The process was grueling and lasted for weeks — one day of icebreakers and team building challenges with all of the other candidates to be followed by three interviews. After weeks of waiting, I received a letter telling me that I was selected to be a resident assistant. Being an RA has been one of the best parts of my college career, but it can get a little draining. No matter where you "RA" at, we are all in the same boat. Shout out to all of you! I'm sure you can relate to these.

1. The two weeks of summer training before school is the best and the worst.

Moving in early has its perks. You get to beat the rush of move-in day, reconnect with your friends and the campus is calm. But while the sun is out, the birds are singing and your non-RA friends are in the pool, you are inside listening to presentation after presentation about emergency procedures, CPR and alcohol.

Still this is the part of the summer where you will bond with your fellow RA's and make some new friends, which makes it worth it in the end.

2. Bulletin boards and door decorations are the bane of your existence.

While you may hate them, you feel personally insulted when one of your residents take down their door decoration.

3. Your programs are either super popular or you spend the night sitting in your lounge alone.

Sometimes your programs are the place to be on campus. Everybody on your floor (and others) shows up and you have a great night. But other times you end up sitting alone in the lounge with all of your program supplies around you. It's actually really sad. You understand that nobody wants to come to a "diverse alcohol-awareness program that focuses on stress management," but you thought you would be cool enough to get at least one person to hang out with you.

4. The phrase "fostering community" is a regular part of your vocabulary.

When you do have to write up those programs to tell your supervisor that they were "a success," you can bet money that the phrase "fostering community" will be in there. It will also be in your job description, weekly report, cover letter and resume and will come out of your mouth when other people ask you what an RA does.

5. You feel like a celebrity walking around campus because everybody waves at you.

Everybody. Your friends, current residents, past residents, friends of your residents. Sometimes people you've never seen before in your life, but they're probably seen your picture on the board in the lobby of your residence hall.

Sometimes your arm starts to hurt just walking across campus. This must be how celebrities feel.

6. Your residents get visually uncomfortable when and try to avoid talking about *whispers* "parties" in front of you.

It's OK guys, we go to college, too. But the looks on their faces when they see you out is one of the greatest things that an RA can experience — a great mix of shock and terror:

7. You have perfected your duty knock.

*knock* *knock* *knock* "RA ON DUTY!"

Its enough to get anybody out of bed.

8. The last hour of duty night on weekends is the hardest part of your week.

On duty between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m., you're going stong, you feel like you can take on the world and do anything. The second that 1 a.m. hits, it feels like you've been hit by a train. You want nothing more than to go to bed.

A special shout out to all the friends and residents out their who hang out with the RA until 2 a.m. You have no idea how much it helps.

9. You cry a little inside when your duty phone goes off.

The cry is the result of the shear terror that you just felt when it first went off and your desire to stay in bed — because your duty phone always rings between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

10. Sometimes you get so tired that you put a sign on your door for residents to leave you alone and go to the "RA on duty."

And that is totally okay. This job is exhausting and sometimes you need a break. There's an RA on duty for a reason.

11. You love your job.

You love being an RA. You eat, sleep and breathe your job. You love your residents and the opportunity you get every year to meet new ones. While being an RA can be difficult, you don't know how you could have gotten through college without being one.