[WhiteDaisy128]

Here is what I wrote (yeah, I know it's long):

I would be glad to tell you about my sorority. I'm a member of an International Panhellenic sorority. Here is the memory that stands out the most to me...

In was Christmas Eve 2001, we found out my mom had breast cancer. It was in advanced stages, but they were going to do everything they could. She underwent an emergency mastectomy December 27th. The next year was spent in and out of chemo and radiation. She was declared a survivor in August of 2002. In September of 2002, they discovered that the cancer had spread to her liver.

Also in September of 2002, my university’s Greek System was expanding. A new sorority was coming to recruit members. It just happens that my mother was a member of this sorority. She was very excited about the opportunity to share the Greek experience with her only daughter. I went through recruitment and was a proud new member of the sorority.

On November 17, 2002 my mom proudly pinned me at my initiation. It was beautiful, tears filled the eyes of everyone there.

My mother’s cancer continued to worsen. We decided to take a trip to Ohio to visit my grandmother (my mom’s mom)…as we feared this might be the last chance to enjoy Christmas all together. Before we left for the Christmas break, I contacted some women from an Ohio chapter (which happens to be my mom’s chapter) of my sorority. While in Ohio, my mom and I had a beautiful reunion with some of the current collegians from her chapter. We even got to see her old chapter house with her pictures still hanging on the wall.

In February of 2003, my mom took a turn for the worse. The cancer was aggressively growing in her liver. She had to be hospitalized. My sorority sisters were so amazing during this time. One night, 30 of my sisters showed up at my dad’s house to clean it. They did everything, took out trash, dusted, swept, mopped, they even did laundry and cleaned the bathrooms. They knew that with my mom in the hospital, we were very busy and the house was not in it’s normal shape. My sisters were there for me.

Over spring break, March 10, 2003 at 9 PM at night, my mother passed away. Many of my sisters were traveling all over the country and the world…but when they heard of my mother’s passing, many took the first flight home to be with me. They came to my mom’s funeral; after all, she was their sister too.

We had another funeral service in Ohio, and again, collegians from my mom’s chapter stood by my side the entire time. Even though they were not my chapter sisters, the bonds of our sorority transcend time, space, and age.

Even now, I get sad (tears are streaming down my face as I type this)…and my sisters are there for me. They are my friends, my teachers, my councilors, my mentors, they are my sisters.

It’s terrible that sororities get the bad image that the media portrays. I’m disappointed that Cosmo (one of the most popular magazines among my sisters) is trying to uphold these negative stereotypes and discourage young college women from joining sororities.

Sororities and Fraternities give so many amazing opportunities to their members…why not look into these good things for a change?