Article November 16, 2009 Issue

SOMETHING TO SAY

BY MEGAN MCGINNIS

AS I plunged into my freshman year at Principia College, I looked up to the resident assistants as strong, unselfish, and caring leaders of the community. It was during my freshman year that I decided I wanted to be an RA someday, too!

I became an RA my junior year, but first, I had to complete almost ten weeks of training at the end of my sophomore year. Twice a week the group of new RAs, the two Freshman Resident Counselors, and the Freshman Housing Director met for several hours to discuss topics like the metaphysical purpose of our college, leadership responsibilities of our job, and the ultimate purpose of the Christian Science movement. I listened attentively to the inspiring and insightful ideas shared during these sessions, but I was also painfully aware that I had not contributed any comments of my own.

For all of high school and well into my college career, I'd struggled to speak up in class discussions. I always felt that I'd look stupid if my thoughts were not fully developed and flawlessly expressed. I knew this shyness needed to be healed, but I'd never truly addressed it with prayer until after one of the RA training meetings, when the directors made it clear that they needed to hear from everyone in the group. I felt like they were speaking directly to me because this challenge had been heavily weighing on my mind.

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