A departing love letter to the Nicely Home,
As my spouse Ryelee and I start to face the inevitable actuality that we are going to be transferring on from our resident fellow roles on the Nicely Home, we write right now with our hearts filled with gratitude and appreciation. After we entered this neighborhood almost two years in the past, we discovered ourselves awestruck by the braveness and dedication that every of the scholars on the Nicely exudes.
We’ve seen firsthand the transformative energy of this neighborhood. The residents of the Nicely Home are a testomony to the truth that constructing a neighborhood that’s supportive of scholars choosing a substance-free way of life will not be solely potential, but in addition stunning and fulfilling. They’ve created a secure and supportive surroundings the place they’ll be taught, develop and thrive at Stanford with out substance use. We’ve seen them help one another via tough occasions, have fun one another’s victories, and construct lasting friendships.
However the influence of this neighborhood goes past its residents. It additionally serves as a beacon of hope for anybody battling substance use dysfunction, reminding them that they aren’t alone, and that restoration is feasible, even at a faculty like Stanford. It’s a testomony to the truth that restoration will not be a solitary journey, however a collective one, and that help and neighborhood are essential to success.
To the resident assistants of the Nicely Home: Your management has carried us via the intense and gloomy occasions over the previous two years. You will have labored extremely exhausting to create a heat surroundings the place college students are impressed by your devotion and management. Your unwavering dedication and love for the home and its college students has been extraordinary.
To the scholars of the Nicely Home: You might be an inspiration to us and to numerous others. Your braveness and perseverance within the face of adversity is nothing wanting outstanding. You will have created a neighborhood that’s crammed with love, kindness, and hope, and we’re grateful to have had the privilege to dwell with and be taught from you. Thanks for being the change you want to see on the earth.
To our neighbors residing on The Row: We thanks on your willingness to succeed in out and ask easy methods to help college students in restoration residing subsequent to you, whereas on the identical time carrying ahead the dominant tradition traditions handed down by Row college students of yore. It has not been excellent, but it surely has been progress.
To the Stanford college students in habit restoration: The sheer willpower to remain sober and preserve a wholesome way of life within the midst of a campus tradition that usually glorifies substance use is nothing wanting admirable. It takes power, help, and a degree of self-awareness that isn’t straightforward to come back by.
To the remainder of the Stanford neighborhood: Allow us to rally round these college students and provide them the help and encouragement they deserve. Allow us to acknowledge that substance use dysfunction is a critical and complicated problem that impacts many, and allow us to work collectively to create a tradition of compassion, understanding, and help.
In conclusion, we need to categorical our deep gratitude and admiration for the scholars of the wellness and substance-free housing unit, The Nicely Home, at Stanford College. Because the world round you searches for solutions to the habit disaster, you have got proven that real-world options can and do begin at dwelling. You will have proven us what true braveness, resilience, and neighborhood seem like, and for that, we’re all higher off.
With love, admiration, and appreciation,
Noel and Ryelee Vest, Resident Fellows of the Nicely Home