/ Resident Assistant out there, thank you!