After completing two weeks of training, I was reminded of why I love being a Resident Assistant and the things that make this job worthwhile.

Meeting New People

Being a Resident Assistant allowed me to meet so many new people. Most of my best friends are my fellow RAS! We run a building together and we live together so we all go through the same problems and stresses. It’s great to have someone who I can talk to that knows exactly what I’m going through, whether it’s meeting deadlines for paperwork and bulletin boards, planning programs, or just life in general. They are able to help me stay motivated for this job and remind me why I do what I do. Without my RA friends, I don’t know where I’d be.

Being a Resident Assistant also allowed me to meet other RAs, but my residents became my friends as well. One of the best parts about being an RA is meeting your residents at the beginning of the year and watching them grow and change over the school year. Residents turn to an RA when they have a question about everything and anything. I enjoy helping my residents, whether it’s with classes, places on campus, or life.

Learning More About Myself

This seems really cliché, but it’s pretty accurate. Being an RA has helped me grow and change as a person. My lead last year helped me so much with not only holding this position as an RA but as a person. Being an RA helps you understand other people and their behaviors/motives and it also helps me better understand my actions and motives as well. In order to be an RA, you have to be confident on your position and that confidence helps in other aspects of my life. I’m confident in myself to accomplish my schoolwork and anything life throws at me, whether it’s RA related or not.

Being an RA helps me understand when I need time to myself. Helping my residents is fun and all, but this job has helped me learn my limit and know when I need to take an hour to myself, whether it’s watching Netflix or working out at the gym.

Being Creative

I’m a very creative person but actually applying my thoughts and ideas is something I lack. Being an RA, has helped me be “artsy.” Decorating the building is a big part of training and it includes door decorations, bulletin boards, and painting the windows to fit a theme. It makes the building more welcoming and it makes it a fun place to live. Programs are also really fun because it’s a good way to get the residents together whether it’s a social event like “Kickball with your RAs”, “Sunday Night Football With Your RAs”, or an educational program like “Sports Jeopardy!”. Last year I did a program titled, “Does That Make Me Crazy?”, and I taught my residents about mental illness. A catchy creative title got a lot of people together to learn about a topic. Thank you, Pinterest for your help.

Being A Part Something Bigger Than Myself

Whenever people ask me, “Why did you become an RA”? My response is always that. Working on a team is one of the best experience. Like I said earlier, being an RA has brought me close to so many people and we all work together to run a building and make sure it doesn’t fall apart. Other RAs have impacted me with this position but we make a great impact on other people’s lives, too. Residents know me and always say hi. One of the most rewarding things about the position was how close to I grew to one of my residents, Deanna. I helped her through a rough time but she really became one of my best friends! Having a big impact on her life (and on my life as well) is one of the moat regarding experiences.

Sometimes this job really tests my patience and puts me past my limit, but remembering these four things motivates me and reminds me why I do what I do.