<p>I agree with the poster who said that your appearance might actually make certain residents MORE comfortable. When my boyfriend started at his school, which has a bit of a reputation for being a jock school, he was a little apprehensive because it seemed like most of the other residents fit the stereotype. Then, they had their first floor meeting, and his RA showed up with a bright blue mohawk. From that point on, he felt way more comfortable because he could tell there was a crowd he might fit in with. (He eventually became very good friends with said RA, btw.)</p>
<p>I personally wouldn’t change a thing, but if you really feel you must do SOMETHING, you could always tone down your jewelry selections a bit. Maybe put in some clear retainers or more conservative barbells, avoid things like spikes or other particularly prominent shapes and colors, etc.</p>
<p>There might come a time sometime down the road when you might have to alter some things to become employed, because unfortunately society hasn’t stopped associating things like tattoos and piercings with delinquency. Now you’re in college, though, and clearly the staff selection crew wasn’t phased by your appearance when they hired you. If anything, use this as an opportunity to question peoples’ assumptions and show them that just because people look different, doesn’t mean that they’re bad.</p>
<p>I think some parents would be taken aback but don’t be shocked if some parents want to show your their tats.
Ewww, Soccer Moms wanting to show you their Tweety Bird tattoo on their hips.
Dads flexing their Keep On Truckin’ tats.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t care as long as your behavior is professional-- which I would assume it would be if housing hired you. </p>
<p>You would have scared the CRAP out of my parents, though. I might consider toning it down as much as possible for move in day just for the sake of their sanity. I wouldn’t make any huge changes, but maybe not spike the mohawk and take out the piercings.</p>
<p>thanks for all the advice guys! I think what I’ll do is ask my supervisor in a few months during training, and go through the points everyone made here for both stances, since they were all really valid. thanks again!!!</p>
<p>Just a thought or two, as a parent… while it wouldn’t bother me, you probably should also recognize that for many parents, this is going to be a highly emotionally charged time, especially if they haven’t dealt with their child’s looming independence. This kind of parent is looking for something to get upset about – don’t let it be you </p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the students at all. Even if you put someone off initially, you have all the time and opportunity in the world to create the right impression (and hopefully teach them a lesson about jumping to conclusions).</p>
<p>I think you’re right to review this with professional staff during training/orientation – they know you and will give you the best advice.</p>
<p>As other people have already said, it would be cool. Kind of like “Oh, hey, here’s somebody not all suited up and clean cut like everyone else in places of power.” Also if the parents are kind of put off by it (which they shouldn’t…it is college?), who the heck cares? The parents aren’t the ones in the dorms, it’s the students.</p>
<p>yea seriously change the way you look i’m sure ur a nice guy but ur gonna scare the hell outta everyone</p>
<p>edit: i just read the other posts and nobody agrees with me. well those people are just tring to be nice. i’m giving you brutal honesty- tats are fine, piercings maybe, but for god’s sake get rid of the mohawk.</p>
<p>Where I go, we’d give anything to scare off a couple of the “weak ones” before classes even start. In my mind, if they can’t handle an RA with a strange appearance, they aren’t ready for college.</p>
<p>For the record, my parents wouldn’t be scared because they’d assume you’re some kind of delinquent. They’d be afraid of what I’d come home looking like at Christmas. :P</p>
<p>“but why would you want to look like that in the first place?”</p>
<p>I only have my eyebrow pierced, but I have it done because for whatever reason, I find piercings to be beautiful. Done right, of course. Misplaced, rejecting, infected piercings are not attractive. </p>
<p>The same goes for well-executed tattoos. If someone in front of me in class has a nice tattoo, I will sit there and stare at it. It’s art. I guess it’s just an aesthetic I like for whatever reason. Now, if I see a guy in a polo, I’m indifferent, and if I see a guy with a popped collar and Von Dutch hat, I run as fast as I can in the opposite direction. :P</p>
<p>funnily enough, my tattoos actually are art–I have a half-sleeve of Vincent Van Gogh’s starry night, for example, and the tree of life by Gustav Klimt is my upper back, and I did my chest in early Thomas Kinkade.</p>
<p>just kidding about the last one, but in all seriousness all my tats are either classic works of art, or a few pieces of poetry I like–such as, the back of my right calf has Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” (kind of a long poem, had to make it pretty small to fit everything in!)</p>
<p>I’m reluctant to get rid of the piercings, not only because they’re actually fairly discreet and I only wear studs or small hoops in them, but also because I got each one after something significant happened. And as for the mohawk, well…I just have that because it’s fun (and low-maintenance)! I could certainly get a buzz cut and pop out the piercings for a while, but for the time being I don’t really want or need a new look. Maybe when I’m applying for grad school, but I’ve got at least two more years of pierced, mohawked, tatted-up goodness left before I have to do that!</p>
<p>Excellent choice on the poem. I read it recently in my poetry writing book for creative writing and it’s been sporadically running through my head since.</p>
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