#AugustinStudentAffairs

#AugustinStudentAffairs, a hashtag my pal, Daph, coined yesterday that describes much more than an event. It's a way of life. A life that takes you away from all the regular things you enjoy doing (cooking your own meals, working out, catching up on TV, going out with friends, and reading a good book) and fills your days (and nights) with work.

We are 4 days into student staff training and I've already logged a solid 50-55 hours with two more work days still to go for the week. Yikes! No, this is not me complaining. Why? Because I LOVE IT. What's wrong with me? A glutton for punishment? Perhaps. But there's something exciting and incredibly rewarding about spending your days and nights with 100 energetic, dynamic, and hilariously funny college students. As I used to say in college, we're making memories. Sure, the days are long and filled with training sessions and campus partner presentations. Sure, the meals are ...interesting... and three meals a day in the dining hall leaves your body wondering why you are torturing it. Sure, the nights can make you a bit loopy and wondering how it is still the same day when it seems you've done so much already.

But then there's the laughter that erupts from your soul when you're so tired you're nutty and the littlest things make you laugh uncontrollably until you snort. Or the conversations you have in the dining hall or on the couches where you cut through all the shallow, superficial, bs, and have a heart to heart with a student. The one who confides in you about their family, another who needs reassurance regarding their academic plan, another who is willing to open up about their own insecurities and fears. The stuff I live for in this job!

And then there's moments like the one below where a student staff member decides everyone needs a breather and sends out a youtube clip for all to enjoy. WARNING: It is disturbing. 

#AugustinStudentAffairs. Wouldn't trade it. Not at all. Cheers.