Archive for category: Resident Assistant

After a Thanksgiving Break, we returned to class for our final week. We’ve had nothing but guest speakers these last few weeks and today were some personal trainers here to talk to us about health and fitness. This is my final journal entry for this class, so hopefully I’ll keep writing after this…

Health is an important factor in one’s life and should be maintained in order to live a well-balanced life, especially when entering college life. With less regularity, more unhealthy meals, and less exercise than one has previously encountered, students entering college may find themselves at risk for developing bad health habits, losing muscle, and gaining weight. Most know what they must do, but do not act upon such knowledge due to laziness and a lack of motivation. As a resident assistant, I must set the good example by taking care of my body and having excellent health as well as motivating my residents to do the same. I know this is my job, but like my residents, I have trouble doing it.

Weight has always been present in my life, as I have always been heavier than I should be. Ever since I was ten years old, I have wanted to change my weight and reduce my body fat content, but it’s not quite enough to really motivate me to do anything. There are many factors that prohibit me from exercising. One major excuse that I am sure everyone gives is that I am too busy to find time to exercise. With my current schedule, I even struggle to find time to sleep, let alone complete all my assignments and finish all of my work. But to make matters worse, even if I had the time to work out, I really don’t want to use it. I don’t want to make time in my day to exercise regularly because I cannot stand working out. There are many reasons why I don’t like to exercise. I don’t like sweating, smelling awful, having to change clothes, and having to shower, and I also don’t like the idea of having to trek across campus to go to an unfamiliar, open area with lots of people who are bound to notice me. Not to mention, I do not like the actual act of exercising and exerting force. I don’t like the pain, the effort, and the strain. I don’t want to weaken my body, only to feel tired and drained afterwards. Part of this may be because I am hypoglycemic, meaning my body creates too much insulin and uses the sugars I intake more quickly than usual. Even if I don’t exercise, I experience spells of weakness and fatigue as my body lacks in energy throughout the day. I know what it’s like to be out of energy and to feel weak, and I can’t stand it. I can’t stand not being able to move my arms or sit up without difficulty because I literally don’t have the energy to do so. I can’t stand the shakes and quivers my body goes through after exerting force or exercising. I can’t stand feeling helpless.

Although I cannot fathom exercising regularly for a variety of different reasons, I know that I should. After hearing from personal trainers, I am slightly more motivated to change my eating habits and begin becoming more active, but I do not think that I am ready to really make significant changes within my life right now. As of now, I am willing and able to encourage my residents to partake in good eating habits and to become active within their lives in order to increase their health and I will try along with them. I will try to do as the trainers said and to make small cuts within my diet and change small behaviors within my daily activities to reduce the amount of calories I intake and to increase the amount of calories I use. Hopefully, these small steps will lead to greater strides later within my life in my quest for better health.

<- RA Class Week 12 |

When it comes to being an effective resident assistant, many different roles come into play occasionally making the job more difficult and usually more confusing. Oftentimes, resident assistants feel they must act like mentors, teachers, disciplinarians, parents, friends, older siblings, counselors, and leaders. With all of these different characters and personas, it can be a challenge to balance between them and become the most effective resident assistant for one’s residents. As the residents are learning and growing within their residence halls on campus, though, it may be best for a resident assistant to focus on becoming an influential role model of success.

As discussed in class, residents are generally at an age within their life in which they are finalizing who they are and beginning to think more independently and make more serious decisions. Influenced by their environment, surroundings, school, friends, and parents throughout their childhoods and into adolescence, now they find themselves in a completely new situation, within a new environment, with new surroundings, at a different school, with new and different friends, and without the guiding aid of parents. Because of this new-found freedom, some resident assistants may feel they must parent their residents and guide their actions. This may not always be the best course of action, however. With residents of varying ages and varying degrees of independency and stubbornness, it may be best for a resident assistant to act in ways in which they wish their residents to act.

Without parents, residents now find themselves with limited resources to look to for how they should act. Oftentimes, they will turn to their friends. This can be problematic because generally, their friends are of similar ages and are in the same situation. Other times, they will look towards the media for guidance, possibly an even worse decision. Filled with exaggerated and unrealistic portrayal of celebrities and reality shows, television, music, and the media can deliver false images and misguide ignorant people, including one’s residents.

Because of this, resident assistants should take the lead and become the positive role model within their residents’ lives. By acting how residents should act and ignoring the false and incorrect messages delivered by the media, resident assistants can positively influence the lives of their residents and guide them to make more wise decisions. Through positive role modeling, resident assistants can create the “new cool,” and create a new norm, showing that even if one does not smoke, drink, or do drugs, he can still be well-liked within the residence halls and have fun with friends on the weekends.

With so many responsibilities and expectations, resident assistants may feel overwhelmed or unsure of how they should best aid their residents. Not knowing whether to parent, counsel, or discipline, they can become less efficient, but by simply being the best role model they can be, resident assistants can become effective and influential guides within the lives of residents, clearly making a difference. By demonstrating desired behaviors and showing that they are not unpopular, resident assistants can create the “new cool” simply by role modeling successful behaviors.

<- RA Class Week 10 | RA Class Week 12 ->

Hate is such an awful subject, as it often involves crime, violence, and pain. Awful as it may be, it exists and involves a wide range of topics. Within class, we discussed many of the ways hate is involved on campus and within crimes, and it is shocking to hear about because of the tragedy it involves.

When most people think of hate crimes, prejudice, and discrimination, they usually think of issues involving race and sexual orientation. They think of old white adults hating those who are different from them, but they don’t often think that hate could exist in different ways. With so many hidden or un-thought-of topics, I appreciate that different forms of hate and discrimination were brought up within our class discussions, opening our minds to the possibilities of hate and raising awareness to the different forms it could take.

I am completely awe-stricken at the fact that hate can flow through the veins of children, after hearing about the story of the fourteen-year old children, Lawrence and Brandon. How could someone so young hate another person enough to kill him and how could someone so young kill another person just for being different? There are so many questions that arise from hearing that story, and it saddens my heart to know that Lawrence died at an early age because he chose to live a different lifestyle. Most think of adults when they think of hate crimes, making this case even more unbelievable. This demonstrates a serious issue, though. Although it may seem as if hate is decreasing within each new generation, this clearly shows that it still exists and that even the children of our generation are being raised to discriminate differences and harvest hate for those differences.

While Lawrence was killed for his sexual orientation, many more are being hated or discriminated against for different reasons. There is a well-known joke about gingers, or people with red hair, not having souls and being less of a person because of the color of their hair. Stemmed from a television series, this joke is starting to become a realistic form of hate as November 20th has been deemed, “Kick a Ginger Day.” Over the last two years, those of red-hair have been injured on this day, some even going to the hospital as a result of the injuries. Now, the question is being asked if this really is a hate crime.

Many other traits are now becoming terms for hate, such as homelessness, height, weight, and the mix of ethnicities. Many of these are being questioned to figure out if they should be considered hate crimes. Often ignored or dismissed as mere jokes, these forms of discrimination can be hurtful to people and should not be encouraged or continued.

As resident assistants, it is our responsibility to watch for harmful or hateful acts within the residence halls and put an end to them, especially if they have the potential of worsening. While race and sexual orientation are major forms of hate to watch for, there are other forms that are not as common or brought up that should be stopped as well. It is up to us to be aware of all forms of hate and it is up to us to raise awareness and stop them.

<- RA Class Week 9 | RA Class Week 11 ->

It’s interesting how a resident assistant is supposed to be a variety of different characters all within one person. Resident assistants are expected to be students, employees, teachers, mentors, counselors, guides, assistants, and even friends at times. They are meant to discipline, educate, assist, and guide. Within this one position, a multitude of expectations emerges and can sometimes become confusing or overwhelming. One particular expectation is that to counsel.

Many resident assistants believe that it is their job to counsel their residents. While this may be true to some extent, resident assistants are not qualified or expected to fully counsel someone like a trained and professional counselor would. Resident assistants are not in a position to analyze and diagnose their residents, but they are in a position to listen, help, and refer.

Active listening is an important quality that resident assistants must possess in order to truly help their residents. One must be able to listen to what a resident is saying, question for understanding, and repeat back in order to exemplify the understanding. Through listening, a resident assistant can discover more about a situation and learn more about a person. Listening is an incredible tool to use in order to retrieve more information and to understand more. Listening is key in order to help and counsel someone.

When counseling, resident assistants are expected to listen and offer advice in situations that they are comfortable and knowledgeable about such as depression, stress, and homesickness. These situations are common and are experienced by many, possibly even the resident assistant, himself. In these cases, the resident assistant can use prior knowledge and experience and recent training in order to assist the resident. When situations worsen, however, one may not be qualified to help the resident.

All resident assistants have attended training and have learned steps that may help in assisting one with a serious issue. When the resident assistant feels confident and comfortable enough, he may follow these procedures in order to help his resident and possibly even save a life. Sometimes, though, all a resident assistant can do is refer one to receive help elsewhere, such as from the Counseling Center or from a professional counselor. It is always best to resolve a situation in as low and casual of a state as possible, but sometimes it cannot be done.

With so many different characters to uphold and portray, sometimes a resident assistant can feel overwhelmed or feel that he is expected to accomplish many tasks, even ones that he is not actually expected to do. In some cases, it is appropriate for a resident assistant to refer a resident elsewhere for help, simply because the resident assistant is not properly trained or able to actually give help or because the resident is in need of serious, professional help. As part of their personalities, resident assistants often wish to help their residents in every way that they can, but when it comes to counseling, all a resident assistant can really offer is an active ear, a caring and compassionate heart, a thoughtful mind, and the true desire to help the person in any way possible, even if that means allowing him to speak with someone else.

<- RA Class Week 7 | RA Class Week 9 ->

I will have to admit, this class is starting to wear down on me and make me nervous after these past few weeks. The class is turning out to be more difficult than I was told, which is not exactly a problem because classes are supposed to be challenging to enable one to learn and grow from them, but I was informed that this class was going to be easy-going in order to ease new resident assistants into their first semester on the job, and so far, this is not the case. Talking with returning resident assistants, I have found that the class has actually changed a great deal from previous years and has been made more difficult in the process.

From the beginning, I was told that grading would not be harsh and that homework and assignments would be few in order to help in the transition of beginning a new resident assistant position. After speaking with other new resident assistants, however, I found that we are all being inconvenienced by the class, having to work more than expected and bearing additional stress. When mentioning to returning resident assistants that I am studying for a test within this counseling class, they respond in a confused manner, stating that they didn’t have to take any tests when they took the class. This reveals that the class has transformed and has been made more difficult.

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The image of the Resident Assistant is a complicated one. Not only are resident assistants supposed to get to know their residents, learning about them and becoming close friends with them, but they are also expected to act as resources, giving information, consoling, and helping in any way they can. They are also burdened with the responsibility of enforcing rules and ensuring fairness and equality. Although some of these expectations and responsibilities may seem to contradict each other, all must be combined to create the ideal resident assistant.

Overviewing how resident assistants are viewed, not only in class, but also in staff meetings and in Student Staff Council, the topic appears to be an important subject. Each resident tends to view their resident assistant differently, making this an even more complicated subject. Some residents view their resident assistant as a best friend there to provide help and entertainment at any moment of the day or night, some a rule enforcer meant to avoid at all costs, and others a ghost who’s never seen or heard from. It is important for a resident assistant to know how he or she is viewed and to try to influence that image to become how he or she would like to be known as. This may be a difficult challenge, however, because residents can be hard to communicate with and it may be difficult to find how they feel about their resident assistant.

I feel like most of my residents are aware that I take charge of my floor and enforce rules, but also offer myself as a resource and a friendly face. Because I often leave my door open, I tend to wave and greet residents who pass by and will even have short conversations that stop and enter for a moment. I also try to help my residents in any way I can, giving them addresses, useful information, and even closing schedules for places on campus. I feel like my residents know they can turn to me, but understand that I will get on to them when they are not following the rules correctly. I also believe that my residents know that I am watching out for them and trying to make their first year at Texas State the most enjoyable experience that I can make for them.

While I believe this is how I am viewed, it may not be true, and there are times when I feel I may be deceived. It troubles me to think that resident assistants may be viewed in a negative way, including myself. Thoughts such as these occur at times when I hear people talking about resident assistants or when I view notes written about them, such as one left outside my door on the bulletin board. Because I live next to the elevators, I post notes and advertisements on the bulletin board in front of the elevators, next to my door. On that board at the moment is a poster that asks, “Want to be an RA?” and lists the times and places for Open Houses at the residence halls. Unfortunately, someone wrote profanity under the question, responding “F— no!,” and although I have covered the statement up numerous times, it continuously becomes uncovered and is often pulled off the board and thrown on the floor. There are also shoe prints on the poster, showing great disrespect towards the event and the title of the resident assistant. This concerns me and I hope that my residents do not view me in that negative way.

Resident assistants are given a lot of responsibilities and are expected to become a variety of different faces including friend, enforcer, and resource, and I hope that I effectively combine these jobs into my personality and persona. I hope that my residents view me in a positive manner and I hope that I am the best resident assistant that I can be for them because I am trying my best and doing all that I can do.

<- RA Class Week 3 | RA Class Week 5 ->