I too have been a seriously striving sisterfriend since 1991. I remember back then when the "rules" were:

1) You don't tell anyone, not
even your Mom which organization
you are/were interested in

AND

2) Anything you needed to know would
be told to you if you were invited
to the interest meeting/tea

The members would know you were
interested if you attended their
programs, etc.....


All of the information that was acquired was from searching the library for general information. The interenet was not available. Everything else depended on (the interests/SF's) conduct, community service, grades, and other activities/hobbies....


Many times I have been a silent monitor but I have never forgotten what I have learned from back then

D I S C R E T I O N

and

H U M I L I T Y

There is so much information available on the web but the best advice comes from the Ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc....

1)Keep up the grades, community
service

2)Get to know and support the
members at your school or in your
area

3)Keep your eyes and ears open for
the informational

4)BE READY..........IF YOU ARE
SELECTED, THEN ALL WILL BE
REVEALED TO YOU IN TIME

All of the advice given by the members has and continues to be greatly appreciated

THANK YOU! 99.9% of that is ON POINT!

*giving ms eastcoast sunshine a standing ovation*

http://www.plauder-smilies.de/nosmile/claps.gif

I just want to say that I am very grateful for all the help I have received from the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. I have gotten more information from you than from my own family who are members. they will not tell me anything except that I will have to see for myself like they did. So I want to say thanks for the information, and maybe, hopefully, I will be able to do the same.

I think that this is a good hint. If FAMILY is not giving out information, we need to re-evaluate wth is REALLY going on in here.

Sorors, let's go loop-de-loop, shall we?

Soror Ideal08....I'm with you! I mean come on...your own family won't tell you...but you come here and expect my sorors and me to spoon-feed it to you...
If you truly have that PINK 'N GREEN love (like my sorors and I do!), then you would neither find it robbery nor bothersome to do some WORK and RESEARCH in order to gain membership into my BELOVED ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC.!

[This message has been edited by AmerAKAs Most Wanted (edited June 13, 2001).]

Soror Ideal08, I agree with you completely!! I think in my previous post, I tried to convey that, but maybe I didn't phrase it correctly. I think that sorors on this forum are extremely generous with their time and energy in answering interests questions, etc. But this is not the norm. when on is researching Alpha Kappa Alpha.


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"I am not yet the author of my life; I am still it's unenlightened protagonist"
---Unknown

Y'all ain't Loopin' wit out me!!! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif Huh? Email me you Sorors. I may need some strong brew...

What "insight" did you think you should have, all by yourself??? Like, when you're an AKA, you'll be this, that and the other?

See, Sorors, It's these chitty attitudes of these ME.COMs that get Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Ladies not wanting to start THINKING MIP!!!! Why can't there be ivies!!! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

I agree that one must work for what they want, and if it's God's will you will get it. For those of us, who are interested once you have graduated from college, it's harder to get information. My family as in previous posts, is not giving up the info either, and I agree that they shouldn't. I have taken all information that I've gotten, even if it's rough, in a respectful manner, because many of you had to go through the same thing. And I especially do not ask anyone, especially a complete stranger, anything. I would welcome any other direction that anyone could offer as well.

I totally agree! I usually don't respond to threads that aren't "light-hearted", but I felt compelled to respond to this one. I feel like the majority of the Sisterfriends that have responded feel: The Ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc. DO NOT have to tell us ANYTHING! If they choose to give us any advice it is because they are being graciuos and generous--NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE OBLIGATED TO! I don't think many people understand this. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif Half of the time, you don't even have to ask a question--all you have to do is SEARCH and you will find the anwsers to most of your questions. I took the time to observe this board, as well as some of the other Greekchat boards, before I made my first post. And most of the posts I do make have nothing to do with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.--I just respond to threads that are thought-provoking, interesting or fun. If anything I say is misconstrued then I am more than willing to explain myself or apologize, if necessary. Also, if I am ever out of line, I want to be corrected. Ladies, if you do make a mistake, then SIMPLY OFFRER YOUR DEEPEST AND SINCEREST APOLOGIES AND MOVE ON! It takes A REAL WOMAN to admit when she's wrong, and it takes an EVEN BIGGER WOMAN to apologize (and mean it) for it. We are all grown women that know how to conduct ourselves as ladies should. Sometimes you may not necessarily like the "tone" that a Memberfriend or Sisterfriend uses when addressing you, but sometimes "tough love" is necessary and I'm sure that they are only telling you this because they are trying to help you! These are women (the members) that have been through what you may or may not be given the chance to go through--THEY HAVE BEEN WHERE YOU ARE NOW, AND THEY HAVE WHAT YOU DESIRE, so RESPECT THAT (think of it as if it were your boss or your grandmother--people you would never dare disrespect!). What would you do if the same situation occured with a member on your campus? I AM SURE you would not DARE get a "stank attitude" with them. I just do not understand how someone could get an attitude or disrespct a member of the organization that they desire to become a member of! That just makes me so angry! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/mad.gif If you did not get the kind of answer you thought you would get to a question you asked, then MAYBE YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO KNOW! These ladies are kind enough to try and help you, but that does not mean that they are going to do the work for you! Just because the invention of the internet has allowed us to have things such as this useful forum does not mean that the work is going to be done for you. While you may be told some advice, TAKE THAT ADVICE OR INFORMATION THAT IS GIVEN AND GET UP OFF YOUR BEHIND AND DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH! What would you do if there was no such thing as the internet--if there was no "Greekchat"? Think about it. These are not just things that apply to your quest for membership into this prestigious sorority, but TO LIFE IN GENERAL. How will you SUCCEED in life if you cannot or refuse to do things for yourself? You won't achieve most things in life without working hard for them. And the things that you work hard for are the things that you cherish the most--that is the way you should feel about this esteemed sorority. Take the advice that is given by the members--keep up your grades, do some community service (not just so you can gain membership but because you want to "give back" to your community and have a positive affect on others), learn the meaning of HUMILITY AND DISCREETION and practice both of them, and work hard for what you desire, and IF IT IS IN GOD'S WILL and you are BLESSED ENOUGH TO BE CHOSEN for membership, then it will happen for you.

Lastly, I want to sincerely THANK ALL of the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the moderators of this forum esp., that extend a helping hand to Sisterfriends like myself. You help is TRULY APPRECIATED by serious Sisterfriends. Also, to those Sisterfriends that put themselves "out there" to help another Sisterfriend--thank you also. [b]NO ONE IS OBLIGATED TO HELP ANYONE[b/] so any help that anyoe gives is from the kindness of their heart, and that is really a beautiful thing.

Sorry for the long post but I just had to get all this out.

-The Usually Silent Observer

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"If there is no struggle, there is no progress"--Frederick Douglass

[This message has been edited by Sugar_N_Spice (edited June 17, 2001).]

I have been thinking about this topic a lot since it was first posted... The verbalization of the question led me to pay even closer attention to my actions as a SisterFriend, and to my general approach to obtaining "information" on/about Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated...

Question(s)...
Do any of my fellow SFs out there actually take time to ENJOY what they've learned? To enjoy the search?
I find the whole research process to be a humbling and intriguing experience. What I mean is that I WANT to find out by myself, I don't want to ask about factual information. Anything you can find out by doing research should be found out on your own... It's fun... really. I enjoy sitting reading, wondering, and searching for more answers. There shouldn't be tooooo many questions us SFs should have for Members outside of "what's-your-personal-opinion?" questions & the occasional Advice-on-situations type questions.
And even then, if we use our common sense first off, we may not have a question after all... I love getting tenured-first-hand opinions/advice from Members, but I sho' hate it if I am going to deny myself the privilege and sense of accomplishment I get from getting to know Alpha Kappa Alpha via my own research.
I want help (as anyone who read my first post will readily understand http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif)… But I guess I don’t want the type of help I see a lot of my fellow SFs looking for… Instant Messages filled with cryptic codes, secret handshakes, and a Web-Certified Money-Back-If-You-Are-Not-Satisfied Membership Guarantee to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
Ladies, there are soooooo many interesting facts out there. Let's challenge ourselves. You would be surprised about how much information there is on http://www.aka1908.com. Read and re-read those items, articles, excerpts from books, websites, etc. you've added to you research journal... If you ask yourself a few questions you can find out things you never knew you didn't know, or didn't know you could find out. (Was that ambiguous enough for everyone?) I was chatting with one of my guhlz on the phone t’day and she was kind of surprised that anyone would be “all specific” about getting to know the history of the surrounding chapters, in addition to the one at her school. Alpha Kappa Alpha Incorporated is composed of hundreds of chapters folks… Each one has it’s own history, many chapters have an above-average significance in the Sorority’s early developmental history…. Think about it. Are you utilizing all of your information to it’s fullest capacity? We have access, as SFs, to information regarding many, many, many items that more tenured Members of The Sorority did not have access to when they were SisterFriends. We have the Internet… but many of us use it, a lot of the time, to gripe, beg, and berate… arrrgh!
Then I have those SisterFriends who say to me “ ‘Vella, girl, you are just too serious, you don’t need to know all that… If I can’t ask, or a Member can’t tell me then I don’t need to know.” Now I am not saying that you should get caught up in finding out some information that is Administered on a NEED-TO-KNOW basis… but since we have soooo much time to IM, post, e-mail, whine, complain, and say “You are not meeting MY needs as a SisterFriend!!! Stop being mean to me, ***whiiiiine***” Then we can go and read some of this info we seek so urgently, and really want to know. I mean dang, if you don’t enjoy what you’re reading, and getting to know Her, and absolutely thirsting for knowledge about Ms. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated… then dangit… well, I don’t know what to say.
The History of Alpha Kappa Alpha is soooo complex, and those things that are readily tangible to us SisterFriends, at our current station, should be examined and re-examined with vigor... There is sooo much to know. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif
I want to know everything I can find… So that if the time comes when I am able to serve Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated as Member, I will have a firm grasp on Her Essence… I know that I couldn’t, if the honor we granted me, feel comfortable as a Member if I hadn’t first exerted my every personal effort to understand and relish in the gravity of every realm Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated that I could lay my eyes/hands/ears to. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif

Can anyone tell that I am excited? http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

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"No matter how worthy, admirable or fiercely desired the goal may be, it takes commitment and action to make it a reality."

I'm the type of soror, who will gladly offer my advice & support to SF's...but, this one chick, who was "interested" had a mutual friend call me on her behalf. My friend explained that this girl was "very interested" in joining my organization. However, she DID NOT want to join on the Graduate Chapter level http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/mad.gif...in the meantime, she's a senior in college??? I'm like, what has she been doing ALL of this time??? http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/confused.gif Not to mention, she said that the girl had approached a soror who was VERY nasty to her...I'm thinking like, well, yeah..you wait until the LAST minute to express interest...what do you expect??? Needless to say, the chick has NEVER called me to speak with me directly...Triflin'!!! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif

I am extremely grateful for all the information I have received via the internet... But I have read post that were down right mean.. I think it is how some people say what they have to say and not what they say... I can take constructive criticism very well but I can not deal with disrespect from anyone..... I think everyone should respect others. Sisterfriends should do their research before asking questions... Most of the info they ask for can be found through searching the web site.......

God bless http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Why not http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/confused.gif It is not like that now....I would certainly tell my mom.

Sf's need to take the time as Sf's to enjoy the pursuit of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Part of the "magic" for those who are suuccesful in achieving sisterhood in our sorority is the road there. Looking back as a sf it was fun uncovering new ideas, protocol and just observing and imagining what it would be like to be a member. If you get all the answers now handed to you, you miss out on one the more exciting times on your path. I mean I'm not gonna lie I remember being home alone all by myself and sometimes I would pass a mirror and throw the pinky up just to see. Those days were fun, enjoy facing the challenge it takes to become an Alpha Kappa Alpha woman.

[This message has been edited by Wonderful1908 (edited June 17, 2001).]