I’m back! As the quarter begins at my institution, I must say it feels good to be out of the marathon called “Student Staff Training” and finished with a hectic summer filled with travel, weddings, and funerals. I wasn’t able to write as much as I would’ve like as I struggled getting through the summer because so much was happening personally and professionally, but there’s always an end of a journey especially with the help of a wonderful support system! I am back and ready to get back to sharing wisdom and insight as I begin my second year in housing, which has already started off much better than I expected.
As the summer progressed, I started to create my goals sheet for the upcoming year and I was stunned because it wasn’t as long as I originally intended. I had the things that most people in the field have on their academic year bucket list: “go to X conference”, “serve on this committee”, “watch more Scandal with other housing staff” and my personal favorite: “find balance”! There’s more, but what stood out to me was that at the end of my list I wrote “do something that’s going to surprise my loved ones.” It reminded me of a book that I read that encouraged the reader to do at least one thing a day that surprised someone that they knew, whether skydiving or having a difficult conversation. Such simple words have already had an amazing impact on my life both personally and professionally and we’re only in week one of the quarter!
In the last week alone, I spoke to over 1100 first-year and transfer residents about navigating this college experience, gave my “little” (Big Brothers, Big Sisters) his first college tour and he told me that he’s going to college, and booked a trip for an obstacle mud run in the winter! I’m humbled by the experiences and I appreciate each opportunity but WOW! I would’ve never thought I’d start year two out like this.
It’s daunting to think about the academic year and all that it brings, but one thing to remember is you always have a choice. You can decide what your experience is going to entail. You got this! Make sure you surprise a loved one each day.
