Oh My!

It has been days since I posted- oh my!

Training Season has taken over my life. Even though pro staff training is generally slower and not as busy as RA training it has still managed to occupy my thoughts at all times. I wake up in the morning and wonder- did I finish all the photocopies I wanted to make? How many voicemails are waiting for me? How can I make sure that I am not overthinking our training sessions and teaching them things they already know? Oh the questions go on for minutes before I rush through my routine to get to work faster. It is a good thing I have started re-reading Harry Potter so that my mind is on adventures at night! It is also a good thing that it is still socially acceptable to drink 24 oz of coffee every morning. 

Training always makes me think about the bigger pictures of higher ed, because you are free of the day to day operations of residence life for a little while longer. I look at things differently, it is energizing in the same way it is exhausting. Today my friend Pam shared this video on facebook and it was timely to the discussions we were having in training http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/transgender-teens-girl-guy-guy-girl-19529634. Learning about students (people) and all their differences is part of what makes college awesome. Residence halls are perfect places for learning about oneself and your peers, but working in them is even better. Ask the next student affairs professional and they will tell you that interacting with students as they figure out their college years is never a dull moment. 

Some of those moments are a little bit too exciting for my taste-but I have met some really awesome people that leave college and go on to do great stuff. I get excited for them when they get into med school or land their first job. I feel pain for them when someone close to them dies, they struggle financially, suffer mental distress, or fail a test. Some days I sit in my office and worry about a lot more than photocopies and I wonder if I am in the right vocation. But when training rolls around and we refocus, re-energize and learn more about how to help them succeed in those four short years they are on campus I am reminded why I do what I do.  Now please excuse me, it is past my bed time! Only a few hours between me and 24 more oz.