One piece of Advice

[AOEforme]

If you had to give your GLO's New Members one (and only one) piece of advice, what would it be?

I think my advice would be to get connected. It's a lot easier to get through rough patches if you find a connection to the chapter, either in people or in the organization itself. And I've found that many more connections tend to follow!

I'm curious to hear what people think!

[KSUViolet06]

Do not panic if it is Week 1 of your NM program and you aren't feeling like instant BFFs with all of your new sisters.

Feeling at home takes time. For example: you and your best friend from home were likely not best friends the day you met. Same is true for a sorority. Building relationships takes time.

Also, building relationships takes EFFORT on your part. Yes, older members will make some effort to hang out with you, but it's a two-way street. It's hard to make friends if you just sit back and expect older members to make all of the effort. Hang out at the house, eat lunch/dinner there, etc. Small things like that go a long way in developing friendships with other girls.

[DrPhil]

Deference.

[agzg]

Always wear clean underwear.

[LaneSig]

Watch how you act. You may think it's just your actions, but the whole chapter can and will be judged by those actions.

[LatinaAlumna]

Keep your grades up.

[ThetaPrincess24]

Guard your reputation. If you dont want the reputation of being a fraternity whore (or other less than stellar title) dont do things or put yourself in situations that could damage your reputation. Greek life makes a large campus like a small town--people will hear about the things you do.

[Gusteau]

Originally Posted by agzg

Always wear clean underwear.

Hehe, I always tell Associate Members to wear clean underwear when they ask about Initiation.

I agree with LaneSig - you're now part of something much bigger than yourself. People know who you are and what organization you belong to, act accordingly.

[AGDee]

My sister-mother told me on bid night "You only get out of it what you put into it" and I think that holds true, to this day.

[mccoyred]

My advice for ANY new member of ANY organization would be to study and learn your documents. If one learns the information correctly early in their membership, they are less likely to make stuff up and pass on incorrect knowledge. While each person is an individual, there has to be some uniformity of understanding and purpose in order for a cohesive and functioning organization to exist.

[honeychile]

All very good points. I would add to be willing to do the hard work along with the fun times. Some of the best bonding happens over washing dishes, polishing silver, and other undesirable jobs.

[LoggerTheta]

I think my advice would be to run for an office. I know I felt so much more connected to my chapter once I held an office, and you get such a feeling of pride. The nice thing is too that there are offices of varying degrees of commitment, so you don't have to jump right into exec. I was archivist/historian, and editor of my chapter before I was the ritualist.

[SydneyK]

The Golden Rule, as you learned in elementary school, continues to apply:
Treat your sisters (brothers) the way you'd want them to treat you.

[jennyj87]

Originally Posted by agzg

Always wear clean underwear.

Don't forget your towel!

Anyone...?

[ree-Xi]

NPC:

Don't try to fit into a group/put on a show/suicide a particular group because you think they're the "best" at whatever (coolest, prettiest, smartest). Find a group that you already fit into.

If you do receive a bid to a group that you think embodies something that you WISH you were, rather than a group that is similar to who you really are, you'll either be dissatisfied or be playing catch-up (popularity, fashion/style, hobbies, spending habits, partying) for the rest of your time at school. (Note that there are people of ally types in every group).