if i forget

If I forget (again) in the coming months, please remind me how much I love being an RA.
Remind me that not checking items off of a to-do list isn't as important as taking the time to help someone-- because you can't schedule heartbreak nor mark it off at the end of the day.
Remind me that the best and worse feeling in the world is saying words you hoped you'd never have to when you rehearsed them months before, but knowing that because you could say them, someone is going to be okay. Remind me that I can do it, and that I have done it.
Remind me, when I want to quit, go home, and forget about graduate school, that I realized that I came to SUU to be an RA-- a creative writing major and a degree were just the added bonus.
Remind me that, for the most part, "being an RA" means loving. That sometimes means not putting up a bulletin board and not putting in paperwork.
Remind me that it's supposed to be hard, it's supposed to hurt, and I'm supposed to be this tired. That means I'm doing it right.
Remind me that my residents don't want me to be perfect, because they wouldn't be able to relate to me or connect with me if I were perfect.
Remind me that sometimes they are going to hate me.
Remind me that they're 18. They're girls. They're emotional. They're beautiful.
Remind me that in a few months, this experience will be over. I won't get another one.
Remind me, when I feel lost and alone, that I have an amazing network of friends and support.
Remind me, please, that this is where my heart is.