Being a Resident Assistant is a unique experience. In your first year on the job, you go from thinking RAs only make door tags and write people up, to realizing that the job requires so much more than you anticipated. As a resident, you have no idea what goes on behind the scenes, but once you’re behind the scenes there is so much you want to say. The job is much more than meets the eye. Here are some things every RA wants you to know.

1. We aren’t looking to get you in trouble.

Most RAs try to avoid finding a party like the plague, and when we do find you doing something you shouldn’t be doing, I promise you our reaction is the same as yours.

2. We want to be there for you.

We understand that you probably won’t want to be our new best friend, but we really do love talking to you. We want to help you work through your friend drama, and more than anything we love to hear about your accomplishments.

3. Please don’t slam your door.

It’s annoying for everyone and chances are you’re probably waking someone up every time you do it.

4. We can’t fix everything.

We can put in a work order and that’s about it. I can’t change the heat setting in your room, I can’t help you de-loft your bed and I can’t help you with the campus’s crappy Wifi.

5. We are students too.

We are here for our education just like everyone else. We take tests, go to class and are involved in clubs. We can’t be in our room every second of every day.

6. You can talk to each other.

You’re not going to get in trouble for knocking on your neighbor’s door and asking them to be quiet.

7. We work really hard on door tags and bulletin boards.

We didn’t spend six hours of our time writing your names on animals, Santa hats, anchors or color splotches for you to rip them down. We don’t spend all that time planning and stapling things to the board for you to drunkenly rip it to shreds.

8. We aren’t stupid.

If you think we saw, heard or smelled whatever you shouldn’t be doing, we did, but we let it slide.

9. We don’t say “RA” when we knock to be funny.

We do it to give you a chance to get yourself together before your open the door because warnings are a beautiful thing. It’s not funny when you knock on your friend’s door and yell “RA.”

10. We aren’t planning programs for no reason.

We plan them for you. We try to do things that you like, but we don’t always get it right. Either way- please come.

11. We genuinely do care about you.

If we hear that someone stole your laundry, we get mad for you. When we hear you got into the nursing program that you worked your butt off for, we mentally throw you a party.

12. We work more than 40 hours a week.

Please forgive us if we look like we were hit by a truck. Chances are the night before we had a program, a staff meeting, were on duty and responded to a ridiculous incident at 4 in the morning.

13. Don’t give us a problem and we won’t give you a problem.

If you’re respectful and you aren’t part of a problem every time you turn around, we’re not going to bother you.

14. We wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.

No matter how late we’re up, how many times we answer the duty phone or how many times we say we’re going to shave our heads, we love every second of it. Being an RA becomes part of who we are and it’s probably one of the best things to happen to us.