Priorities

Music I'm listening to: We The Living, my favorite band (check out their Web site www.wetheliving.com)

People I just hung out with for hours: my RAs (big surprise there...haha)


Week 2 has started and is half-way over. It's been another busy week. You'd think that having Labor Day off would have helped, but it hasn't. We did a Service Project on Sunday that kept me busy for the majority of the week; we had a concert last night; the Residence Hall Association had their Info Session tonight and our NRHH meeting was as well; I have a program tomorrow night; a program on Friday (that I may be skipping to go to a concert...hmmm...we'll get back to that); a workshop I'm attending on Saturday and a program at night. During the day, I've had one meeting following the next. I felt very unprepared for the class I'm teaching today but fortunately it went way better than I thought it would and I realized that I actually know the material (that was a pleasant surprise, trust me!).
Some may say that we've been "overprogramming" and overwhelming our residents with events and meetings; but we're still having a very captive audience and get good turnouts for all events, so I will continue to believe that we're on the right track. Our service trip for Saturday is already full (we can only take small numbers of students due to the limited number of volunteers that local agencies can need at a time); I've had three students come up to me already with ideas for programs they want to do (I'm meeting with one of them tomorrow); and while some of my RAs are a little stressed, they're still doing pretty well overall and a few of them are even talking about extra programs they want to do (that's just crazy, if you ask me).

I've been pretty drained lately though. My to-do list keeps growing and there's just no chance that I'll get completely caught up. At night - after my marathon days of meetings - I'm just tired and all I want to do is hang out with my staff and chat or read a good book.

We all know I'm a workaholic but recently I've developed habits that you could almost call "making my personal life a priority" which is something supervisors have told me to do for years. Some of my RAs and I are talking about going to a concert on Friday. We have a program going on that night - but it's one of those that's pretty much set up and we only have to get residents there - which I'm sure the other staff members can do. We rented out the ice rink...we and another hall. My first year I did that I had too many students, so they couldn't all get on the ice. So I'm sure nobody will notice that I'm not there. Still, it's something I would have never done a year ago. Or maybe I would have if the "right" concert was happening and it just didn't. Who knows. But this has made me think about some interesting conversations about priorities that I've had lately....

As a department, we say that we value social justice education. We have a Social Justice Committee, which I'm chairing this year. Our student staff members are required to complete a Social Justice requirement as part of their community development expectations. We host a Tunnel of Oppression every year. But on a personal level, I'm not always sure to what extend social justice education is a priority for staff members. I don't think it's a lack of interest or passion; it's simply that, if something is not required to do, I won't do it because I'm already stretched way too thin with the things I have to do. I mean, it's not like I'm any better. Many evenings, if I have the choice between going to a social justice event on campus or relaxing in my apartment, I'll probably choose the relaxing because I'm just TIRED/EXHAUSTED/DONE.
We talk a lot about what our priorities are or should be - but let's be honest: in the end you do what is required and has to be done by a deadline and only after that, you'll even start considering some of these "extra" things.

Hmm, I feel like I had a point there somewhere but I'm not sure what it is. It's also almost 2 am and I should have been sleeping for hours by now (especially considering I got barely any sleep last night). I guess my point is that having priorities doesn't always mean that these things will then happen. So if we want things to happen, then we need to make them mandatory.

So maybe my point is also that you shouldn't hold on to your priorities/standards too much because they only go so far. In the end, a lot just depends on the situation.

Okay, I lost my train of thought again. Maybe that's a sign that I really really need to go to bed.
Take care...and don't forget to check out www.wetheliving.com.