I am a RA (specifically a Peer Advisor) at the college I attend. I will be an RA in a new building next year, and some of my freshmen residents have just gotten hired for their first year as RA's. I decided to write them a little note, with a list of all the things they will most likely experience. Please peruse at your own interest.
Welcome to your new life as an RA at (insert dorm/college). There are a lot of things you’re sure to encounter in the next year! So I present to you this list ...
(BuzzFeed Style & in no particular order)
You will cherish and despise email at the same time
Experiencing bulletin board envy
You will have some crazy on call nights, and some that are totally boring
Wonder why your phone is always dying, and then realize it’s all those GroupMe’s
Have a resident that thinks you hate them but you really don’t
Have a small crush on a resident
Develop a crush on another RA (same building or not)
Wonder how in a building of over 200 students, and on a campus of God-Knows-How-Many students, you haven’t gotten laid in the past (insert indefinite amount of time here)
You WILL buy into the lie that is StrengthsQuest
Continuously trying to break the habit of calling your residents “kids”
Becoming an expert in acronyms and other RA slang (ie flatner)
Stumble upon residents attempting to get intimate and never really knowing how to be sure how to deal with that situation
You should probably become an author after being an RA, because you will be an expert in telling stories in 3rd person after all those incident reports
Writing plans for next year for people who probably won’t care
Wonder what the real point of meetings is: to get work done, or to talk about getting work done
Never being able to stay for a whole meeting because you have another meeting that overlaps
Training ‘til the day you die, yo
Having to control yourself to not bitch residents out like you would your sister
Feel guilt from busting residents you like
Feel guilt for busting what looks like a really fun party
Feel guilt for doing the minimum amount of work
FEELING GUILT IN GENERAL
Day drinking in front of your residents without them knowing
Going from not knowing your floor partner at all to people making jokes about you two dating
Not understanding taking orders from someone only a couple years older than you
Realizing you have to sleep in clothes because there could be an emergency where you have to leap out of bed and can’t waste time trying to find pants
Running an event that is a total flop
Schedule, Divide, & Conquer…or Die
Running into a resident at a party…but not leaving because who gives a fuck
Trying to get all the Thursday weekend on calls
Student staff nicknames/Stripper names
Wonder how you were crazy enough to sign up for a second year
Being so over community style bathrooms
You will gain invaluable teamwork experience, but it still probably won’t help you land that internship (actually, maybe it will…)
Eating alone/quickly
Being dead tired the first week
Trying to get people to go to events with the “There will be free food” line
Having a secret stash of booze in your room
Missing the “party of the year” for being on call
Get uncontrollably frustrated for people ripping things down that you WORKED HARD ON GODDAMIT
Lovin’ that campus money, and then realizing it’s not nearly as much money as you thought it was
People demanding you swipe them in for food. No asking politely, no asking when works for you, no realizing that’s the only way you get paid so you actually use it like you’re supposed to, etc. Nope, just “Hey swipe me in RIGHT NOW lolz”
People recognizing you that, for the life of you, you can’t remember their name even though you should
People constantly dissing your job…excuse me, free food, free housing, and I can still wake up 15 minutes before class and be on time BITCH
People instantly judging you, putting you into an over-achiever, annoyingly-peppy, can’t grow up, undateable, persona
Realizing those people aren’t worth your time
Meeting some of the coolest people of your life!
Becoming one of the coolest people!
Welcome to your new life as an RA at (insert dorm/college). There are a lot of things you’re sure to encounter in the next year! So I present to you this list ...
(BuzzFeed Style & in no particular order)
You will cherish and despise email at the same time
Experiencing bulletin board envy
You will have some crazy on call nights, and some that are totally boring
Wonder why your phone is always dying, and then realize it’s all those GroupMe’s
Have a resident that thinks you hate them but you really don’t
Have a small crush on a resident
Develop a crush on another RA (same building or not)
Wonder how in a building of over 200 students, and on a campus of God-Knows-How-Many students, you haven’t gotten laid in the past (insert indefinite amount of time here)
You WILL buy into the lie that is StrengthsQuest
Continuously trying to break the habit of calling your residents “kids”
Becoming an expert in acronyms and other RA slang (ie flatner)
Stumble upon residents attempting to get intimate and never really knowing how to be sure how to deal with that situation
You should probably become an author after being an RA, because you will be an expert in telling stories in 3rd person after all those incident reports
Writing plans for next year for people who probably won’t care
Wonder what the real point of meetings is: to get work done, or to talk about getting work done
Never being able to stay for a whole meeting because you have another meeting that overlaps
Training ‘til the day you die, yo
Having to control yourself to not bitch residents out like you would your sister
Feel guilt from busting residents you like
Feel guilt for busting what looks like a really fun party
Feel guilt for doing the minimum amount of work
FEELING GUILT IN GENERAL
Day drinking in front of your residents without them knowing
Going from not knowing your floor partner at all to people making jokes about you two dating
Not understanding taking orders from someone only a couple years older than you
Realizing you have to sleep in clothes because there could be an emergency where you have to leap out of bed and can’t waste time trying to find pants
Running an event that is a total flop
Schedule, Divide, & Conquer…or Die
Running into a resident at a party…but not leaving because who gives a fuck
Trying to get all the Thursday weekend on calls
Student staff nicknames/Stripper names
Wonder how you were crazy enough to sign up for a second year
Being so over community style bathrooms
You will gain invaluable teamwork experience, but it still probably won’t help you land that internship (actually, maybe it will…)
Eating alone/quickly
Being dead tired the first week
Trying to get people to go to events with the “There will be free food” line
Having a secret stash of booze in your room
Missing the “party of the year” for being on call
Get uncontrollably frustrated for people ripping things down that you WORKED HARD ON GODDAMIT
Lovin’ that campus money, and then realizing it’s not nearly as much money as you thought it was
People demanding you swipe them in for food. No asking politely, no asking when works for you, no realizing that’s the only way you get paid so you actually use it like you’re supposed to, etc. Nope, just “Hey swipe me in RIGHT NOW lolz”
People recognizing you that, for the life of you, you can’t remember their name even though you should
People constantly dissing your job…excuse me, free food, free housing, and I can still wake up 15 minutes before class and be on time BITCH
People instantly judging you, putting you into an over-achiever, annoyingly-peppy, can’t grow up, undateable, persona
Realizing those people aren’t worth your time
Meeting some of the coolest people of your life!
Becoming one of the coolest people!