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Thanks so much for your kind comments! And now the conclusion:
It was with great excitement that Willa and I went over to the house that evening to accept our bids. No running in the streets! No frat boys holding cans of beer making their comments on our way over! Bid Acceptance was rather formal in dress, basically the same kinds of dresses we had worn to our pref parties. If I remember correctly, our pledge pins were pinned on us that night. And we were also given an owl lavalier which we were to wear with it. Also a name tag. We were instructed that we could wear our pledge pins only when wearing a skirt, but that we could wear our lavaliers any time. We were also given a long stemmed white carnation tied with the Chi Omega colors of Cardinal and Straw. Next came the Open House for Bid Acceptance.
All of us new pledges were lined up into a receiving line holding our carnations where we received congratulations for about two hours. All of the actives of all the sorority houses filed through and congratulated the members of each new pledge classes. And the members of all the fraternities dressed in suit and tie filed through to congratulate each of us. We were told to turn our cheek so it would land there for any kiss any of the males wanted to give us, including any boyfriends. Then of course non-Greek friends and some parents also came to give us their best wishes. Also some faculty members, probably one from each department on campus.
I was a bit apprehensive about Elizabeth coming through. She did and was as gracious and warm as always. I thanked her for all she had done for me, and that I greatly admired her sorority and that my decision had been a difficult one. We hugged each other and extended our best wishes to each other.
After everyone had left but before we had to go back to our respective dorms, several of the actives told me how pleasantly surprised they were to hear my name when it was called out (amidst screaming) as they had thought I would go Bianca. They knew that they had rushed me very hard and for a long time. I told them that Chi O was my favorite from the beginning and that in the end I had followed my heart. And THEN of course I heard about the mortification about our president's comments about my "pregnancy dress"! There was great anxiety on their side and mine about ensuing cuts. We could all laugh about it then but of course hadn't when it happened.
My pledge class was awesome with a larger number than usual because of the number of seniors who had graduated along with several who had graduated early. But quota was met. As I met them one by one, I discovered how delightful all my pledge sisters were. All four of the girls I had seen wearing their fraternity pins before the opening Open House for rush were now my sisters. I was in the wedding of one of them a couple of years later. My pledge sisters reflected the kind of diversity I had discovered among the actives during rush. Also, one of my pledge sisters was the other Sophomore chosen to participate in the formal welcome to the new Freshmen women of our school! She also had her long white dress ready! Little did either of us know that we would need that long white dress later on in the year!
Epilogue
We Chi Omegas continued to thrive, and many in my pledge class emerged as campus leaders. We again won the most outstanding sorority trophy and were tops in grades. I was elected student government secretary and the following year secretary of the XXX state association of student governments. Willa twisted my arm to accept the invitation to go through rush for Angel Flight where she was already a member, as were many other Chi Os. I did so reluctantly and actually was selected after several rounds. Willa also dragged me out of bed for the 7AM marching practices. Would she ever let up on me?!!! She also lived with me one summer at home when she got a summer job in the city where I lived. The Civil Rights Movement had come to the fore in our state and we Chi Omegas were split on the issue about 50/50 about my junior year. But we learned to disagree without being disagreeable about it and to not make it an issue with our sisterhood. My inspiring, incredible Pledge Trainer and one of her pledge sisters decided to both go into the Peace Corps after graduation. I had been seriously thinking about it for some time and decided to follow in their footsteps. I went through their rigorous selection process followed by an equally rigorous training and found my service there one of the most life-changing, challenging, and amazing experiences of my young life. I am still in touch with people in my country of service and will always have a deep bond with them. I went back to see them four years ago. But no, I was not able to end world hunger!
Willa married and went to live in London with her professor husband, where she had her two boys. But returned after they divorced. Some years later after we were both divorced from our first husbands, we decided to get our pledge class and the other actives when we were in college together for a reunion on the occasion of our alma mater's centennial celebration. A good 25 or 30 were able to attend a luncheon, and we had a blast! We all sat together at the football game wearing our badges along with the current chapter of actives. Several of us from out of town stayed with Willa in her home and had quite a slumber party! We were gratified to see that Chi Omega hadn't changed at all over the years and was still attracting the same quality of girls. We met a good many of the current crop of actives who were young and dewy and just adorable. There are now 12 NPC sororities on campus!
Willa never re-married despite having suitors. She returned to school and got her Masters in math and taught for many years back in the town of our alma mater before working in private industry. She did a beautiful job of rearing her two sons as a single mother. I did remarry, this time to an Ivy Leager. He came with three children, and we had one. We are still married; all the children are doing well and are happily married. None of them had the slightest interest in becoming a Greek. I did tons and tons of work in my community and raised lots of money for community organizations on a volunteer basis while also working full time, something I definitely carried over from my days as a Peace Corps volunteer. But I had also learned how to juggle a full schedule from my Chi Omega days. And most certainly leadership skills. I also became the recommendations chair for the southern part of my state. Much to my great surprise I was elected to first one Who's Who then subsequent others, something I had never expected. Before I had our son I returned to school for a Masters Degree and became a residential interior designer. That had never been in the cards for me as an undergraduate, but I loved working in design and helping to bring to fruition my clients' dreams for their homes. My husband and I are both now retired and remain active in our community here, which we both love. I still take out my Chi Omega Symphony to read from time to time.
Yes, sisterhood CAN be forever! This is Willa's and my story, but there are many others.
Chi Omega Yours Forever
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