To XYZ I'll be forever true?
 

I had an interesting conversation with an old acquaintance today. She and I went to college together, but I don't see her very often anymore. I was going on about buying a new lettered sweatshirt (as I recently realized that mine is just this side of disreputable), and she was giving me an odd look. It occurred to me that I might have been confused, and she might not have been greek.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, embarrassed. "I thought you were in a sorority."

"I was," she replied, still giving me that same odd look. "I pledged XYZ when you pledged Sigma Kappa."

"That's right, I forgot!" (I did. I thought she was in a totally different sorority.) "Hey, are you going back for recruitment next year? I'm going to try. Maybe we could go together."

At this point, she was looking at me like I'd lost my mind.

"I was in XYZ, for a few years," she said finally. "I mean, I left after a little while, y'know..."

Turns out she disaffiliated from her chapter before the end of sophomore year. Not because she was unhappy with the sisters or anything; just because she'd done it, and now she was finished. She was truly shocked that I hadn't disaffiliated before graduation, and the fact that I am so involved as an alum was foreign to her. According to her, the vast majority of the XYZ seniors that did become alum then disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again, and I would have been regarded as a real oddity in her chapter. Maybe I'm a crazed alumna, but that kind of attitude is just foreign to me. I pledged to be a faithful sister of Sigma Kappa forever, not until I got tired of it.

Thoughts? Of course, I know you ladies bleed lavender and maroon like I do :p, but do you run into this often?

I've run across a few people that say things like "I used to be an ABC in college" but don't seem to get it when I tell them I'm still involved.

During my credential program, it was a strange twist of fate that one day, I was wearing my letters, another partner was wearing her AChiO letters, and the third was wearing her letters from her local sorority at La Verne. My poor thesis partner felt like an outsider b/c she never joined a sorority so she felt left out.

There is a general attitude that sorority involvement is for college members only. Even though seniors are often less active, it's not the norm for seniors to actually turn in their pin.

I think it might depend on the chapter/school. :shrugs: I dunno.

The boston alum (of SK) hang out all the time :shrugs: Though people do look at me funny when I wear my letter sweatshirts ... and ever more so when wear my badge on the rare occasion I look nice.

I just don't get it. I know it's common for people to move on from sorority life after college, but the love and sisterhood I received from my Sigma Kappa sisters in college was one of the main reasons I managed to get through undergrad and into medical school. I owe a huge part of who I am today to Sigma Kappa, and I truly feel like I share a bond with each and every one of my sisters. I can't imagine not wanting to sustain that bond for the rest of my life.

I love you ladies! 1 <3 1 -> forever!

Not everyone got that kind of love and/or support during their collegiate time as a sorority member. :shrugs: Others used their membership as a resume builder.

Where are they? I want to give them all huggles and take them to a sisterhood retreat! :p

:waves: right here ... but as I posted in "In need of some inspiration" I focused on other parts of being a member :shrugs:


And I don't know if it counts; you want to hug everyone and take them to a retreat haha :D

I remember asking a PNM why she decided to go through recruitment, and the first thing she said was, "It's a great thing to have on a resume!" No.

Yea ... some members of my chapter clearly felt that way, or at least thats what it looks like when you hold one of the top 3 positions as a junior/senior then stay for your last semester without telling anyone you didn't bother to do your report.