On new beginnings

Tomorrow is the first day of class for the University I work at. I've come to appreciate working at a place where there is naturally a new start, a time which signals a new beginning. Every year I'm fairly busy from August until May, then I have some time to reflect upon the previous school year in June and July. This past June and July I came to the conclusion that I was not happy with my performance the previous year.

Last year I was moved to a new residential area on campus. I had the same position (Residence Director) as the previous two years but I was put in charge of a neighborhood of apartments instead of a residence hall. The neighborhood posed different challenges than the hall. In a lot of ways it was easier, but in a lot of ways it was more difficult. As well, I was in my first year of marriage (w00t) and I overloaded myself in the second semester with a second job and two classes. The long and the short of it is, I did not do my job well enough to be satisfied.

That being said, I think I did a decent job. I was able to help several people in ways that clearly assisted them in getting to a better place in their life. I did very well in a couple of my performance management goals for the year. My boss was reasonably happy with my work.

All well and good, but I'm not shooting for a "decent" job. I don't want my boss to be "reasonably happy" with my work. I want to strive for excellence. I want to be the best RD I can be. This job is not just a job for me. I have seen my words and actions impact people's lives, both for the better and for the worse. I have had opportunity to learn to love those who would rather (metaphorically) spit in my face. I am called each day to focus on the good of people who are not me. I have been blessed with the grace to handle emergency situations such that no one died when it was a very real possibility.

That's why I'm glad this is a new school year. I have had jobs that basically just continue on and on without a real point of new beginning, a chance to restart. In this position I am blessed to be able to say that this school year WILL be better than the last.


I asked my RA staff to share with each other some goals they had for this semester. I asked for a goal in each of five different categories: academic, spiritual, professional, personal growth, and grab bag. Here are mine:

Academic - get two As, one in each of my last two classes for my MBA.
Spiritual - come to a better understanding of suffering in my life and in my marriage.
Professional - I have six or seven performance management goals that I shared, not that exciting really.
Personal growth - blog on a regular basis.
Grab bag - read three books I have never read before.

One way to have a conscious new beginning is to set some goals for yourself. This is one way I plan on ensuring I keep myself and my RAs focused on growing, not just spinning our wheels.

What are you doing in your life? Are you growing? Or just maintaining?