Thoughts on being a Hall Advisor

Lately I have been thinking a lot about my job, being a hall advisor. May I share with you? It was once called being a dorm mom, then head resident, now hall advisor. It is more than managing apartments and less than being a "mom" to 18 and 19 year boys and girls. We mentor freshmen and RAs, and keep buildings clean and functioning. Mark and I have gone back and forth on whether or not to stay here so we can save money or to move so I don't have to work. But then I think about my work and what I am learning and doing and the people I get to surround myself with and I would be sad to give that up. Right now we are leaning on staying but that could change tomorrow. I am not away from Shortstop for very many hours a week and to be honest, it is good for him to be with the nanny and for me to be with adults, working.

There are many things that come with this job that are less than desirable: residents pounding on your door at 2 in the morning to complain about their roommate or because they locked themselves out, noisy kids who stand right outside your window (the only one with a sleeping baby behind it) every evening and sing or play games, doing cleaning inspections every month, attending lots of meeting and more meetings and trainings, and of course, having to be away from Mark and Shortstop for any amount of time in the evenings.

But most of the time, I really love this job, including living on campus. I loved being in school and the feeling in the air in the Fall when everything was new, the excitement when it was almost Christmas break and the relief when April finals were over. And without having to stress about school I get to have that again. Like the other night after BYU beat SDSU in basketball (Fredette about it- they got Jimmered!); the excitement in the halls and from the cars driving by was awesome. Horns honking, kids cheering and so on for 45 minutes. It could have been an annoyance but Mark and I loved it and chose to enjoy it. Or like tonight how my associate and I are in charge of a Heritage Halls party at the Central building so we have a magician coming who also does balloon animals and we have ordered $500 worth of desserts and fruit. For the advertising I picked up 72 colorful helium balloons from the Creamery and with my nanny's help and Shortstop in a stroller, walked them to the central building to pass out to the RAs...felt like the kid on UP. And then the times when residents lie to me, and I know it, but come knocking on my door the next day to apologize and tell me what really happened it makes me feel like I am getting through to some of the residents. Or the notes of "thank you" slid under my door and cookies waiting on the other side, just because they "know it must be hard to live with a bunch of teenage boys."

But of course, the thing I love the most are the other Hall Advisors I work with. We are a very unique group of people who for many reasons have chosen to live with freshmen, in very small apartments. We have decided that mediating between residents because "she drinks my milk" or "he plays his music too loud" is something we actually want to do. Or we are a shoulder to cry on for a resident because they are suicidal, depressed, just lost their dad to cancer, have an eating disorder or are failing all their classes. It is an up and down job. For example: The other day I mediated one apartment for a half hour, visited with a resident struggling with everything imaginable for another hour, confronted some residents about inappropriate pranks for 15 minutes, congratulated a resident on receiving his mission call, listened to another tell me his concerns about getting into his major, celebrated with an RA about their engagement and still had time to make dinner.

But these hall advisors are some of my best friends. We counsel each other about residents and RAs, support each other when it is time to move onto the next stage in life (even if we are a little jealous they get to buy a house), go on walks on our days off to get off campus, throw baby showers and birthday parties for other hall advisors and their kids and cry together due to one's personal issues and health problems no one should have to deal with. We are friends, co-workers and a strong support system for so many things. I worry that I won't find the same thing again once I leave here. Sure, there will be friends, ward members, neighbors, play groups and what not, but it won't be the same. So to all my hall advisor friends, past and present, thank you for the impact you have made on me and my family. I am a better person because of the job and a happier person because I work with you.