One Year

I know I do reflective posts a lot. I'm a very reflective person, it's what I do. So apologies to anyone who will be bored by the following.

A lot can happen in one year.

It's August once more, the time of year where res life professionals like myself realize that they won't have a life outside of work for the rest of the month. With training, RAs, and getting the halls ready to open, life seems to be taken over by everything work. It's a task we all do happily. After the slow summer I had (the first slow summer in years) I am excited to be busy again. It gives me something to do and it helps make me feel productive.

This summer was the first summer where I haven't had to do any work since high school. Every other summer I was either working at Panera, working between my two years of grad school, or job searching like crazy. This summer I had time to really take for myself and just relax. I got to go on my first vacation in years and I got to see things that have been on my bucket list for years (see: Gateway Arch in St. Louis). I was able to spend time with friends instead of constantly running back and forth between different places. I was able to really rest and relax without any sort of time I absolutely needed to be awake by. For once, I feel so refreshed and ready to work.

For the first time in a long time I feel as stress-free as one with an anxiety disorder can be.

Last year I was feeling overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done for RA training. I had thrown myself into the job and hit the ground running, planning different training presentations in the span of a few weeks. I didn't have time to stop and think about what was going on...I just kept going and going until August was over.

This year I feel better. Training is over and I feel like I'm honestly in a good place for the halls to open. Sure, there will be the last minute insanity as there always is....but I feel so much more confident about everything than I did a year ago.

Today we finished training with the same activity we finished training with last year, an activity called "Silent Affirmations." In this activity everyone stands or sits in a circle and faces outwards so you can't see the middle of the circle. Everyone closes their eyes and people are pulled into the circle and told to tap people on the back/shoulder for various things...such as "tap someone who has inspired you" or "tap someone who you learned something from this week." We did this activity last year and I had a few taps on the back from people, but this year I had so many people tap me for different things. I cannot describe how touched I was. I realized that this is yet another way that I have learned and changed and grown from last year. I have become so much more comfortable here...I have let the staff and students here see me for who I am and they have accepted me...fangirl tendencies and all.

So tomorrow starts the move-in shifts, and Thursday will bring the first years to campus for their move-in. I cannot believe this is my fourth year doing this. I still love it just as much as the first.

And will hopefully love it for many years to come.