Throwback Thursday: College Days

From the times I heard my mom talk about her days as a Chi Omega during college, I knew that I wanted to join a sorority.  Something about the lifelong bonds with sorority sisters, fun social events, and campus activities and involvements drew me in from the start, which is why it was of no surprise to anyone that I wanted to go through recruitment from the day I set foot on campus at University of Miami.  Unlike most of the schools my friends chose to attend, recruitment took place in the spring, which meant a semester of waiting and attending Panhellenic events before it was finally my turn to go through the process.  When I accepted my bid to Kappa Kappa Gamma on a warm day in January, I knew that I had found my people and more importantly, a place that I could call home.  Over the next four years and several ups and downs, this proved to be true and I can say that being a part of my chapter enriched my college experience in ways that words cannot even describe.

So why is a recent grad going on and on about sorority life, you ask?  Well, this weekend I had the opportunity to meet and spend time with my mom's dear college friend and sorority sister who lives in Washington, DC.  Having only met her once when I was much younger, I became excited when my mom told me that we would get to visit with her during our trip last weekend.  For four hours on Saturday we sat around her kitchen table catching up on the last few years of our lives and reminiscing on days long gone.  It was amazing to me to see it all for myself.  Two women, several years out of college, brought together by the bonds of a sorority.  It reminded me why I even wanted to join a sorority in the first place.  Despite the fact that my friends and I have gone our separate ways for the meantime, who knows what will happen next?  As I listened to them reminisce on college days and the experiences that they shared, it made me think of those precious memories that I, too, got to share with my own best friends: afternoon trips to ice cream shops 45 minutes away from school, Homecoming fireworks viewings by the campus lake, being tackled on bid day after serving as a rho gamma, taking a cruise for spring break, and so much more.  In those 4 hours that felt like 2 I was reminded about the power of the sorority and how it brings us together to share in the same values and traditions.  As a recent college graduate I can say with certainty that I have left Miami with some pretty great friends and sorority sisters; they are people who make me as happy as my mom's friends do when they are together, and without them I cannot imagine college without them.  To quote Troy and Gabriella in High School Musical 3, "no matter where life takes us, nothing can break us apart."

Thank you A & E, and everyone else really, for giving me something to hold on to.