Schurz Hall, you’ve meant so much to me. The ways that you’ve changed me are innumerable, the ways you’ve protected me are admirable, and the ways that you’ve touched me are unforgettable. I’ve been in your throws for almost an entire school year now, and our relationship is so blissfully intimate. Schurz Hall, I don’t know what I’ll do without you in my life.

Schurz Hall, you took me in when nobody else would. The first night that we were together is a night that I will cherish until the end of days. You were my knight in shining armor. I was scared and alone. My parents had left me in a foreign land known to the natives as Missouri, but I had no one that I could trust. But I trusted you, Schurz Hall. And you gave me one of the greatest nights of my life.

I was unsure, but you didn’t pressure me, Schurz Hall. I was tentative and nervous, but you gave me room to breathe. I was nervous upon entering, but you assured me that once I came inside, I would understand. Once I came inside of you, I would feel at peace. Once I came inside you, I would begin to understand my place in the foreign and frightening Missouri.

And Schurz Hall, you were right. As soon as I entered you, I began to feel better. And the more I explored your different openings and pathways, the more I enjoyed you and what you had to offer. You allowed me to explore you in ways no residence hall had every allowed before, and I grew because of it.

Schurz Hall, you have changed me as a man, a woman, a firefighter, a referee and an aspiring stripper. You showed me that I could be any one of those things, and you would still allow me inside your loving walls.

Now that the year is closing, I fear that I may never come inside of you again. I may come near you and I may see others enter your hallowed walls, but our time is limited. I thank you, Schurz Hall. You gave to me like no other Residence Hall has given and you showed me what it means to be a man. I owe you so much, Schurz Hall. Thank you.