Being a transfer student and moving away for the first time can be a jarring experience. It also doesn’t help that I’m not very sociable, but I still managed to talk to a couple of people and became friends with them.

One friend in particular, told me about his new position as a Resident Assistant (RA), and how when you become one you get you get paid every month, you get your own private room, and that room costs the same as the cheapest room on campus.

I was sold the minute he said private room and immediately got an application, but what I didn’t realize at the time was all the RA positions at Foundation (where my room was originally located) were taken, and the position I got was at the Cain and Tatum dorms.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, I learned that each RA was assigned to a specific hall, and the hall I was assigned to was Tatum 1 AKA the Football hall.

I was curious to why the Football hall didn’t have an RA for half of the fall semester, but the Hall Director told me that there was nothing to worry about. I quickly learned that the main reason there were no RAs on that hall was mainly due to the fact that no one was stupid enough to do it. Lucky for them, I’m a socially awkward idiot who doesn’t ask questions.

Moving from Foundation to Cain and Tatum was a bit staggering. The rooms at Foundation are a little bigger, but when you move into your own private room, the room feels gigantic.

This made me happy; the blasting of rap music at the entire other end of the hall made me the opposite of happy. I already knew that the rooms on campus are not very sound proof, but compared to the rooms at Foundation, the rooms at Cain and Tatum are almost like an echo chamber.

Because I’m an RA now, I have to show initiative and confidence, but it’s kind of hard to do that when they put a scrawny white kid in charge of the hall filled with loud, buff football players.

Over time, I managed to work up my courage and I have had to scold and report people from time to time, but living in this hall puts a toll on your sanity.

I cannot even count the number of times when I was trying to get some sleep and was woken up abruptly by the sounds of someone down the hall letting out an ear shattering scream of rage due to them dying in Fortnite. I couldn’t write them up because the screech was so quick and sudden, by the time I would open my door, I would be met with silence and I could never pinpoint the source.

The worst part about living on the Football hall is the constant noise. I try to give them as much freedom as possible, it’s college after all, people should have some fun. Unfortunately, the constant yelling has gotten so bad that I can literally tell the time of day due to the level of noise I can hear in the hall.

If there a little bit of talking, maybe some music playing, it is midday; if there is complete and utter silence, it’s around 5:00 p.m., the footballers are at practice; if there is sudden sound of a door being kicked open followed by a group of people butchering some random song to the point of making my ears bleed, it’s around sevenish and they just got back from the cafeteria.

I have learned from my experiences by living with the local wildlife that this is the most optimal time to go get my food. This time alone allows them to be as loud as they want which ultimately tires them out, and by the time I get back things usually have quieted down due to them being all tuckered out.

I do this for two reasons. 1. Because I don’t want to listen to them blast music and yell inappropriate things at each other. 2. (Giving that I am not on duty) While I’m away getting food, if something happens, it’s not my problem and I can’t be held responsible.

As of the time of this article, I will have been an RA for almost two whole semesters, and I honestly love doing it. The other RAs are great, it has been a real boost to my social anxiety and I get my own private room (still the best thing about this whole job).

The only thing that could make this job even better is if I didn’t get a migraine every time would I hear someone talk about “some girl’s thicc butt.” –some guy in the middle of a hallway filled with doors that have hole in them. But given the almost infinite amount of annoyance I have to deal with (almost on a daily basis) I will probably keep being an RA until I graduate.

Maybe it’s because I like working on campus, or maybe it’s because I have been driven to insanity.

Only time will tell.