There are some things about my job that I just don't think I will ever get used to. I have learned to handle and tolerate being the "mean person" in conduct situations. I feel that am able to handle those situations well because I see the educational value of those situations for the students involved.

I have also enjoyed thus far working with my students parents. Up until this point, I have been able to really help them trust me and believe that I too want what is best for their student. I enjoy when my students' parents learn to have confidence in my job and the educational process that surrounds it.

Today however, I had a very simple and common roommate problem that blew up. The situation itself didn't blow up, but rather the student and mother simply refused to trust myself and my staff to handle the situation as we are accustomed to do. I had spoken earlier this week to the mother and thought I had convinced her to encourage her daughter to trust me and my staff and go with our suggestions of how to handle it. I was, and still am, 99.9% confident that if she allowed us to do a roommate contract any awkwardness between the two students would be resolved.

Today the student's mother proceeded to tear into me accusing me of being biased and purposefully punishing her daughter because of her religious beliefs and values.

Seriously.

She said that.

I was blown away, outraged, frustrated and discouraged all at the same time. Clearly this women doesn't know me. We've never met, and I've never been rude to her. But, she feels the need to judge my character based on my refusal to simply cave to her request to allow her daughter to run away from the roommate situation. While I know that parents are required to be advocates for their children, where does accusing roommates and hall directors unfairly relate to that? Some of the things the mother would say about her daughters roommate were so unfair and judgmental and I refuse to allow any of my students to be treated unfairly by anyone.

While I've had classmates and professors question my character multiple times in the last year, I have yet to have someone make such a snap judgment like this. I really don't think there will ever be a time where conspicuous or inconspicuous attempts at questioning my character will not truly bother me.

Chickering and Reisser's Establishing Identity vector talks about learning to accept feedback from valued and respected others rather than any Joe Shmo. While I think it's easier for me to only accept valued and respected feedback in some areas, I am rocked to the core when people I don't even know question my character.

I'm not sure it's a bad thing to be bothered by that. Being a women of noble character is something that is foundational to who I am, and what I do, so anytime that's questioned I should be bothered. Right?

I am sure that this is not the last time that someone will unfairly make assumptions about my character. I wonder, as I grow in professionalism and in personal ways, if that ever gets any easier.

Within the last year, such situations seem to be happening to me a lot. I'm learning how best to respond to them. I can't help but remember a conversation with a good friend this summer about being back at A&M and the things I was fearful about. Having that conversation in the back of my mind I am encouraged to respond to this situation differently than I did the ones last year. Last year I allowed myself to really question my character and the person I have been shaped into. While I accept that this sort of thing will always bother me, I know that there is a purpose behind this time. There is a purpose for me to be attacked, and somewhere down the line I may be made privy to why that occurred. Perhaps it is as simple as preparation for future helicopter parents. Who knows.

Sorry about the cathartic nature of this entry. May you and it remind me, and yourself of the promise of purpose behind every experience. Even the crappy unfair ones.

I'm sitting in my favorite College Station coffee shop trying to catch up on life. I am not being overly dramatic about the catching up on life. I have lived a full and happy summer, and as soon as it was over, I was thrown back into life at A&M.

I spent this summer at Baylor University working in their Department of New Student Programs. I visited there in November to "interview" with the staff there, and felt as though it was where I needed to be. I am so grateful that I spent my summer there, and could not imagine a better place to work!

I worked with Orientation, Line Camp and the BaylorBound leaders and their training. I really enjoyed the work that I did, as well as the people I worked with. The staff in the office were AMAZING not to mention a hysterical group of people to work with. My students were a great group of people- so genuine and also pretty funny. I learned a lot about myself personally and professionally this summer. It was the break and experience that I needed heading into my last year in grad school.

I arrived back in BCS on August 1st and we started training on August 3rd. It's been full steam ahead ever since. I did manage to slip sleeping almost an entire Saturday in there. After a week of hall director training, my RAs came back and they had a week of training. My staff this year is amazing! They work together really well and I can tell that they are in this job for the right reasons. I can't tell you how happy that makes me!

We just opened the halls this past Sunday and 70% of my building moved in that day.
It was a very busy day. It went smoothly over all, minus a few issues. Our building is continuing to have issues with hot water working consistently. Also, I continually did rounds on the floors climbing stairs, grabbing boxes, and taking them out to recycling. It was a long day!

Saturday, I drove up to Baylor for The Big Even for Welcome Week. It was such a blast! There was a great 80s cover band playing and almost everyone dressed up in accurate outfits. It was really nice to be able to see the last stage of summer programming, and to see my students and coworkers again. I only wish that I had been able to talk to them more and see them for a longer period of time!

Currently my parents are in town visiting. It's been a really nice laid back visit. I believe that they are planning to make a few road trips this week to various places in Texas. Plus, my dad hung up my curtains and fixed my license plate. He's pretty handy!

Classes start at A&M next Monday. I'm taking Higher Ed. Law and Assessment. Additionally I have a Practicum (or internship) class that I am registered for, but completed the hours this summer. I am doing a third practicum in our Student Conflict Resolution Services/Alcohol and Drug Education program office. I'll be adjudicating a few cases, and developing a training session for student leaders teaching them to recognize signs of drug abuse in their student organizations. My hope is that it can be used for the RAs in the fall. I'm also co-teaching an RA class this semester with a full-time staff member. I'm not sure what that is going to look like yet, but I should be learning more about it soon.

I will also be a Spiritual Mom for the Aggie Sisters for Christ SisterShine program. The women in SisterShine volunteer as mentors to high school aged women in Bryan/College Station. They each are in smaller groups with a Spiritual Mother (aka me) who meets with them, and mentors them. I'm really very excited about this opportunity. The thing I missed most last year was being able to be freely intentional about faith with my students and this should provide me with an outlet to do that. I cannot wait to find out what students I'm going to be working with and see what this experience will be like!

I am very hopeful that this year will be great. There seem to be a lot of great things up ahead and if all else fails, I'll be finished with school (hopefully for good) in 263 days. Wow!