So, I’ve had my second alcohol related issue on my floor this year; both involving underage freshmen. What am I going to do with these girls?!?
I really think I need to put on some sort of alcohol awareness program with health services (can you say December programming), these girls need to be educated about the harm they are causing to their bodies.
Not to mention, we’re on a dry campus.
First of all, I am not scared of bugs and insects; I’m actually fascinated by them. But when it comes to killing things like bees or wasps, that’s a totally different story.
Two nights ago, I went down the hall to talk to a room that was in noise violation. When I get there, there are two residents obviously freaking out and one male guest beaming victoriously after having killed two wasps. Since one of the residents was allergic and crying from distress, I took the situation very seriously. I checked the room and the windows for any nests, and found nothing to lead me to believe that there would be more wasps to come. I was soo wrong. I called my supervisor about the situation and put the room into the pest control log.
The next day, I find one of the residents pacing outside of her room; turns out, she had seen two more wasps flying around. It took about an hour for my supervisor and I to kill three wasps (she did all of the killing) and acquire keys to an empty room for the residents. That totals to seven wasps in that room in two days. Crazy!!
It wasn’t like that room left windows open, how could they suddenly have an invasion of wasps? I guess it all has something to do with the seasonal changes. I felt absolutely horrible for the residents though. Not only did they have to temporarily switch rooms, but one was at a serious health risk because of her allergies to wasps and bees.
Anyways, after this whole thing, I don’t want to see another flying stinging thing again.
So as I said in my previous post, the bellydance program was pretty awesome. I’m so excited that it was a success and I’m glad residents were able to come out and have fun.
About 45 minutes before the program started, I was a nervous wreck though. I had spent days talking about the program to residents, advertised using fantastic signs (thanks to another R.A), and even communicated with the instructor about every little detail about the program. Basically, I had done a month’s worth of planning for one program, and I wasn’t even sure how many people would come. The instructor, Liz, arrived about 15 minutes before the program was to start. By the time the program started there was nine people- which didn’t help with my nervousness. What was even worst was the fact that there was only one resident who was not an R.A. I knew the program attendance rates this year were low but I was not anticipating a turn out that small.
The first half of the program was dedicated to the culture of Mid-Eastern dance and how it has evolved into the bellydance of today. Liz was such an great speaker that she made the history interesting and even humorous. I really lucked out by having Liz instruct the program, she did a wonderful job.
Then we got into the dance portion of the program. When we started dancing, more and more people came to watch or participate. Everyone had fun laughing and attempting to do the moves that Liz had shown us. Total, there was about 40 people who came to the program to either watch or participate. Having it in the main lobby was beneficial because it drew in more people to the program.
I learned so much from this program and Liz and I am really glad it turned out well. Not to mention, it was nice hosting a program that I barely had to lead.
Haha I’m a mess. Fall break is over and I’m having trouble getting back into the swing of things. My email has piled up and I’m pretty sure I have two assignments due tomorrow; not to mention all of my R.A deadlines. Oh well, I guess the best thing I can do is get started.
Why am I so bad at getting things done over weekends and breaks??
My bellydance program just ended and all I have to say is WOW. I couldn’t of asked for better results. I’ll blog in detail about it later but I just wanted share my crazy excitement. Yeah, the program rocked. 40 people … + a creepy guy outside haha :)
I know mandatory programming requirements were not made to stress me out, but they are the main source of stress in my life. Currently the mandatory programs of an R.A in his or her first semester include:
Not to mention the three programs we have to have each month to fit the PAC model. I know some of these requirements can overlap, but after a while they just keep building up and building up.
Take this month for example, my programs will be; Academic, Cultural, Community, and Laundry, which totals to FOUR programs in one month. FOUR. That is a ridiculous number of programs to have in a month if virtually no one is coming out to programs anyways.
And it’s not like I haven’t tried to get more residents to come to my programming. I have to do two rounds of door-knocking to get even three residents to come to my programs. I’ve even tried changing up my advertisements. My Bellydance program this week will be a test to see if my new form of fliers actually works.
At the beginning of the year, my AAC advised our staff to plan mandatory programs early in the semester. Within a month I had both my cultural program and community service program. Due to conflicts with my sorority, however, plans have changed and I was forced to reevaluate my programming options. Because of this, in November, I will have to have my professor, civility, and community service programs. YUCK.
Personally, I think it would be prudent to have only two programs a month instead of three. That way, R.A’s can focus on making the two programs be stellar programs as opposed to three programs that are mediocre. Also, residents would be bombarded with less advertisements about upcoming programs. On average, 18 R.A programs are advertised every month in my dorm, not including the posters and events sponsored by other organizations. To the average resident, that is too much information to take in, and all of the signs gradually become environmental noise.
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
How can you make lemonade out of midterms? Well…
Last week in my one-on-one with my AAC, we brainstormed ways that I can be more visible on my floor. In the past, hanging out in the hallway has worked, but I want to see if I can try something different to see if even more residents respond. My AAC suggested that I leave my door open so residents know that I am here and can come and talk to me. Since I will be up to my eyeballs in studying, I figured there is not a better time than this week to start leaving my door open. So far, a few residents have stopped by, most, however, just say hey and keep walking. I guess I will have to try this for more than a day or a week to see whether or not it works. It is a little distracting though, the noise of the elevator and what not but those are things I can easily ignore.
I couldn’t of asked for a better staff to join; I absolutely love the ladies I work with. Yesterday, we had a staff meeting at the zoo!! After a hectic day, it was nice to just take a break and be a kid again at the zoo. Of course, we still had to go over the weekly meeting material, but changing the environment from a stuffy office to a zoo was a wonderful change of pace.
I consider the ladies I work with to be close friends and I have grown so much as an R.A and as a person by working alongside them. Sure, we may get annoyed with each other, but no matter what, we still are a united front. Working in Res Life has given me a family when I cannot go home and visit my real family as much as I would like.
I remember back when I interviewed for the position of Resident Advisor. One of the main reasons why I applied was because I loved the R.As in my building and I wanted to be apart of their group. When I was interviewing, I was asked what dorm would I like to RA in. Without a doubt, it was the dorm that I am currently working in.
So much has changed since I was a resident and I am happy to that I absolutely love my job and the crazy hectic life that comes with it.
I absolutely cannot wait for my big bellydance program!! Hopefully, this will be one of my biggest programs. I’m even having it in the first floor lobby to attract my residents and I will be inviting my sorority sisters to join!
I am determined to make this program different from my other ones. I have asked another R.A to help design a poster for the program that I can have printed on 11x17” cardstock. Not to mention, I am having a real Bellydance instructor come and lead the program. I plan to have the posters up five days in advance to make the advertisements more effective. Not to mention I’ve been talking the program up for more than a month now :)
This is such an exciting opportunity for my residents. Not only will they get to learn the culture of bellydance in the Middle East, but they will get the chance to learn some really cool dance combinations. Who doesn’t love dancing?!
I know on average, my programs- like programs put on by other R.As in my building, have had small attendance rates, but I really hope this program will be an exception. Call me crazy, but I HOPE I have too many people in attendance at my program to count; that would be amazing.
Only eight days until my Bellydance program!
