New Years Resolutions never happen; or at least most of them never do.

A lot has happened this year to many different people: Jobs, school, election, relationships...

But I have dealt with a lot of hatred, pain, loss, and lots of happiness.

Instead of setting new goals for myself, I want to reflect on what I have done.

I want to forgive those who have caused me a lot of suffering in this past year.

I want to thank those who have helped me through this year.

January

I finally became an adult. I am no longer a 17 year old girl with an AA degree. I am no longer the "baby" (well yes I still am but I'm an adult baby now).

February

Valentines Day with no boyfriend (since he needed time to find out how he felt about certain people), but I did get to see Deadpool. And that was as great as having a boyfriend on Valentines Day

Tim Tebow Foundation's Night to Shine, a prom for those who didn't get to experience their prom in high school because of a disability or something halting them. I had the privileged to escort a girl. To keep her anonymous, I will call her M.

We danced, ate food together, road in a limo together, listened to people sing karaoke.

Her parent invited a "friend", and they got a little too friendly when me and M were dancing. It was extremely awkward to be near them. But I focused on M. This was HER night. I was going to make it her best.

Her parent told me about a non-profit organization she worked for. It will not be named for reasons to follow. She told me about how great I was as M's escort, and knew that since I wanted to be a teacher and help children with special needs, for me to meet her boss, the co-founder of the organization, and see if I could get an RA position at their brand new community.

(Believe me, at this point in my life, I was in Heaven. I was so thankful for everything. I saw a bright new future I never imagined was possible for me.)

March/April

Not a lot happened during these months. I got the position as an RA, filled out the paperwork, and visited the office every once in a while to see if they needed anything.

I did get to go to an Easter party with the organization. The future residents were all there with other people who were members of the organization. It was amazing to meet these people. Sometimes it was hard, because both I and they were shy. But it was a fun party.

My boss invited me to attend their church. I am Christian, so I decided to go. They had a scholarship for school that I needed. I had to be a member.

I am poor. I like this church.

I became a member.....

A day after the deadline for the scholarship.

May

I finished my second semester at Florida Southern College with all A's again. I was told I would move into my new house as an RA at the beginning of May.

I was told they were no where near close to finishing my house.

I stayed in the FSC dorms for all of May and a couple weeks of June. My boss paid me $250 every two weeks and paid for my dorm room, since it wasn't my fault the house wasn't finished.

I worked most days of the week, excluding the weekends. I visited my grandparents once on a weekend to get away from Lakeland. If there wasn't much to be done in the office, I went to a future residents home and spent the day with him. We went swimming, watched TV, played video games, and cooked (not a lot but a little). His mom knew I wasn't getting a lot of money from working, so she gave me extra money for taking care of him during the day when she was busy. (I will always remember this family. I miss them everyday).

If I didn't go to church, I would always hear"We missed you at church! We hope you come next Sunday."

June

I finally got to move into my new house. It was amazing. I never thought I would get my own HOUSE!

Residents slowly started to move in at the end of June, more toward the beginning of July. I was so excited to start helping people move into their homes.

If I don't go to church, they tell me they missed me.

If I don't go to church, they want a reason. They ask if I was sick.

I have to make an excuse for every time I don't go.

If I don't go, they make me feel bad.

July

We threw pool parties, I bought pool floats, we had dances (and I hosted a smaller dance for those who couldn't handle the loud music), I helped residents with their issues, I talked to parents.

To me, I felt like I was in total Heaven.

July 15, 2016 ~ 11:00 AM

We had a meeting to talk about some of the issues happening. We had a conference coming up and we needed to fix lights on this board for a display.

The boss looked at me, since I had been running errands and using my car to do stuff for work for a while. I took the lights and went to the shop to get them fixed.

I was rear ended by a lady who was tailgating me at about 60MPH. When she hit me, I slammed my head into my steering wheel, slammed my head back, everything was black for a couple seconds.

She had hit me onto the median curb, my car was going so fast, it went past two cars in front of me, and into an intersection when oncoming traffic was about to hit me.

The words still play in my head. "brake... Brake! BRAKE!!"

My car was totaled. I was in shock.

I got out of my car crying, barely standing because of shock, and the lady that hit me started to yell and scream and curse at ME.

"Your car is a piece of s***!" "You have nothing to even worry about lady your car is crap anyway my car is brand new GET OVER IT!!"

She kept yelling while I was on the phone with dispatch. She was calling her insurance and her tow company. She didn't even care that I was in shock and possibly hurt.

The dispatch was trying to talk to me, and she kept screaming, so finally I yelled "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME"

She continued to yell. The dispatch told the officer en route.

When he pulled forward, the lady ran up to his car, and started to scream at HIM! He put his hand in the air, and said "no, go away" and came to me to see if I was hurt. He tried to calm me down.

I am so very thankful for him and the ambulance lady (I don't remember her name and I don't remember her specific title). She came up to me and stood with me. She talked to me and calmed me down .She reassured me. She told me about her experiences. She told me how proud she was of me for my accomplishments. She helped me through this horrific mess. (If you are possibly reading this, Thank you SO SO much.)

I am so very thankful for the woman who came and picked me up and took me to the ER for my head. Her son is a resident. I won't say her name, but if she reads this, she knows who she is. Thank you.

I had a concussion with memory loss. I couldn't talk well. I had migraines constantly. I was dizzy and confused all of the time. I couldn't remember anything.

I still had to work.

"We know you didn't want the accident to happen, but you need to pick it up, or is this just too much for you?"

They submitted a prayer request for me to get better. I went back to church again. They would guilt trip me each time I didn't go.

They would send their daughter to me to see if I was going... How could I say no to their daughter... Even when I was in lots of pain.

August

Still working. Still have migraines. Still have memory loss. My cell phone number was given to the residents for emergencies and issues. Because of this, residents still call my cell phone today for help.

My back is hurting. Really bad.

Back, neck, and shoulder therapy. MRI. (GOD that was the worst pain ever.)

I have a herniated disk on the last disk of my spine.

More therapy.

I have work and therapy now.

They get upset when I am a half hour late to my shift, even though I have told them I have therapy every Monday/Wednesday/Friday.

I have school now.

They get upset when I have school.

"Why not just skip class for our meetings?"

I have school, I have work 4 days a week (we finally have another RA, I'm not alone taking care of 128 residents), from 5 PM to 8 AM. I get phone calls at 1/2 AM for lock outs. Since the people who were in charge of lock outs wouldn't answer their phones.

I wish I could sleep through calls when I am on call. That's okay. I love the residents, and that's all that matters.

September

Things are going south.

My grades especially are suffering because they want me to skip class, they need me to answer the phone, and they need me to do lots of work.

Did I mention there was another RA? He has a full time job.

It's at the church they go to, so they don't get mad at him when he has work.

They get mad at me when I have school.

They assign me all of the work.

THAT'S OKAY.

I am getting upset.

Not only am I hurting physically, I feel like I am being abused. Forced to go to church, otherwise they make me feel like crap. Forced to skip classes otherwise you aren't doing your job well. Forced to do other people's jobs, otherwise, I am hurting their company.

We finally reached official 100% occupancy.

I was asked to cover a dinner shift in our new kitchen.

I had no problems with this. In fact, I was excited to see what was being cooked. I wanted to work with the chef.

Until I found out everyone went to a dinner.

A dinner to celebrate their work of getting to 100%.

I had been part of this since March...

Some of those people were hired in May...

I posted a status on Facebook. I was very upset. I felt like I had been beaten up.

Oh, honey. The beating didn't start until about 10 minutes later.

I was called worthless. Unworthy. I didn't work as hard as the others. I didn't work all day, or all night. I was disgraceful for what I had said (all I said was that I was really hurt I didn't go to dinner with them).

After I got that text from the coworker, I ran to a residents house. She was a sweet girl. She loved to talk to me all the time.

She was cleaning her entire house. All of her laundry, her clothes in loads in he washer, her bedding, vacuuming, dishes, dusting. She was deep cleaning her entire house! (Remember this)

We walked to another resident's house. We all sat down, hugged each other as I told them what was going on and that I had to leave. They supported me. They all got my phone number so they could text me. They even checked on me the next day.

I wrote my resignation letter. It was Wednesday night. My boyfriend came over to comfort me as I cried writing it, rewriting it, editing it, and reading it aloud ten times for me, my mom, and my boyfriend to hear.

The words were touching. The words were hard and strong, yet sweet and caring.

September 29, 2016

My RA supervisor (who was just hired) read my letter and was hurt to know what I was going through. She tried to talk me out of it, telling me that God has a plan and that the coworker who said the mean words was evil and was not a person of God. Although her words were touching, I did not care. I felt all of this abuse piling on my shoulders.

I needed to throw the weights off!

I gave my boss the letter. He told me he wanted time to read it, and that he would talk to me soon after.

I waited for hours outside the office. I played basketball with the residents, I talked to another about me leaving, and another about her roommate issues (that were finally being solved).

He never talked to me after.

Maybe he hated me. Maybe he thought I was being selfish.

At this point, I was. I was sick of this. I wanted the best for these residents, but I needed support for myself.

Same Day ~ 8:00 PM

I got a call from a girl. She said she dislocated her shoulder (not really). The other RA and I went up there. She was balling her eyes out because she had popped it. I thought it was a real emergency, so I got upset and said to never do that again. We both calmed her down and left.

We heard loud crying coming from a building.

We went up to her and talked to her. It took about 10 minutes before we could actually understand what she was saying. She couldn't talk to her friend.

We asked to come into the house. A parent and the resident were sitting on their couch. the resident was crying.

Remember how earlier I said a girl was deep cleaning her house.

This was the same girl.

She told me she had been raped.

Knowing she is mentally handicapped, I asked for details. I needed some sort of proof or explanation.

She described everything to me.

I was so frightened that another resident had done this to her.

I called the police.

When someone says RAPE and EXPLAINS everything to you, you don't question them. You call the police.

Things are about to get good people.

Finally the police came. I saw a car rush past, and I started to run towards it. They saw me and slowed down. I waved my hands at them. They got out of their car and waited.

A vehicle (what I thought was a cop car) started to come up from the other way. I kept walking down the parking lot.

This vehicle was not a cop car. It was my bosses wife.

I kept walking.

She sped her car up into the parking area wear I was approaching the officers.

She almost hit me. She TRIED to hit me!

Why...

I have asthma, and was in shock from her trying to hit me, I jumped over to the officer and told him my name.

"Yes... Officer.. asthma... AmyLee... caller"

Wife: AMYLEE GET AWAY GO HOME NOW you have no business being here go away!

I looked at the officer. I looked at her.

"I'm sorry a resident was raped and I am repor..."

Wife: AMYLEE GO HOME get away now GO! I'm sorry officer this is a false alarm (looks at me) no one was harmed I can assure you.

WHAT

The officer tried to move her to the side. She wouldn't move. She kept saying the girl hadn't been raped. She kept yelling at him.

Another officer saw me hyperventilating. We walked to the resident's house and he calmed me down. He assured me they would not listen to her and that this would be investigated.

While we were in the room, her parents called. They were on their way.

The officer was talking to her and I was comforting her. The wife followed us up, and barged through the door.

She demanded that she be in the room while they interviewed her.

She wasn't allowed.

Imagine the devil looking at you straight in the eyes. Plain, cold, death staring at you.

I went back to my house. Another worker called and wanted me to tell her what happened.

After a lot of yelling and crying, the officer came back. He told me that the wife could be charged with interfering with an investigation and trying to hit me with her vehicle.

I called my mom. More crying. It was the worst thing to have to go through.

The boss came to get the RA phone. I did not answer. I knew he would yell at me or say something mean to me.

The other RA went and got the phone.

My mom demanded someone talk to her. She called my boss and left a voicemail.

She got a hold of the worker I was just talking to.

The worker lied to my mom.

STRAIGHT TO HER FACE

After I had just told my mom everything.

Do you really think I am going to lie to my mom? Especially about this??

A quote popped into my mind.

"Here at ____, We are a family. We love each other, care for each other, and do anything for each other."

This saying was told to me maybe 100 times by my boss to me.

This is no family.

My boyfriend is on his way to help me start packing.

I go up to an officer to find out the names of those who witnessed the wife try to hit me with her car, and how to file charges against her, and how to be a witness to her interfering with an investigation.

He laughed at me.

She didn't try to hit you with her car. She was trying to park and you were in her way.

She wasn't interfering in anything.

The girl is a liar and you know it. She told me about how much she loved the sex.

The girl with autism lied about being raped? She described in detail, what he did to her, to me, and now you're saying she is changing the story?

Maybe because the wife was telling her not to talk.

Maybe she was terrified about what her parents would say when they got there.

The wife and the boss laughed. They looked at me and laughed. and laughed.

and laughed.

October 1, 2016

I moved back into the dorms at FSC. I got a new roommate who is super nice. My teachers continually supported me. One teacher even called the school's therapist to get me some help from what I had just been through.

My teachers gave me extensions on assignments so I would catch back up and get back on track.

I know who my family is.

This small school has supported me. These teachers understand me. They know that I am a wonderful student. They treat me like I am their kid.

My teacher wanted me to text her when I was feeling better after my recent back procedure.

I know who my family is.

My mom drove 7 hours from Pensacola to get to me to help me move back in to the dorms.

My boyfriend helped me emotionally when things were going horribly, and he was there when I needed to vent.

My nana was there for me when I needed to vent about work and make important decisions.

I know who my family is.

Now that I have finally written all of this down - through tears, sadness, and anger - I am finally to where I need to be.

Forgiveness.

I forgive the lady who hit me with her car. I am in a lot of pain, but I am okay.

I forgive the workers who weren't doing their job and I had to do it for them. I forgive you.

I forgive the boss. He probably didn't even know how I was feeling because of all the work he was doing. I forgive you.

I forgive the boss for the car accident.

I forgive the boss for putting me through pain.

I forgive the boss for telling me to skip school.

I forgive the boss for guilt tripping me into going to church.

I forgive the worker who called me unworthy and undeserving. I know I am worthy and deserving, and you do too. I forgive you.

I forgive the wife for trying to hit me with her car. You were probably angry. You didn't want the reputation of the organization to be known for rape. I understand. I forgive you.

As much as I don't want to, I forgive the wife for saying the girl was a liar. You may have had reason to believe she was a liar. So I forgive you.

I forgive the officer for laughing at me. You were probably friends with the wife and boss, but it doesn't matter. I forgive you.

I forgive the lady who lied to my mom. You helped me when I needed my things and didn't want to see the boss. I forgive you.

Looking back on my last year, I went through a lot of pain, suffering, abuse, sadness, and depression.

Looking back, I see a new person in myself. I am a strong girl. I know how to deal with serious situations. I know how to deal with my emotions. I know how to help others with disabilities.

I know how to help myself.

I have learned a lot in this past year, and I want you to hear my story.

2016 may have been a horrible year, but it was full of learning experiences, and eventually, finding myself and finding happiness.

Author's Note

This article is based on what I, AmyLee Pritchard, went through in 2016. It is not meant to put down a specific organization, but to only tell my story. You may know what organization I am talking about, but please, I am keeping the organization along with names anonymous to protect those individuals.

The organization itself is beautiful and wonderful. The residents were the best things to happen to me in a long time.