A Note From an RA About Working at Home

When you think of your college Resident Assistant you probably have one of two thoughts. They were either a certified nark or you found it hilarious that they partied right there with you.

Well, there's a lot that RAs do other than bust your parties and tell you to study more.

I was an RA at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on campus for 2.67 years and am finishing my semester as a virtual RA from my parents' house.

So I know a thing or two about the job.

One of the hardest parts of being an RA to get used to is the lack of a separation between work and home. As an RA your work is your home and your home is your work. So now that the world has been flipped and working at home has become the necessity for majority of the globe, I thought I would share some tips and tricks to navigating this weird world.

1. Dedicate different spots in your home for work and lazy times. For me, this meant I had a desk for working on classwork, a certain chair I sat on for roommate conflicts and I lofted my bed to keep it out of mind while I was working. This helped my brain separate my job from my school work from my time to relax. For you, this could mean having a spot in the living room to do your work and Zoom meetings that's separate from where you typically watch Netflix and eat Cheeto's. If your mind has already associated the place you plan to work from with a place to be lazy, it will take a lot of work to restructure your subconscious.

2. Move spots when you change tasks. For example, I would talk to residents on my futon for intentional interactions, log them on my laptop at my desk and then move to a different part of the couch to veg for a little bit. This seems like a small detail, but it trains your brain to realize when you're working and when you can play Candy Crush for the next hour. You don't want to have those places overlap.

3. Monitor how long you are working. This can be hard since you are never really told to stop working anymore. It's always there and always staring at you, making you think you haven't accomplished enough. This is not true. You probably have accomplished enough!! There tends to always be more to do, but you don't always have to do it. That leads to Number Four.

4. Make a daily to-do list every morning. This will help you boost your productivity because it will keep your mind on what lies ahead. The key to this tip is being realistic about what you plan to do with your day. By now you likely know how to prioritize your tasks so that you do your work based on what needs done and by when. Take a look at your week and break down bigger projects so a massive deadline doesn't have you up all night the night before it's due. Then, once you have accomplished what's on your daily list, get up and do something that isn't your job. On the flip side, if you feel you haven't done enough with your day by the time you would typically be coming home, forgive yourself and let yourself finish the next day. Unless there is a major deadline or you can finish it within 15 minutes, it can wait. I promise.

5. Take breaks. This is a healthy practice no matter where you're working, but being burnt out at home just sucks in a different way. Don't let yourself get to the point of burnout by taking extra care of yourself during this pandemic. Self-care should be a priority, especially now. So be sure to get outside and enjoy the sun or read a book or take a nap. Whatever you need to do every few hours will help you in the long run.

6. DO NOT DO YOUR WORK ON YOUR BED. Research has proven this is not a good idea.

7. Be nice to yourself. These are unprecedented times, so treat yourself like you would a younger you or a best friend.

If you have questions about what this RA did or just want to know more about why I said something, let me know! I loved being an RA on campus, but it was ridiculously hard finding the balance between work, home and school once they all overlapped. I feel for all of you working at home.

♥
Christa
Smith 8 RA

Smith 8- How Great!!

If you know me at all, you knew this post was coming. So did I. I just didn't know when it would come or if I would ever have all the right words to say. I still doubt I can completely define what it meant to be the Smith 8 RA for 3.6667 school years.

So now I'm homesick for a place that will never be mine again.

I've officially lived in Eastside Suites for a week now and I am realizing just how much I took my time in Smith for granted. For example, I talk to myself ALL THE TIME and I never realized it until I started to get self-conscious that my new suitemate is going to think I am absolutely insane. Also, Harper Dining is officially closed and I will fight anyone who tells me that's not a loss in itself during these already trying times.

Anyway, I have adored being the Smith 8 Resident Assistant and I am devastated that my time there came to a close in such a weird and difficult way. This is not purely based on my absolutely outstanding view of the capitol building and Memorial Stadium (even though I miss it like crazy). It is more about who I got to spend my time with during community builders and random nights in the lobby. (And yes, even Bachelor nights this year.)

Being in one room and on one floor for 3/4 of college gave me a strong connection to the hall and especially my floor. I have stories for every party and get together from each and every year. (When anyone finds out you're an RA, they always ask for a story!) And I have better, deeper memories that I share less often because those moments are special for my residents and me to share.

My first year on Smith 8, my girls had to deal with a new RA dealing with a new RD dealing with a new ADRL and we all found our way together. I describe my first year as the year Smith 8 helped me find myself as an RA. I was on the floor fairly often but was also crazy busy managing classes, my work at The DN/ University Communications and going home to see my then-boyfriend. We got by and my girls will never know how much they meant to me in those random times. The year was a whirlwind and I can honestly say I wasn't the best RA, so I apologize to my girls. I was more dedicated to being friends with my hall staff than I was to making connections with my residents. But to my staff from 2017-18, I love you all to pieces and I can't wait to dance at all of your weddings.


My second year residents helped me find myself as a person. I made connections with this group quickly and with relative ease. So when I got dumped in September and one of my residents (I am still unsure who) saw me tear a photo off of my Where Am I board as I was crying and leaving, they kept an eye out for me. When I came back and they could hear me in my room straight-up heartbroken, they called the Duty RAs to help me out. Let's just say, I have never felt more loved by someone I had met two months prior. This became my dynamic with Smith 8 Year 2. I will go to the grave acknowledging that they helped me more than I helped them in 2018-19. I made great friendships on that floor but it always surprised me how we were able to keep a respectful dynamic. I might have needed their love and support, but I was also still in charge and better not find alcohol in the room. It was amazing.

2019-20 was a rollercoaster. The floor this year was easily my loudest and most rambunctious floor but also the one that I felt most comfortable as an RA with. And thank God for that. This year's floor called themselves my "crackheads" and I would not disagree. I always knew I would end up laughing and wondering what the hell just happened any time more than two or three of them showed up at the same time. I was afraid of coming back for Year 3 because I have heard it's the hardest and I really didn't know how I felt about having another new RD. But I am beyond grateful that I came back and was able to hang out with these girls. They made my job worth doing and I consider them all my giant family. Some of my girls know I have adopted them as sisters and the rest that I was less close to, I know I could consider them a cousin of sorts. But they all belong in my heart and they each mean the world to me.

Because what they don't tell you about being an RA is how hard it is to say goodbye. I have stories of residents that I still see occasionally and I have basically begged everyone to add me on social media so I still get my resident interactions (I just don't have to log them anymore). I actually do care about each of their lives outside of this job, I know that's crazy. But other residents, I haven't heard from since they handed in their room key. That's okay and I understand, it's all a part of the job.

But this year was different. This year move-out hit me like a truck. There were some residents I watched leave and then went back to my room and cried. Some residents I was purposely not around to say goodbye to so I could pretend they'd be back around after they got tired of their parents. And it was all to keep myself going. Normally, I move out with my girls and tell them to say hi if they see me on campus. But this time I stayed until they were all gone and then moved into my suite.


It's not the same over here because Eastside doesn't hold the same significance to me. And I am thankful for that in a weird way. I am thankful because I know Smith 8 was special and what I was able to accomplish with roughly 120 girls can't and won't ever be repeated in the exact same way. Smith 8 was where so many of my most precious memories were made and that means I did something right. Sure, 818 meant the world to me because it was where I had some amazingly intimate moments. But the whole floor holds a giant place in my heart. Because that's where my girls were. And that was home.

So if you've ever heard me complain about my job as an RA, I do stand by those complaints. It is incredibly hard to be an RA. There is absolutely no distinction between work and home and there were many many times I wanted to quit after a dumb duty call in the middle of the night. And yes, I am still a little pissed we never made a Smith 8 handshake or our own hand symbol like Greek life. But, right now I have my rose-colored glasses on and I am not thinking about the job when I say I miss Smith 8. I am thinking about the people that made Smtih 8 what it was and will forever be in my heart.

So if you were ever my resident, just know I seriously love you and I am ALWAYS one message away. I am 100% here for you because I stand by the "once your RA, always your RA" mentality.



Thanks for reading,
♥ Christa Rahl
Smith 8 RA

Where are the 26,000?

Ever since COVID-19 took over our lives, I have found myself going for a lot of walks. I went for some walks with and without my dog in Papio over Spring Break and I have gone on many more walks ever since coming back to campus.

My reality feels fake right now. I go on walks and question my watch and calendar. There's no way campus can be this empty in April, right? There's no way the Union could be closed. There's no way I would ever move out of Smith 818 into a dorm that feels like a mini-vacation until I could return to my home away from home. There's no way my girls are gone. There's no way I will never have another class in Andersen.

But there is a way. And my watch is right. My calendar is accurate. And campus is a ghost town. Because novel coronavirus has taken over and taken everything away.

It's taken away companionship in a traditional sense. It took away my normal. It took away Smith 8. It took away a physical May 2020 graduation ceremony. It took away the Spring Game for my football addiction. It took away GradFest and several banquets I was excited to attend. It took away knowing if I will see some of my friends again.


It took away my sense of control. I am just rolling with the punches now. It's all I can do. Every time I learn something is canceled, graduation included, I just nod and realize this is 2020's reality. It took away my job in Smith 8 and the sense of control I felt over that whole hall.

I wrote this on Monday after I left Smith for my last time:

"I got locked out of my dorm today and I’ll be honest, it took my breath away. My NCard access isn’t something I ever thought about but losing it killed me. As an RA, I’ve grown to feel like Smith Hall is basically my own. Smith 8 was especially mine. After three years of roaming the hallway, I gained a sort of confidence that I can’t even explain. It was home. My girls were my family. And now everyone is gone. Everyone is either at home, a temporary apartment/suite or spending time anywhere but Smith Hall. It doesn’t feel real. It feels like I missed something. It feels like I missed April and now it’s time for graduation. Because that’s how move-out is supposed to work. But it’s not like that this year. This year I had to move my RAing into a dorm I get lost in. I moved in with a suitemate I’d never met. I have classes to finish with professors I’ll never see again outside of a screen. It feels fake. It feels like a weird dystopian fiction novel. But it’s real. It’s real because it’s happening and I can’t stop it. It’s real because no matter what, I couldn’t stay in the room I fell in love in and was later dumped via a phone call in. I couldn’t stay in the room my friends knew to just knock. I couldn’t stay in a room with a board telling anyone who walked by where I was or what I was up to. I couldn’t stay in the room that saw all too many roommate conflicts and resolutions (for most). I couldn’t stay in the room that saw some really early mornings for football games and late nights after Junction and Iggys. I couldn’t stay in MY room. My home. I had to find a temporary home in Eastside Suites. I have no doubt that the Suites will treat me well and my room is safe and lovely. But I don’t think it’ll ever be MY room. And that’s okay. I’ll only be here until the first week of May. And then I’ll find myself back in my Papio home where I once again feel I belong and things make sense. And after a few months, I’ll move down to Orlando and you already know I’ll find a way to become a princess at least once. So I’m not at my home anymore and not a lot makes sense anymore. But I’m going to be okay. Spring is coming. Summer is coming. Home is coming."

But the weirdest thing it has taken away are the thousands of people I don't know. I miss the hustle and bustle of a Big 10 campus. I miss all the energy and movement people created as they moved to and from classes. I miss about 25,000 people I never met.

On my walks, I try to count the people I see out and about and it's rarely more than I can fit on my fingers. That's healthy. That's what we need right now. But I hate it. And I miss my Huskers.