Lifetime Rec Week 2

Being the second week in the semester, I started noticing a tendency, a lot of the residents were feeling more comfortable in their "new" lives. I knew that I needed to give them space this week for their own personal growth but still touched base with them when I saw them. When I did see them, I asked them questions about them joining clubs, service projects, Intramural sports, etc. I knew that if I could suggest some things that I saw that interest them, they could be more involved in something that they are passionate about. For example, one of my residents is a HUGE Harry Potter fan and the first thing that popped in my mind was the Quidditch club .She joined and begins her first game soon! As I worked more one-on-one with my residents and observed what they were saying, I have a better idea to what each individual loves, dislikes, and how I can adapt to help meet their needs.

 I will be honest, this week has been a little stressful. Being the second week and balancing classes, I knew that I needed to take sometime to reorganize my priorities so I could help my residents better. I definitely learned that I need some "Stormi" time even if some fun thing is happening outside my window. It hit me that I don't have to do every little thing with my residents. I can continue to balance my life and help the residents by doing the things that I love and that they love. When I am stressed, I tend to rock climb or go on a bike ride. Now I still can do these activities by myself but it is nice to have people join me even if no words are shared. I guess that is why I love this community so much. We all have so much in common in terms of being active that it is nice to know that within our community there is always one person(or multiple) who will be willing to join.