You may see us as your ally, as your enemy, as your friend or just as that mysterious person who is roaming the halls. We're Resident Assistants (RAs), and I hope that by the end of this article you will see us in a different light.

1. We're Students Too

I have actually had several conversations with multiple residents where I explained that I am a college student just like them. Some have the impression that we RAs just live in the building 24/7 and are available at any time. While we do try to make ourselves as available as possible, we have other obligations just like any other student does. We have classes, homework, clubs, friends, etc. We're working students, much like many other college kids.

2. We're Not Out To Get You

Trust me, we're not looking for an opportunity to get anyone in trouble. That is the last thing we want. When we're on call, it is our responsibility to stay up late, do rounds and make sure the building is safe and quiet. It's our job. We're not sneaking around and trying to see how many incidents we can report in one night. News flash: we hate documenting incidents. We just want to get our job done and make sure our residents are living in a good environment.

3. We're Not Cops

We're mandated reporters. If we see an incident, we resolve it and we report it to our supervisor. We don't have the power to punish students or let them off easy. It is not for us to decide. So don't beg us to not tell your parents or not let this incident go on your permanent record. That's not our job.

4. It Hurts When You Destroy Our Stuff

We work hard making door tags, decorating bulletin boards and creating posters... and it rips us to shreds when we see that our residents have also ripped our work to shreds. My residents have torn down boards that took me ten hours to complete. And guess what? When it's ruined, it is my resposibility to fix it within 24 hours. So don't be a jerk, and respect the hard work of your RA.

5. Please Come To Our Programs!

It is really difficult to get college students to come to our programs. We work really hard on them, and we're constantly thinking of creative ways we can socialize with everyone. And we usually have a required amount of people that have to attend our program, so the pressure is always on to get people to arrive. Be a good resident and just show up for five minutes to a social. Your RAs will love you for it and we really want to get to know you!

6. Most Of Us Like Our Job

It may involve loud, drunk students in the middle of the night, or two back-to-back on-calls until 3 a.m., but we still keep going with a good attitude. Why? We like to interact with our residents and develop good relationships with them. We develop comradery on our staff because we all know exactly what everyone is going through. And it develops our leadership and communication skills.

I hope you now know a tad more about life as an RA. Have fun at school!