Don't mind me, Just rambling on
I go back to school in less than a week so I am trying to knock out some organizational things while at home before the craziness of week one starts. I have started to organize my notebooks and planner, and get some packing done sooner than the night before my flight. In addition to packing and organizing, there are a lot of smaller things you might not realize you need to do between high school and college that could make a difference in your first semester. Check out my list below, and let me know in the comments if there is anything you would add!
Buy stamps, stationary, and envelopes- They'll always be handy to have around and you can use them throughout all 4 years of school. Family and friends will be writing to you a lot during your first semester, so be prepared to write back! And this means.... Let your family and friends know your new address- This way they can send you birthday/holiday cards, which is always a great surprise! Buy checks- Something I wish I had done a lot earlier. Sometimes organizations at school would only take checks so I would have to ask my parents to send me a check. It is much easier to just purchase your own checks, and since you won’t need them a lot there is no need to spend a lot of money and order a ton. They can save your butt when you don't have cash on you or if the place you are at doesn't take cards! Take pictures of important documents- Useful for filling out forms/applications with information you don't want to take to school. Organize your planner- Have your orientation schedule? Training for a team or job? Write it down! With the craziness of move in day/week, it is so easy to forget a meeting. Plus, having everything written down beforehand will reduce your stress levels. Make time for friends- This is more for returning students, but if you’re like me and have a crazy first week back on campus, it is hard to make time to see your friends for longer than a few minutes. Pencil in some time to catch up before classes start. Things to consider: Changing your billing address- This is something to maybe talk about with your parents. Changing the billing address of various mailings has pros and cons. For example, it is useful to have your bills (credit card, car payment, etc.) shipped to school so you can read them immediately, but then what do you do once you are away for the summer and can't check your school mail? Personally I have found it easier to have my bills shipped home; I pay them online and if anything important comes in the mail my parents can just let me know, or mail it to me. I did change the billing address of my magazines because I can survive the summer without them. Changing banks- It is really important to see if your bank has an ATM or branch near your school. If your bank is specific to your town, then you’ll need to explore options on how to deposit money and get cash. Changing banks is one option, but you can also think about using a mobile app and getting cash back at stores like CVS. My school sets up a “bank fair” where representatives from local banks (as well as big banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America) set up tables and will talk to students about their college account options. No matter what your situation, it is good to figure out what you are going to do while you are at home with your parents, who (in my experience) know a lot more about banks than the average college student. Again, please let me know in the comments if there is anything else useful you have done or wish you had done in the past. This list combines both things that I did, and DIDN’T do in advance that I wish I had sooner. Good luck to all of you starting school within the upcoming weeks!
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Amped to announce that I was nominated for my first blogging award, the Liebster Award! This award is given to bloggers, from fellow bloggers in order to recognize the hard work and passion we all put into the blogging community. Shout out to Ciara of http://theclumsyclover.weebly.com/ for nominating me! (Go check out her blog!)
Tradition is that everyone who gets nominated for the Liebster Award answers questions to share with their readers, so here I go! What inspired you to become a blogger? My friend Ciara who nominated me! She sent out a group text to friends showing us her blog and I absolutely loved it! I thought maybe I should start doing something similar since I am always searching for college related posts on Pinterest. What gave me the idea to start blogging about being a RA (and about college in general) was prepping for our hall theme for the incoming first-years at school. I thought it would be cool if I wrote down all of the different themes I had done in the past so that I could reminisce and not have any repeat themes. One thing led to another and now I have a RA blog! Why do you blog what you blog about? I blog about being a RA because I truly love my job. It takes a lot of effort, energy, and hard work, but that is what makes it so rewarding. I love helping out people especially with things I have just recently gone through, such as my first year of college. I want to help out those in college and especially those looking into being a RA! What is your background? Have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 20 years now! Still adjusting to change in my junior year of college outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Is blogging your full-time job? No just starting out! Would be an amazing way to share my passions though! What keeps you blogging? Knowing that there are so many other college bloggers out there that truly care about the people they write to. Sometimes I feel silly when I send packing lists or long texts with college advice to my high school friends, so it is reassuring to know that I am not the only one out there who cares so much about the college experience and helping others out. Dream vacation? For me, every time I come back home is a vacation. As much as I love my school, home is where I am meant to be. Hiking, swimming in the ocean, enjoying spectacular views, and getting sun is all I need to relax. Biggest inspiration in life? My uncle and my dad. Amazing men who are still very close 50+ years into their life. My dad has followed his passions from day 1, and it has lead him to an amazing life. He is a good person all around, and I have become so much closer with him now being in college and being able to bond with him as an adult. My uncle is someone who has always been there for me; someone who I could trust my feelings with. He has been a huge help in college, especially when I was first moving in and having doubts about being at school, which lead to doubts about my friends and my relationship. I know I can talk to my uncle about anything, from encouraging words to a good book suggestion. Best and worst blogging decision you made? Best: Having the guts to do it in the first place! It is a lot of work right now trying to jump into the game and get readers, but it is all so exciting at the same time! Worst: Not blogging my first year as a RA. I want to be able to look back at how I have grown as a college student and a RA, so I really wish I had more of my first-year RA experiences in writing. Would you ever consider rebranding? Someday yes. But as of now since I am just starting out, no. Now it’s time for my nominations! Make sure you check out their sites, I have had a great time exploring and learning more about them! Gabby and Hannah of https://theghswirl.wordpress.com/ Sonia of https://soniacwade.wordpress.com/ Since I'm just starting this whole blogging thing, I thought I would introduce myself a little better and help readers get to know me!
Let me know in the comments if there is anything else you would like to know about me, or something mentioned above you would like me to blog about! One of the most rewarding aspects of being an RA is the appreciation from your residents. You always have their backs because more or less, it's your job, so it is a real treat when the tables are turned and they have your back instead. For one of my programs in the first semester, I had decided to focus on sexual education. Many residents had not lived in a co-ed environment, or had the freedom to explore relationship options that the college environment provides, so I thought it was important to convey to residents the pros and cons of being sexually active in college. I had been contacting our school's sexual health club, who commonly partners up with RA's to do educational programs such as "the condom olympics". I emailed them weeks in advanced, talked with their members, visited their club office, yet somehow still could not get in contact with anyone who could come help host my program. Finally, it was the day of the program and I stood there with eight students and no material to present to them. I told them the truth (that I had something cool planned for them but it didn't work out) and told them that they were welcome to leave if they had other plans. But, instead, they all stayed (and invited other friends) to talk about sexual health in the residence hall, as well as other more sensitive issues that might be new to some in college such as drugs and alcohol. It ended up being a great discussion, and I was able to answer many questions my residents had about how to be safe in the residence halls, as well as answers to policy violations in regards to illegal substances. Later that day I came back to my room and saw this wonderful sign on my door: Not only did it make me laugh, but it made me feel good about the impact I had on these new students. I was able to make the best out of a poor situation, still showing my residents that I cared for them.
In the end, I came to an important realization; no matter how far you plan ahead or how much passion you put into something, there will always be outside factors that can stand in your way. Now this is not to say that things in life can't run perfectly, but it is a sobering reminder that things are not always in your control. You just have to be able to go with the flow and adapt quickly. I ended up keeping this sign on my door for the rest of the semester. It raised a lot of questions, particularly from the tour groups coming down the hall, but it made me chuckle every time I opened my door :) Welcome to the RA Ramble! Those of you who are RA's know how time consuming and stressful this job can be. No matter what school you are working at or the age group you are in charge of, there never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done. My first year as an RA, I was thrown into the job the same day that training started, and didn't have much time to mentally prepare myself for the journey I was about to take on. Coming up on my second year as an RA, I want to document my time in the residence hall, both as an RA and as a student. The college-student life is busy enough already, and I added on two jobs and a varsity sport. I hope that those reading my blog will be able to learn about college life and being an RA, and relate to my day-to-day struggles as a "twenty-something. Feel free on comment on any of my posts if you have questions about the RA lifestyle, or want to share college stories or tips of your own!
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AuthorCalifornia girl rambling on about the ups and downs of RA life in Massachusetts. Archives |