Time to Find Balance

My Resident Hall Director (RHD) who is basically my direct boss as a Resident Assistant (RA) had our staff come together and each one of us make a collage. It wasn’t just any collage though. She asked us to make it about our goals for the year and my goal was “to find balance”.

 Looking at what I had going this year, I had a lot on my plate. And by a lot I mean that the mashed potatoes were spilling on to the table and the gravy was overflowing onto the floor. I am an RA, a member of a sorority, a student, a girlfriend, a friend, and I am planning on getting a job as well.

I could devote all my time to just one of these separate parts of me and still not be at my full potential. This is a very frustrating way to look at it. Instead, I have to learn how to blend all of my different roles into one me. But the tricky part is that I can’t spread myself so thin that everything gets the bare minimum.

I already love my job as an RA. I love all of the people I’ve met in the program. Everyone is so welcoming and inclusive. I absolutely love my staff (the RAs who work in my area). We mesh so perfectly. And I love my residents. If you can’t tell, there’s a whole lot of love going around. Of course there are hard parts that come along with this job—like having to write up people who are blatantly breaking the rules. But the good definitely outweighs the bad.

As a friend, I can already feel the pressures of maintaining relationships and keeping up with work taking its toll—and I haven’t even gone to my first class! I’m so busy during the day, that when night rolls a round I’m exhausted. Of course, night is when everyone is done with class/work and you get to make that decision would you rather sacrifice homework or paperwork to have some fun with your friends, or would you rather sacrifice your friends to do some homework or paperwork. I try so hard to give equal time to both parts, but inevitably the responsible part in the back of my head takes over, and I default to homework.

Especially as a girlfriend, I’ve felt terrible when I’m busy the entire day up until the point when I go to bed. I make a quick phone call to see how my boyfriend is doing, but I need to go to sleep so it doesn’t last too long. However, I love that no matter how busy I get, we always make sure to call each other at least once a day—even if it is only for a few seconds. I have a feeling this year Skype dates will be essentials. Time management is an important skill, and being able to plan an actual time to talk will be helpful.

And since we all know how stressful just being a student is, that brings me to my last role: a sorority member. Last semester I was initiated into Alpha Chi Omega. It was a great semester and I met some of the most amazing people. After a hard debate of what part of me could give a little so I could devote more time to being a good RA, I have decided to leave Alpha Chi. There are many reasons that have gone into this decision, and I would be more than happy to sit down and explain them to all of my sisters and friends. The simplest reason is that I could not put Alpha Chi on the back burner to being an RA. To me, it was all or nothing. I realize this isn’t the most appropriate outlet to go about announcing this, but I thought it was at least a step above Facebook.

I will truly miss everything about Alpha Chi Omega, but I know that my decision does not change my relationship with any of the women I have met. I will continue to support the great things Alpha Chi does, it’s just hard to think that I won’t be able to be behind what they do. Keep up the great work ladies!

So with that starts a new chapter in my life. Today is the first day of classes and I am starting sophomore year with a new position as an RA. I am excited for this year and am certain that in the long run my decision to focus more on being an RA will make me the happiest.