Why Being a Resident Assistant is So Time Consuming

FORT WORTH, Texas--Last night I did not sleep. There was a paper due by 8 a.m. and by midnight, I was still not close to being finished. I have been working on the paper for 2 weeks, but when I went into my teachers' office hours, to get her feedback on the final draft of my paper, she kindly informed me that I  was not addressing the prompt correctly.
I had no intention to stay up all night, but it was 5 a.m. before I knew it. Next time I looked at the clock, it was 7 a.m. and I still had to get ready and walk to class. I walked through the door and handed my paper in, complete and on time.
The best, and worst, part about being a Resident Assistant is getting to know all the the freshman. The girls in my hall are fantastic. All of whom I hope to stay friends with next year. The guys that live in my dorm are great too. We are all very close, hang out, laugh and talk. The downside to forming these close relationships is that the freshman are all very comfortable with me. Many come to me for advice-sometimes at 3 a.m.- they stop by my room to say "hi" and end up chatting for an hour. If they do not knock on my door it is because there is a gecko in their room, a light is broken, there is a funny smelling coming from the hallway, and the list goes on. In the past year I have become a exterminator, "counselor", handy man and all around "Mrs. Fix It". If they are not in need of or talking to me then they are all mingling in the hallway.
The positive side to being so close with everyone is that, last night, when I had to "pull an all nighter", 2 of my residents were sitting in the hallway and, at 2 a.m., were more than willing to help me with my paper.
Although being a RA can be a very time consuming job, I would not trade this job for anything different. I truly believe life is about the relationships we form and the people we impact. I hope that I am able to be a positive influence in each of these students' lives; teach them something both as a RA and as their friend because, they are definitely impacting me.