You all need to know that being your resident assistant is not an easy task. It is difficult because I am your friend, but I am also your RA. There is a fine line between those two and it can be hard to keep those two things separate.
Every time I knock on one of your doors, my goal is not to get you in trouble. Trust me when I tell you, I don't want to get you in trouble. I am not here to write every person on the floor up when they step out of line. First off, that is a long of paperwork. Second, I don't want to get my residents into trouble, but I am here to enforce the policies.
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Now that we got that part out of the way, we can have a real talk.
When I knock on the door and hear everybody come to the peep hole, and say, "oh my gosh its an RA put everything away, guys hurry up I have to open the door," I stand there and laugh to myself. Doors are not sound proof. You may think that you are being quiet, but trust me when I say I can hear a lot when I knock on a door. I am also not holding my ear to your door hoping that you are having a big crazy party playing beer pong. That is not my job and that is not my life.
I am a student too.
Let me say it again.
I am a student too.
I have 9 a.m. classes that I have to pass, I have activities that I like to do with any small amount of free time that I have, I have friends that I would like to see, I have a life and I have a job. This is my job. Being a resource to all of you is my job. I am not your mother. I am not here to pick up after you, yell at you when you do something wrong, police the hallway and call university police every ten minutes when I smell drugs. That is not my job.
I have heard the horror stories of RA's policing the hallway and documenting every one of their residents. I have heard the stories and that is not the RA that I want to be.
I am here to enforce policy and I am here to help keep all of you safe. I am here for all of you. If you need me, I will try my best to be there. I am a resource. I went through two weeks of intense training and on the job training. I know what I'm doing and that is why I was hired. Every day I learn something new about my job and about campus. I am a resource for everybody.
I was hired to be your RA because the ones who interviewed me thought that I would be a good fit for this position. I really hope that I prove them to be right. We can have a wonderful year if you understand that I am here to keep everyone safe and to be a resource.
The next time I knock on your door, remember that I can hear you.
