A Day of Texts as a RA @radayoftext-blog - Tumblr Blog

Even cultural studies, refreshingly alert to the importance of materiality in cultural productions, has made only an incremental difference, largely because it usually considers artifacts outside the literary text rather than the text itself as a material object

Katherine Hayles

#writingmachines

The texts a RA encounters on a daily basis are both tangible and electronic. As you will see, the job requires that Resident Assistants create and interact with texts of different materiality.

I usually devote RA related work for Fridays. Since I don’t have class, it gives me a great opportunity to catch up and complete the work necessary for that week. I have a checklist I run through that helps me stay on track and accomplish everything that needs to be completed. The jobs I do involve working with multiple texts. Here is a look into the texts I am surrounded by as a RA.

Friday February 13, 2015

It is 9 a.m. and I just woke up. Immediately, I check my e-mail. Usually, I will read e-mails from my head staff informing me of upcoming events and job reminders for the end of the week. The information provided by my head staff’s e-mails helps when I have to plan programs or if I know a resident is interested in getting involved with a new club or organization. This text helps me remain well-versed with FSU’s campus so I can be a resource to my residents.

#headstaff #emails #reslife

After getting ready for the day, I head down to the Ragans front desk at around 10:30 a.m. Behind the desk we have personalized mailboxes, where student organizations drop off flyers and posters for the RAs to put up on their respective floors in the residence halls. This is yet another way I find out campus events held at the SLC, the Union, Ruby Diamond, and more. I typically put them up on our flyer hangers and near elevators and stairwells. These are high traffic zones on my floors. I want as many residents to see and read them as possible, in hopes that they will attend these fun events.

#flyers #usuallytheresmore #reslife

Once the flyers are all hung up, I return back to my apartment and log onto Pinterest. During the month we are required to make new bulletin boards. Our head staff always designates one of the Fridays of the month as the due date. This happened to be the Friday. Pinterest is a great tool for RAs when it comes to crafting. Whether it is door decorations, program ideas, or bulletin board designs, I can rely on Pinterest to help me. As I move from board to board, I realize this is a hypertext. The website takes me deeper into the board, searching through a variety of pins, and then leads me to the pin’s original website.

Pinterest is a visual discovery tool that you can use to find ideas for all your projects and interests.

Once I eat lunch, it is 1:30 p.m. and I begin to work on my bulletin boards. I have two, one for each floor. To me, this is my own billboard, displaying valuable information for residents and colleagues alike. When they are complete, I read the boards with different emotions than I would with the flyers or posters I hung up earlier. I have an appreciation for the text I created. I know that I have accomplished a text that will positively impact and influence the outlooks and opinions of others.

#bulletinboards #february #appreciationofdifferences

The boards take a few hours to complete, so it isn’t until 4 p.m. when I take a break. I turn on my favorite Bruno Mars song and work on my weekly. This weekly, set up through Qualtrics, aids as another way to communicate with our head staff. It is a way to update them on the positive and negative occurrences that arise on our individual floors. As I move through it, I notice my head staff has not updated the link yet again. This will be the third week I must answer what my favorite birthday gift has been.

#reslife #brunomars #weekly

#weekly

I try to finish around 4:30 p.m. just in time for my floor program. With Valentine’s Day coming up, I wanted to show my residents some love. The other day I bought a bunch of chocolate and Sweetheart candy to pass out door to door. When I looked at the packaging, specifically for the Sweehearts, I felt as though it was missing something. I decided to write some short and sweet, V-Day messages and affirmations. This way, even if someone didn’t have a special valentine, they knew someone was thinking about them. In a way, I altered the text in order to make the message more personal.

#vday #sweethearts #notes

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A Day of Texts as a RA