Despite the proximity of the Resident Assistants (RA) on the floors, many still do not attempt to understand what this label truly means. During the past year serving as an RA, I heard many negative comments about this job. Many students seem to believe that RAs only take on the job for the monetary benefit, to build their resume, or out of a desire to control people. These notions derogate the role of an RA and are not representative of the work behind the scenes. With this article I attempt to defy some of the myths about RAs, to give insight for future RAs, and last but not least to reinvigorate the humanness of this two-letter label.The role of an RA is not like any other on-campus job at the university. My supervisors instilled the idea of wearing an invisible “RA hat” 24/7. The metaphorical hat served to remind us that we had to exhibit exemplary behavior in our community. No RA could take off the invisible hat. Showing less-than-exemplary behavior would have tarnished not only the reputation of a particular RA but also the reputation of the entire team of RAs. Being a part of the NYU Shanghai Facebook group was an example of the way my "RA hat" conflicted with my everyday student identity. I was aware that whatever I commented in a discussion, my opinion would not be considered independently from my RA identity. For this reason, most of the time I silently watched the constructive, yet sometimes negative, discussion take place, even when RAs or Residential Life were attacked on Facebook.This idea of the “RA hat” was something that built a sub-community within NYU Shanghai. As a result of working together for a year and helping each other out, I began to feel at home with the RA team. As a result, some of the RAs from my year became my closest friends today. On the other hand, this job also lead me to reconsider some my friendships. At one point, I was removed from a WeChat group largely because of my new responsibility to report student conduct incidents. My newfound identity, “Noel the RA”, was a challenge to many of my friendships; in some cases it strengthened the bonds, but in others these bonds completely disappeared. The new relationships I made were not limited to my fellow RAs. When I applied for the job, I would have never imagined that my residents would leave gifts in front of my door on my birthday. An equally moving time was when I started to experience breathing problems, and two of my residents accompanied me to a hospital and stayed with me until I was discharged. This article cannot go without mentioning the countless BASE meetings through which I got to know the life goals of my residents. I can imagine my future self0scrolling through Facebook, WeChat moments, and other social media looking to see how many of them have realized their aspirations.For the most part, it was worth it. Not for the money, not for controlling people, not for my resume, but for the precious friendships and experiences being an RA was worth it. My final advice is to make the most out of the time that you spend together with your RA. Lastly, I believe that some people without whom my RA experience would not have been the same need to be acknowledged. Thank you Eli, Shara, Candice, Siwen, my RA team, and all of the residents from the seventh floor. This article was written by Noel Konagai. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Na Sun