The Problem

With Winter Break coming up, I was excited to return home and spend time with my family. My classes would be completed, my Finals would be over, and I would finally have some time to relax. I was especially eager to have time to sit in front of my television and play the sequel to my favorite video game that just came out. Everything was so exciting and I was so eager to return home when I remembered one problem: my room doesn’t have a chair.

Because I live on campus, I currently have two homes, one here in San Marcos, and one with my family in my hometown of San Antonio. Because I spend the majority of my time here at Texas State, I want my dorm room to feel as homey as possible, so I brought most of my furniture and belongings with me and because it is troublesome bringing the heavy objects up and down three stories, I don’t tend to bring my things back home with me during home visits. This includes my favorite gaming chair.

Because my gaming chair was extremely heavy and bulky as it’s made of solid wood, I needed a new chair to bring home with me, a lighter chair. But not only did this chair have to be light, it had to be comfortable, as well. If this chair was going to temporarily replace my gaming chair, it had to be comfortable enough to allow me to spend hours within the same spot. This would require some intense back support, especially for the lumbar in order for me to remain seated and stay relaxed. Now, the chair isn’t the only thing that allows me to become comfortable. I have a favorite blanket, as well, that I like to curl up with during the cold, winter nights, but I don’t have a place to put this blanket. Being able to somehow store my blanket on or within this new chair would be especially convenient.

There was another thing to keep in mind, though. I’m a pretty short person and sometimes my brother, my dad, or my boyfriend like to spend time with me in my room, as well. All taller than me, they would require a higher back support than I would. Being able to quickly and easily adjust the back of the chair would allow it to become the perfect chair for anyone, not just me.

I can be picky though, and I not only want my new chair to be comfortable, light, adjustable, and able to store things, I also want it to match my room’s color theme of natural tones. Unless its adorned with browns, greens, tans, beiges, whites, or light blues, it would become an eye sore within my room, and instead I wanted it to become an interesting and aesthetically-pleasing focal point.

If I was going to create the perfect chair to replace my beloved gaming chair for the holiday season, I wanted it to be the ultimate chair and fit a wide variety of needs and desires.

The Solution

As I began to create my chair, I started with the most essential need in mind: comfort. I knew that my chair must be comfortable above all so that I would be able to play video games for extended periods of time. Because of this need, I began to think of soft and squishy materials. I decided on styrofoam, but upon checking the store, found that styrofoam was not only expensive, but also was not large enough to create a chair from. After browsing about the store further, I found a similar material: foam core. After purchasing four large 4”x22”x22” pieces of foam core, I returned to my dorm room to begin constructing my chair.

Being built out of foam core, my chair was definitely going to be comfortable, but now I needed to figure a way to store my favorite blanket within it. Instantly, I thought to hollow the inside of the chair, but after sitting on the foam core, even without the inside wasn’t hollowed out, I found the chair to be extremely unstable and unable to support my weight. I would need another substance to help give the chair shape and stability. With an abundance of cardboard at hand, I tried this new substance only to find it unable to support weight, as well. Begrudgingly, I rethought my design and turned to wood, a much stronger, but much more difficult substance to work with.

Unmotivated I did not want to go to the Woodshop to begin working on the interior of my chair but was ultimately convinced to go. I arrived at the Woodshop and was extremely grateful I had come upon finding the sign announcing the unexpected closure of the shop later. I wouldn’t have been able to complete my chair if I hadn’t gone at that moment. After hours of sanding, sawing, nailing, and drilling, I had constructed a wooden chest, complete with a fully removable lid that would be perfect for containing my blanket and other small objects. Now, it was time to hollow out the foam core and place the chest inside.

After returning home, I contemplated ways of cutting through the foam and ultimately decided upon using an Exacto-knife. Surprisingly, it was extremely difficult to cut through the foam and even more difficult to carve out a hollow space rather than cutting holes. After hours of cutting with my tiny knife, I had a reasonable space for the chest to rest. I was elated to find that with the addition of the wood, the chair was now perfectly able to support my weight and no longer lost its shape.

Excited about my new storage device, I realized I was really sitting upon a stool, not a chair. In order for my creation to become a chair, it needed a back, and an adjustable one at that. With A large piece of foam core that had been hollowed out sitting by my feet, I realized it was the only piece left I had to work with and would have to do. I then turned my eyes from the floor to the ceiling and found a spare shower rod resting on a shelf. Suddenly, the backrest for my chair became a concept. After another quick trip to the store, I bought two new shower rods and picked up some natural-toned fabrics to cover my chair with. After making more slits within the foam, I was able to slide the shower rods in and place the extra foam at the edge of the seat. Making the perfect backrest, my chair was complete, yet naked.

With sharpie marks and stray hair and dust collecting about the foam, I definitely needed to cover my chair. Resorting to hot glue due to an inexperience of sewing, I spent hours molding the fabric about each of the complicated shapes, including the chest within. Suddenly, I remembered the lumbar support I sought and grabbed some spare fabric and some bits of hollowed out foam to create a make-shift throw pillow that fit perfectly within the shower rods making up the back support.

Finally my ultimate gaming chair was complete, and it looked stunning!

Health is an important factor in one’s life and should be maintained in order to live a well-balanced life, especially when entering college life. With less regularity, more unhealthy meals, and less exercise than one has previously encountered, students entering college may find themselves at risk for developing bad health habits, losing muscle, and gaining weight. Most know what they must do, but do not act upon such knowledge due to laziness and a lack of motivation. As a resident assistant, I must set the good example by taking care of my body and having excellent health as well as motivating my residents to do the same. I know this is my job, but like my residents, I have trouble doing it.

Weight has always been present in my life, as I have always been heavier than I should be. Ever since I was ten years old, I have wanted to change my weight and reduce my body fat content, but it’s not quite enough to really motivate me to do anything. There are many factors that prohibit me from exercising. One major excuse that I am sure everyone gives is that I am too busy to find time to exercise. With my current schedule, I even struggle to find time to sleep, let alone complete all my assignments and finish all of my work. But to make matters worse, even if I had the time to work out, I really don’t want to use it. I don’t want to make time in my day to exercise regularly because I cannot stand working out. There are many reasons why I don’t like to exercise. I don’t like sweating, smelling awful, having to change clothes, and having to shower, and I also don’t like the idea of having to trek across campus to go to an unfamiliar, open area with lots of people who are bound to notice me. Not to mention, I do not like the actual act of exercising and exerting force. I don’t like the pain, the effort, and the strain. I don’t want to weaken my body, only to feel tired and drained afterwards. Part of this may be because I am hypoglycemic, meaning my body creates too much insulin and uses the sugars I intake more quickly than usual. Even if I don’t exercise, I experience spells of weakness and fatigue as my body lacks in energy throughout the day. I know what it’s like to be out of energy and to feel weak, and I can’t stand it. I can’t stand not being able to move my arms or sit up without difficulty because I literally don’t have the energy to do so. I can’t stand the shakes and quivers my body goes through after exerting force or exercising. I can’t stand feeling helpless.

Although I cannot fathom exercising regularly for a variety of different reasons, I know that I should. After hearing from personal trainers, I am slightly more motivated to change my eating habits and begin becoming more active, but I do not think that I am ready to really make significant changes within my life right now. As of now, I am willing and able to encourage my residents to partake in good eating habits and to become active within their lives in order to increase their health and I will try along with them. I will try to do as the trainers said and to make small cuts within my diet and change small behaviors within my daily activities to reduce the amount of calories I intake and to increase the amount of calories I use. Hopefully, these small steps will lead to greater strides later within my life in my quest for better health.

Mental health is extremely important for college students because they are at a university for mental reasons: to learn and grow mentally. With poor mental health, students are bound to do poorly in their classes, so it is essential that they maintain excellent mental health. In order to sustain a healthy mental state, one must learn to deal with stress. This is where a resident assistant can aid his or her residents: by guiding them and helping them deal with stress in order to boost their mental health and do better throughout their classes. There are multiple techniques that resident assistants can teach to their residents to help them deal with stress, and even take advantage of, themselves, in order to keep their own minds sharp and healthy.

There are many different things a student can do to help deal with stress. It all depends on the person, as each person deals with stress differently. For those who like to stay busy, allowing one’s self to complete smaller, simpler tasks in order to take a break from dealing with larger, more complex tasks may allow one to stay productive and busy, yet relax from a specific assignment. For those who like to socialize, hanging out with friends and gathering to do something together, such as watching a movie, grabbing something to eat, or going bowling can be a fun way to “get away.” Others like to keep their minds activated by solving puzzles, completing challenges, or playing games. This can be an excellent way to keep the mind running, yet take a break from difficult work and have some fun. For some, they need to literally get away from everything in order to relax. For these people, taking a short trip home to visit family, taking a short walk around town, through a park, or even just around the block, or even reading a book to escape into the imagination can help allow the person to relax and take his or her mind off of everything that is adding stress. Any of these strategies can be effective as long as the break is kept to a short amount of time and is not prolonged, wasting time that could otherwise be used for studying or working. If time is wasted, one may find himself rushing and stressing even more to finish before a deadline.

Every college student will experience stress at some point within his college life, including residents and their resident assistants. It is important that resident assistants know how to deal with stress and exemplify that they are dealing with stress and keeping a healthy mental state in order for their residents to learn from example. By following their resident assistants and finding their own technique to deal with stress, students can maintain excellent mental health and do better in their classes.

As discussed in class, residents are generally at an age within their life in which they are finalizing who they are and beginning to think more independently and make more serious decisions. Influenced by their environment, surroundings, school, friends, and parents throughout their childhoods and into adolescence, now they find themselves in a completely new situation, within a new environment, with new surroundings, at a different school, with new and different friends, and without the guiding aid of parents. Because of this newfound freedom, some resident assistants may feel they must parent their residents and guide their actions. This may not always be the best course of action, however. With residents of varying ages and varying degrees of independency and stubbornness, it may be best for a resident assistant to act in ways in which they wish their residents to act.

Without parents, residents now find themselves with limited resources to look to for how they should act. Oftentimes, they will turn to their friends. This can be problematic because generally, their friends are of similar ages and are in the same situation. Other times, they will look towards the media for guidance, possibly an even worse decision. Filled with exaggerated and unrealistic portrayal of celebrities and reality shows, television, music, and the media can deliver false images and misguide ignorant people, including one’s residents.
Because of this, resident assistants should take the lead and become the positive role model within their residents’ lives. By acting how residents should act and ignoring the false and incorrect messages delivered by the media, resident assistants can positively influence the lives of their residents and guide them to make more wise decisions. Through positive role modeling, resident assistants can create the “new cool,” and create a new norm, showing that even if one does not smoke, drink, or do drugs, he can still be well-liked within the residence halls and have fun with friends on the weekends.
With so many responsibilities and expectations, resident assistants may feel overwhelmed or unsure of how they should best aid their residents. Not knowing whether to parent, counsel, or discipline, they can become less efficient, but by simply being the best role model they can be, resident assistants can become effective and influential guides within the lives of residents, clearly making a difference. By demonstrating desired behaviors and showing that they are not un-popular, resident assistants can create the “new cool” simply by role modeling successful behaviours.

Lifestyle includes many aspects, but for a diversity experience, I chose to eat something different. On Thursday, November 10, I attended the University Honor Program’s Multi-Cultural Dinner at 6:00pm and experienced a variety of different textures and flavors. A particular diner, I felt uncomfortable and nervous as I watched the table fill with unusual looking dishes that smelled odd and looked even more strange. Most of the names I could not pronounce and I had never tried or even heard of most that was provided. I felt out of place as everyone around me wafted in the smells exclaiming that they couldn’t wait to try all of the delicious food.

Honestly, I wanted to go home and eat something “normal”.

Once the greeting was delivered and everyone was told to dig in, I grabbed a plate and put a small serving of every dish on my plate. I was scared and didn’t want to try anything, but I pushed myself and uncomfortably tried everything offered. It seemed as if everything was slimy and smelly and nothing seemed to be the right color. There were soggy red tortilla chips covered with some kind of liquid and green pasta sitting in a bowl of green liquid. I tried cookies with bananas in them and rolled up tortillas with different meats in them. Everything was unusual and frightening. With a plate full of terror and a cup full of a juice blend, I sat at the table and began with something that was a little more familiar: a pizza roll.

Although a little spicy, the pizza roll was okay, an interesting blend of tomato, bread, and pepperoni. After finishing the roll, I began to try the more unusual foods. I tried the green pasta, but it tasted unbearable, so I moved on to another dish. Unfortunately, everything I tried made my stomach churn and my mouth twist as I tried to chew and swallow calmly. Even the juice blend tasted odd and made washing down the food even more uncomfortable. Because everything was so different, it all seemed off to me and I didn’t like anything.

Finally, I had finished most of my food and was ready for dessert! I took a bite of the banana cookie and tasted an odd arrangement of mushy banana and sugar. It was not pleasing, but I swallowed it down. Afterwards, I tried a bit of chocolate cake that I was excited about. I don’t know what it was exactly, but unfortunately it did not taste like chocolate and I could not bear to eat more of it. Disappointed, I returned to the serving table to see if there was anything better. I tried a different cookie, but found it to be spicy and tried a different juice blend to try to wash the spice away, but the juice tasted incredibly watered down and unappetizing. Everything I put in my mouth made my tongue suffer and plea for no more.

With plates and cups empty, the dinner was coming to a close and Dr. Galloway, the director of the University Honors Program, gave some closing remarks. She thanked everyone who had brought a dish and exclaimed that all of the food was incredibly delicious. She regretted that all the food was gone and couldn’t wait for the next dinner. Everyone in the room clapped and agreed stating that all the food tasted magnificent and smelled heavenly. I put a napkin over my leftovers as I felt ashamed and out of place. I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t liked anything. Everything tasted odd, nothing smelled right, and I was disappointed about everything. Although I was full, I wanted to eat something I was used to just to get all of the unusual tastes out of my mouth. With closing remarks, I threw away my plate and went home.

Although our world is full of diversity and culture, with each person living a different lifestyle and eating different foods, it is human nature to fear those differences and want to avoid any dissimilarities. It was a challenge to force myself to try foods that I had never heard of and I had to push myself to eat something that smelled unusual and looked as if it was unsafe to consume. As a resident assistant, it is my responsibility to respect all the cultures that may reside within my residence hall and I must demonstrate for my residents that cultures may seem frightening and unusual at times, but we should embrace and love them because it’s the differences that add interest to life.

When most people think of hate crimes, prejudice, and discrimination, they usually think of issues involving race and sexual orientation. They think of old white adults hating those who are different from them, but they don’t often think that hate could exist in different ways. With so many hidden or un-thought-of topics, I appreciate that different forms of hate and discrimination were brought up within our class discussions, opening our minds to the possibilities of hate and raising awareness to the different forms it could take.

I am completely awe-stricken at the fact that hate can flow through the veins of children, after hearing about the story of the fourteen-year old children, Lawrence and Brandon. How could someone so young hate another person enough to kill him and how could someone so young kill another person just for being different? There are so many questions that arise from hearing that story, and it saddens my heart to know that Lawrence died at an early age because he chose to live a different lifestyle. Most think of adults when they think of hate crimes, making this case even more unbelievable. This demonstrates a serious issue, though. Although it may seem as if hate is decreasing within each new generation, this clearly shows that it still exists and that even the children of our generation are being raised to discriminate differences and harvest hate for those differences.

While Lawrence was killed for his sexual orientation, many more are being hated or discriminated against for different reasons. There is a well-known joke about gingers, or people with red hair, not having souls and being less of a person because of the color of their hair. Stemmed from a television series, this joke is starting to become a realistic form of hate as November 20th has been deemed, “Kick a Ginger Day.” Over the last two years, those of red-hair have been injured on this day, some even going to the hospital as a result of the injuries. Now, the question is being asked if this really is a hate crime.

Many other traits are now becoming terms for hate, such as homelessness, height, weight, and the mix of ethnicities. Many of these are being questioned to figure out if they should be considered hate crimes. Often ignored or dismissed as mere jokes, these forms of discrimination can be hurtful to people and should not be encouraged or continued.

As resident assistants, it is our responsibility to watch for harmful or hateful acts within the residence halls and put an end to them, especially if they have the potential of worsening. While race and sexual orientation are major forms of hate to watch for, there are other forms that are not as common or brought up that should be stopped as well. It is up to us to be aware of all forms of hate and it is up to us to raise awareness and stop them.

In this world full of variety and difference, everyone seems to be of a different age, race, ethnicity, gender, color, size, shape, orientation, everything. Everyone’s different and no two people are alike. If this is the case, then why are people so obsessed with finding similarities and discriminating against those who are different? Why is it that people must find reasons to dislike others, people they often have never even met? I simply cannot understand this fact.

Within my life, I have not witnessed a lot of hate. I have been raised to treat others equally and I follow that lifestyle and I, as a white heterosexual female, have not been a victim to discrimination. It is not apparent in my life and if it weren’t for so many lessons, documentaries, and programs on the matter, I would not think about it very often. I feel like this is true with most in my generation, at least when it comes to racial matters. When it comes to sexual orientation, it’s a different story. My father is one who greatly disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle and is very against gay rights and legalizing gay marriage. He makes it very clear that he does not want to associate with them, and does not like when I do, but he does not forbid me from it and I do not see him as one who would ever harm a person, even if they were homosexual. It does make the issue clear to me, though, and through the documentary we watched in class, the issue was even further highlighted.

Once again, it amazes me that people can have that mindset, live that lifestyle, and truly hate others they don’t even really know. It amazes me that people that seem kind, shy, and friendly and seem like they could never hurt anyone could suddenly become violent murderers, just because of one trait a person has.

As a resident assistant, these issues need to be made more apparent and clear for me so that I can address them as they come up. I need to look for signs of hate crimes and do all that I can to repair the damage they deal, and even better, prevent them from happening at all. Texas State University is a diverse campus with a wide variety of races, sexual orientations, and ages, and strives to be a friendly place for all to learn and grow. I am partly responsible for ensuring the campus remains this way.

I have witnessed discrimination against homosexuals on campus, in Tower even, and I wish to do all I can to stop and prevent this. That incident in particular greatly awakened my awareness of this awful mindset and has really allowed me to empathize with those facing discrimination. Along with this position and this class, I have become more and more aware of hate crimes and more and more against them.

For now, all I can do is try to make my residents understand each other’s differences and respect them, not hate them. I can share my thoughts about equality and rights and can express how I feel. For now, all I can do is spread love, not hate.

Active listening is an important quality that resident assistants must possess in order to truly help their residents. One must be able to listen to what a resident is saying, question for understanding, and repeat back in order to exemplify the understanding. Through listening, a resident assistant can discover more about a situation and learn more about a person. Listening is an incredible tool to use in order to retrieve more information and to understand more. Listening is key in order to help and counsel someone.

When counseling, resident assistants are expected to listen and offer advice in situations that they are comfortable and knowledgeable about such as depression, stress, and homesickness. These situations are common and are experienced by many, possibly even the resident assistant, himself. In these cases, the resident assistant can use prior knowledge and experience and recent training in order to assist the resident. When situations worsen, however, one may not be qualified to help the resident.

All resident assistants have attended training and have learned steps that may help in assisting one with a serious issue. When the resident assistant feels confident and comfortable enough, he may follow these procedures in order to help his resident and possibly even save a life. Sometimes, though, all a resident assistant can do is refer one to receive help elsewhere, such as from the Counseling Center or from a professional counselor. It is always best to resolve a situation in as low and casual of a state as possible, but sometimes it cannot be done.
With so many different characters to uphold and portray, sometimes a resident assistant can feel overwhelmed or feel that he is expected to accomplish many tasks, even ones that he is not actually expected to do. In some cases, it is appropriate for a resident assistant to refer a resident elsewhere for help, simply because the resident assistant is not properly trained or able to actually give help or because the resident is in need of serious, professional help. As part of their personalities, resident assistants often wish to help their residents in every way that they can, but when it comes to counseling, all a resident assistant can really offer is an active ear, a caring and compassionate heart, a thoughtful mind, and the true desire to help the person in any way possible, even if that means allowing him to speak with someone else.

Because resident assistants are leaders within their community and often the “best of the best” among their peers within a university, it is no surprise to me that each person already had community service and volunteer experience within their past. This proves that those who willingly give time and effort to help others tend to rise to success and become leaders within their communities. These are the people to look up to. These are the people to follow. These are the people everyone strives to become.

As a Terry Scholar, I greatly understand the value and importance of giving back. Because I was granted such a godsend through the form of a scholarship, I wish to give back what I have received. I want to help as many as I can and do everything I can to better the community and the lives of others. Although not required, it is greatly expected that I volunteer and give my time as a Terry Scholar and because of this and my desire to give back and help, I am often thrusting myself into new experiences and helping in any way I can. It is through the Terry Scholars Learning Community that I wish to transfer this energy and drive in order to inspire the new freshmen Terry Scholars to give of themselves, as well.

I am proud that within our class, each person had volunteer experience already within their past, ready to be shared. Each one of us knows the importance of giving back and already does so in order to become strong role models and effective leaders. I am inspired by this vast understanding and even interested in joining my peers. I was especially interested in events that directly gave to the needy, such as food drives for the homeless, working with the Salvation Army to deliver food to the needy, and using Meal Trides and swipes left on Texas State students’ ID cards in order to feed those who need help. These causes really intrigue me because they are simple to do and can really change a person’s life. It is so rewarding to know that you’ve helped a person in need.

Although I do not always enjoy putting myself out into the world and experiencing new, foreign, and unfamiliar experiences, I do enjoy giving my time and my energy in order to better the world. Any time I hear of a volunteer opportunity and there is a blank space within my calendar, I am right out there doing what I can and helping in any way possible. I love volunteering, I love community service, and I love helping. Because I am a resident assistant and because I am a role model, I should enjoy these tasks and partake in them often, showing others that giving back is important and helping others is the best gift one could possibly give.

From the beginning, I was told that grading would not be harsh and that homework and assignments would be few in order to help in the transition of beginning a new resident assistant position. After speaking with other new resident assistants, however, I found that we are all being inconvenienced by the class, having to work more than expected and bearing additional stress. When mentioning to returning resident assistants that I am studying for a test within this counseling class, they respond in a confused manner, stating that they didn’t have to take any tests when they took the class. This reveals that the class has transformed and has been made more difficult.

I feel as if I keep receiving false advertising. When told to write a simple autobiographical paper, I figured it’d be no problem, as in most classes we were given the same assignment, and I, in fact, love to write about myself and tell others more about my life. I figured it would be an easy-going assignment, yet, after looking at the rubric, I found it was not a simple assignment and required us to write more about our discovery of self-identity and list certain details, than simply write about ourselves. Although I did fairly well on the paper, less than I had hoped but still an A, my colleagues did not fair so well. In fact, I received a higher grade on my more complex, in-depth analysis of an historical event described through memoir written for my Honors course, than I did on this “simple” autobiographical assignment, and I was worried about that one.

The next time I felt unprepared for the upcoming challenge was for the test. After the confusion of when the test would be and if a study guide would be provided, I did not think the test would be very challenging. Thankfully, a fellow student created a study guide which I studied from alongside studying for other tests that week. After receiving the tests back, however, I was very taken aback at the fact that the highest grade was a 90, and that I was not the one who received that grade. I do not often get lower than an A and had studied quite thoroughly. Once again, this is typical for a class, but I was told this class would not require so much of my time and effort.

Then there was this week, a week of presentations. I was not expecting to give a presentation for a “Current Event.” Once again, I was told we were to simply present a current event to the class, another typical assignment that I have been given in other classes. I gave the assignment little thought until the day of, in which I was planning on printing out a current event, reading it, and talking a little about it to the class. That’s what’s usually expected of from a student presenting a current event. Then I looked at the rubric and was horror-struck. This was the same rubric used in my communication class for the speech we were to give at the end of the semester and given weeks to prepare and perfect. I thought this was a simple current event assignment, just to stand up and talk about the article, not to present a well-written speech! Thankfully, within the hour or so I had before class began, I scrambled around researching, reading, highlighting, and writing out my speech, filling out notecards to help me. Once again I felt bamboozled, in a way.

Next week, I will be preparing a volunteer experience speech, one that I was expecting to give a speech on, but surprisingly had an opposite experience with. After looking over the rubric, I found this assignment to be simpler than the current event assignment and less than I was expecting. This is fortunate because right now I am tired of being told I will not have to work very hard in order to find out that it is simply not true as my grades begin to slip.