Tell All Tuesday 2.21.06

One thing that not many people know about me is my experience with Greek life. When I was a freshman at WCU (Go Cats!) I received an invitation to a Phi Mu informational. I lived on the hall opposite the Phi Mu ladies, and had a few hallmates that were attending the informational as well. So, we all went, talked with the sisters for a while, met some potential members, just sat there looking pretty, and went back to our rooms for the night. I left with a feeling that I really might like to be a part of this organization. There were a lot of Christian girls involved, and that was something that interested me. Well, a few days later, I was in my room when I heard someone knocking on my door. When I opened it, I was greeted by two Phi Mu sisters who presented me with an envelope. I immediately ripped into it, and there it was...my bid. I took all appropriate actions to starting my pledge period with Phi Mu. I attended a little bid party and got lots of fun stuff...letters, notepads, pens, etc...and even sat down with the treasurer to discuss a monthly payment plan so that I could afford it! I was so excited. I spent the next month and a half becoming very close to my pledge sisters, and getting to know the sisters as well. It was nice to be known as someone who was almost a member of the classiest sorority on campus, and I loved every single minute of it.

Then one day, the Phi Mu president called me to come meet with her in the study. Not knowing what in the world was going on, I marched down to the Phi Mu hall, pledge notebook in tow. When I got there, my world changed. Jennifer, the president, told me, with tears in her eyes, that I was not going to be able to pledge Phi Mu anymore. There had been a mix up with another sorority on campus, which will remain nameless (I had gone to their informational as well. They even presented me with a bid, or so they said. I had even signed the bid, saying I accepted, or so they said. I do remember someone from that sorority coming to my door one night-I was VERY sick with bronchitis and a sinus infection and had just returned from the infirmary where I was given some major knock-you-out-for-72-hours-straight-medicines-but other than remembering seeing them at my door, I honest to goodness don't remember anything else about it.) I COULD NOT believe it. Not only was my pledge period being terminated, but Jennifer had the paperwork from Greek council from the other sorority...with my name on it...and my signature on it...and I didn't remember any of it. I WAS DEVASTATED.

That night, every single one of my pledge sisters came to my room to console me. It was awful, but they were so supportive. They even helped me try to get it all appealed. The only thing the Greek council would do was to terminate my current pledge period with Phi Mu, let my bid with the other sorority expire and I would be able to re-pledge Phi Mu again the next semester. But I didn't want to pledge again...I wanted to pledge now. Obviously, there was nothing anyone could do.

After a lot of prayer and consideration, I decided that the sorority life wasn't for me. The next semester, money was even tighter, and I wasn't able to afford to join. Instead, I, along with 2 other wonderful hallmates of mine, became Phi Mu affiliates:). We were constantly with the Phi Mu sisters. We went to dinner together, we went dancing together, we hung out almost every night together. We threw each other some stinkin' fun birthday parties and made signs for every occasion imaginable. It was great. I ended up making some lasting friendships with those sisters who had welcomed me in as one of their own. Sometimes I think that if there had been that "sister" title on our friendships, we wouldn't have become so close due to living in close quarters and having cat fights. So, I believe that it was a blessing in disguise (kinda like Spinach in Disguise, right Brooke!) when I didn't get to finish my pledge period. Like the saying goes, "When God closes a door, He opens a window." and I am so thankful for the window he opened.

My Greek life story doesn't end here though. I ended up pledging and becoming a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, professional women's music fraternity. There were about 20+ ladies in our chapter, and our main goal was to promote the love and appreciation for music by doing service projects, such as collecting sheet music for choirs in need, or raising money to provide a private school with musical instruments. We had such a great time, and it always felt so good to be able to help people. One of the great things about this organization was that the majority of sisters were music majors like me, so it was a really great support group. Don't get me wrong...it wasn't all roses (even though that was our flower)...we had our moments of DRAMA...but what do you expect when you put 20 women in a 20x20 room for 2 hours at a time every week!?!?! I gained a lot of knowledge from these ladies, and so many friendships that I know are everlasting.

Then of course, I can't forget Me Phi Me...when my time with Phi Mu ended, my best friend, Brooke, decided that she would start a sorority that I could be a part of. This has been quite the joke over the years...and especially when she made letters for me! We got a HUGE kick out of it...nobody else really got it, but we sure did enjoy struttin' around in our pink & black cuteness!! It kinda makes me laugh that 6 years later, it's still a topic of conversation almost everytime we get together! I'm so glad to be a founding member of this ever-growing organization!!! :)