My Summer

Hello English Department Blog! Well, it has been a long time, hasn't it?

When I last left you, I told you of my plans to spend the summer in Worcester. I spoke of RAing in a real honest-to-goodness building, cooking for myself, having suitemates, watching construction, and exploring the city.  I definitely did all those things, but nothing was like I expected it to be. So in true Shalyn-Fashion, I am going back over them in the form of a list.

1. RAing:  If I learned anything over the summer, it is that being a summer RA is basically nothing like being a regular semester RA. Students are all there for a reason, and generally, they aren't just fuddling about. Everyone seemed very focused, very busy, and frankly, did not want to be bothered by an RA. While being a summer RA was a great solution for me in finding a summer job, my role in the hall was strange for me. For me, being summer RA essentially cut my role down to some of the elements I like least about the RA role, namely policy enforcement. I enjoy getting to know my residents, putting on engaging programs, and being a resource to students, and those elements of my job were less important to the population I was dealing with. What I found beneficial about my time as a summer RA was forcing me to face those parts of my job that I liked least or had least knowledge about. Working in the office gave me some experience with handling concerned parents and doing administrative tasks. Being part of building staff gave me a peek a what this year would be like. Being seen as a policy enforcer rather than a resource helped me realize that I could have a career in Res Life and Academic Affairs. Ultimately, I would not take the Summer RA position again, but I am glad I took the job and felt that it was a worthwhile experience as an RA.
2. Cooking:  Let me start by saying that I am a good cook for a college student. I was expecting the quality of the food I made to be much better than what I ate during the year and that I would live off the meal plan during this current semester. I was wrong. Food is expensive. I rarely had enough cash to scrape together some fresh vegetables. Food also goes bad quickly. Often times it was a struggle to buy the right amount of food for one person and I would waste food as it sat rotting in the fridge just because I had other things to eat before it. Finally, food is time consuming. Not only does it take time and planning to make food, it take time to buy food. It takes time to think up what to do with a food. I found a new appreciation for the cafeteria over the summer. I enjoy all my meals that I get ready-made in the cafeteria. It is really quite convenient.
3. Having Suitemates:  I really hoped to become close to my suitemates over the summer. I had missed having a roomie. But I can say now, while my suitemates were lovely girls, we didn't make a connection. I attribute it back to the timing. Summer residents are busy and focused. Often times, they were in labs doing research or otherwise were out on the town or back at home. And I was too, so there wasn't much time for bonding.
4. Watching Construction:  I know everyone complains about how construction takes too long and they are never done on time. Well, I am impressed it was done when it was given where they were at two weeks prior to the RAs coming back. It was truly impressive all the work they got done over the summer and simply inhuman the amount they accomplished in the last month. I think they did a fantastic job and think campus looks nicer because of it.
5. Exploring the City:  In addition to working as an RA, I took an internship with the Worcester Magazine. This internship taught me a ton about journalism and my writing/editing ability. What is also taught me was an appreciation for Worcester and an excuse to explore places I never would have been. Over the course of the summer, I drove to most of the city's parks, visited a cafe which functioned as a work placement program for Youth Services, watched the breaking through ceremony at City Square, spoke to all kinds of people,--Occupy organizers, directors of the Hanover Theatre's summer productions, a winning crew team, and a man organizing a community garden--and enjoyed Worcester's Restaurant Week. (Oh, and I did make it to WooBerry finally. I like YoWay better. But now there are three more fro-yo places in Worcester to try!)

So that was my summer. I know summer vacation is sort of a precious period time for most students and their families, both being fully aware of the limited time they will be spending under one roof in the future, but I really recommend spending one summer at your university. It gives you a new understanding and appreciation of your university.