As the semester starts to come to an end, I’ve found out where I will be living next year. Thankfully I will be the Freshmen Wellness RA again in the same building I’m in now. I love the Wellness program and I love this building as well. But it’s weird to think that even though I’ll be doing the same thing, it’s going to be completely different.
I have grown so close to my residents and it’s so weird to think that I won’t see them on a daily basis—sometimes multiple times a day. My residents have exceeded my expectations ten fold. They are so amazing and each one of them is great. I’m so happy and lucky to be their RA. We’ve had a great year, and I hope that the next month or so is just as great. And it will be cool to see them next year and be their peer—no longer their RA. Although I’m sure they’ll always think of me as their RA.
And my staff. My staff is absolutely amazing this year. What a great first staff to be on. There is 12 of us and our Hall Director makes 13. The chemistry between us all and the way we interact is truly amazing. I hope that our connections will remain as strong next year, even though we won’t be together. Yay Irma/Dana!!
So then I can’t help but think ahead to the future. It’s going to be so different to have a new hall full of residents. Getting to know an entirely new group of people and figuring out the dynamic will be fun and nerve racking at the same time. I think it's going to be especially weird to be in the same area and building I'm in now with completely different. But meeting my new staff members the other day was a weight off my shoulders. I’m excited to get to know them better, and it will be fun to go through training as a returning RA with them.
I feel like when you’re in college, you have to constantly be thinking of your next step. It’s hard to enjoy the present when you have to think of where you’re living next year, how you’re going to move out all of your furniture and things, and what classes you need to be taking. Sometimes I need to remind myself that this is truly the best time I’ve had and I need to enjoy every second of it!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Follow Up to WW
One of my last blog posts from February was about Weight Watchers. I am absolutely hooked. I have changed my entire lifestyle and love myself for it.
I’ve found that I’m skipping my usual afternoon nap to get to the gym. I actually want to go even after all these weeks. I’ve slowly increased my cardio workout from 30 minutes to as much as an hour. And I’ve figured out the best inspiration to go: reading. I am able to read on the elliptical, which means all those books I’ve wanted to get to can finally be got. I’ve read two books and am on my third. I only read them at the gym, so it’s my reward for going.
In addition to exercising 4 or 5 times a week, I’ve learned all the tricks to eat good in our cafeteria. This was not easy. Weight Watchers is all about planning out your meals and when and what you’re going to eat. The night before, I think of what I will have for breakfast. And during breakfast I try to plan out lunch. If I’m not prepared, I’ll overeat and make bad decisions. I’ve slowly learned the point value for my favorite foods in the café and I know what’s a best options. I enjoy perusing the salad bar and have even tried broccoli as well for the first time!
I’ve also found that over these few weeks, my appetite has decreased. I can eat less and still be full. And I can go longer in between meals because I know the right snacks to eat. When I did this at home before freshman year, I found it almost impossible to continue at school. But now it’s almost harder to be home now and keep up with it. Funny how things change. Either way, I’ve lost 13 lbs in about 8 weeks. I’m so pumped for the summer to look good and feel great!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Spring Doubts
Sometimes I feel that I’m missing out on a huge part of college by not going to parties and clubs every weekend. I’ve made a choice to not drink based on a number of different reasons. Of course I’ve had a few drinks in my life—at a wedding, a summer party at our house—but it just doesn’t interest me to get drunk every weekend.
When I interviewed to be a Resident Assistant, I told them that I would like to be the Wellness RA. I explained that it is my choice to live the Wellness lifestyle anyway, and that I think I could help my residents understand their choices to be substance free. Here I am now a year later, and I still stick true to what I believe. But there’s a part in the back of my head that questions whether or not I’m missing out. I see so many pictures of “last night” and all the smiles on everyone’s faces. Most of my weekends include staying in, playing games, or just hanging out with my residents.
It’s not because I don’t want to drink because I’m underage—living at college, I feel like age doesn’t even matter when it comes to alcohol. Everyone can get it if they want to. I think it’s more of the degree that college students do drink. Not many people are satisfied with having one drink in a social situation. One drink turns into three or four and that’s when things get out of hand.
While the sororities here don’t promote drinking and parties, it’s an inevitable part of Greek life. Obviously where there is a large group of college students bored on a Friday or Saturday night, there will be partying. Sometimes I think that I didn’t get to bond properly with my sisters because most of the bonding was done at parties that I didn’t care to attend.
One of the major reasons I don’t really drink is because I want to REMEMBER the things I do. The scariest thing to hear about is people that don’t remember what they did the night before. I can’t imagine losing that much control. But I do understand that you can be safe and still have a great time. Just as an RA and living on this specific campus, it’s sometimes hard to remember that.
However, a weekend like I just had has proved to me that it’s possible to have fun without facing it in a drunken stupor. My staff is full of awesome people, and we know how to have a great time without getting wasted. Singing karaoke and hosting spontaneous talent shows are just a couple ways we entertain ourselves. Weekends like this reaffirm my decision to be substance free. I’m sure most of the people that go to my school will probably read this and look at me funny, but I’m glad I’m able to be firm in what I believe in. I hope my residents can see this in me, and I hope that I make it easier for them to stay true to their values as well.
When I interviewed to be a Resident Assistant, I told them that I would like to be the Wellness RA. I explained that it is my choice to live the Wellness lifestyle anyway, and that I think I could help my residents understand their choices to be substance free. Here I am now a year later, and I still stick true to what I believe. But there’s a part in the back of my head that questions whether or not I’m missing out. I see so many pictures of “last night” and all the smiles on everyone’s faces. Most of my weekends include staying in, playing games, or just hanging out with my residents.
It’s not because I don’t want to drink because I’m underage—living at college, I feel like age doesn’t even matter when it comes to alcohol. Everyone can get it if they want to. I think it’s more of the degree that college students do drink. Not many people are satisfied with having one drink in a social situation. One drink turns into three or four and that’s when things get out of hand.
While the sororities here don’t promote drinking and parties, it’s an inevitable part of Greek life. Obviously where there is a large group of college students bored on a Friday or Saturday night, there will be partying. Sometimes I think that I didn’t get to bond properly with my sisters because most of the bonding was done at parties that I didn’t care to attend.
One of the major reasons I don’t really drink is because I want to REMEMBER the things I do. The scariest thing to hear about is people that don’t remember what they did the night before. I can’t imagine losing that much control. But I do understand that you can be safe and still have a great time. Just as an RA and living on this specific campus, it’s sometimes hard to remember that.
However, a weekend like I just had has proved to me that it’s possible to have fun without facing it in a drunken stupor. My staff is full of awesome people, and we know how to have a great time without getting wasted. Singing karaoke and hosting spontaneous talent shows are just a couple ways we entertain ourselves. Weekends like this reaffirm my decision to be substance free. I’m sure most of the people that go to my school will probably read this and look at me funny, but I’m glad I’m able to be firm in what I believe in. I hope my residents can see this in me, and I hope that I make it easier for them to stay true to their values as well.
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