If someone would have told me a few years ago that I would become a Resident Assistant (RA) my junior year of college, I would have laughed and told them they were crazy. Why would I want to be in charge of a whole floor of residents and add extra work to my course load? This does not sound like something that I would have ever planned to pursue. Now, after I have finished my first year as an RA, I couldn’t see my life without it. I wouldn’t trade any of it, being there for my residents, the bulletin boards, late night week staff meetings, duty nights, door tags, what would I do without all of this.

With this being said, being an RA has not only become a huge part of my life, but it has also taught me so many things. The lessons learned are irreplaceable.

1. Just because you spend a lot of time planning something, doesn’t mean it will turn out according to plan.

There are always times when you take days and nights planning an event and it just doesn’t work out how you wanted it to. Nights spent awake for hours thinking about how you can make one small detail just a little bit better so that things will turn out just how you want them to. When it comes right down to event day, that one little thing that you spent hours and hours thinking about doesn’t turn out the way it did in your head. Then you learn that it is okay, not everything in life is perfect. Improvising becomes second nature and the backup plan turns out even better than the original plan.

2. I am definitely not a professional artist.

As hard as I try, I will never ever be a professional artist. Drawing, painting, etc, is not what I am good at. Picasso and I are not one in the same. That is okay though because when it comes right down to it, everything can be traced and it turns out just as good, it not better.

3. Not everyone is going to like you.

This is a great life lesson to learn now. People aren’t always going to like you. Some will love you. Some won’t like you at all. It is a part of life. Everyone is different with different preferences and not everyone will always get along. But it is always awesome when you meet someone who you thought you would never get along with, and they end up being one of the best friends you have ever met. You wouldn’t have even met this person if it wasn’t for you taking on the RA position.

4. There is more than one way to go about a difficult conversation.

As an RA you may have to deal with some pretty difficult topics. Everyone is different and just because you could handle one topic with someone in one manner doesn’t mean that the next person will be able to deal with the situation in the same manner. Bringing up difficult topics to talk about to larger groups can be done with events and there is always a way to make the most awkward things, not so awkward anymore. There are many different people with different perspectives and as an RA you have to be flexible and personable to everyone.

5. You will meet amazing people that you never would have before.

I have met the most amazing people through Res Life. Res Life becomes family. You lean on each other when things get tough and help each other through the good and the bad. Professional staff members who I may have never encountered, I now see as great role models and my coworkers who I may never have even seen before are now some of my best friends. Being an RA opens your mind to new things, new people and new experiences. It brings you out of your friend group and pushes you out toward new and exciting people.

To my first Res Life staff, thank you. Thank you for always having my back no matter what it was. Whether it was hanging up flyers for me because I wasn’t in the building, or switching duty days with me because I had something important to tend to. Most importantly, thank you for being my friends. Thank you for always standing beside me and even sometimes staying up until two in the morning just because things were getting a little stressful and we needed a release.

Through being an RA, I learned so many valuable life lessons. Before I chose this path, I couldn’t see myself being a resident assistant, and now I can’t see my life without it.