The Hard Days

[thetygerlily]

I had some big swings up & down. Most do, I think. The reason for the swing varies I'm sure by chapter, campus, and person- but they're always there.

What helped me was taking a bit of a mental break from it. Still going, still experiencing, still partaking- but not being as involved or as dedicated. Studying abroad helped I know it sounds strange to step back a little, but it works for some people. Then when you decide to step back into it, you are 100% committed and enjoying every moment.

The opposite side is to throw yourself in even harder. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't really get to know some people in my pledge class until junior year- and they wound up being great sisters and great friends. They're some of the people I keep in touch with most now, 5 years later. I wish I had stepped out of my comfort zone and pushed harder to make it what I wanted.

And to be honest... GC helps a lot. For me at least! It is hard to be as involved as you want to be sometimes, especially when you aren't getting what you want. Connecting with your organization on a national level, learning more about the rest of the NPCs as well as NIC, NPHC, and all the other incredible orgs out there... it puts things into perspective, that you're a part of something great.

As an alumna, and I've had this conversation with many other alumnae from various orgs, something I don't understand is how we managed to make everything so dramatic! Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but so many things were really blown out of proportion when I look back on it. I wish we all hadn't blown so much of our energy on drama so we all could have enjoyed it more. I'm sure that goes for anyone in college, you just feel it more when you're surrounded by the same people for four years!

Good luck though... and take advantage of all outlets you have, including GC.

Originally Posted by 33girl

Also this is the time of year when everyone's kind of sick of each other and the seniors especially are being pains in the rump.

Isn't it funny that everyone is always ready for the seniors to go, regardless of how great they may be? The end of the year is that awkward change of power time, when the seniors don't really own anything but are still there with plenty of opinions. Although I may have missed them as individuals, I was always ready for the seniors to go... but I also know when I was a senior everyone else was ready for my class to graduate too


Okay ETA one more thing... my signature is especially poignant with your post. Just pretend it says AXO instead of Kappa... but it is so true.
And in the years after, with tears or with laughter, we'll always remember our dear Kappa days.

[littleowl33]

OP, I definitely feel you. Since February '07 (my Bid Day) I have been so super Kappa'd out and rah-rah about sorority life, and some days you just need a break. Like you, I have been really involved and held a lot of leadership roles, and I know how frustrating it can be when some girls don't pitch in and just reap the benefits. Right now we're in I-Week, which is the week leading up to Initiation, and a lot of girls are feeling it. It's a week of big events and it's often the same group of girls getting the last-minute things done, so resentment can build. But it's all forgotten after Initiation is over and we have a bunch of brand new sisters. It's the same with recruitment, as Jocelyn pointed out - a long week of stress and pulling things together and high emotions, but it ends with a lot of happiness.

Much like the other posters, I would advise that you take a step back and hang out with your non-greek friends. When you do, don't spend the whole time complaining about this or that sister not doing her part. I'm sure you wouldn't anyway, but for future readers - it doesn't look good for you or for your org, it's not sisterly and your non-Greek friends don't give a flying you-know-what. Just take time to relax and come back fresh.

Also, realize that it WILL get done without you (um, unless you're an officer directly responsible for an event, in which case you can't just abscond). But if you have the opportunity to step back and let someone else handle it for a little while, take it. Sometimes I think the super-involved girls do so much that the other sisters don't think they need to help, so they don't. They may not even realize the "do-ers" are getting burnt out.

Originally Posted by thetygerlily

Isn't it funny that everyone is always ready for the seniors to go, regardless of how great they may be? The end of the year is that awkward change of power time, when the seniors don't really own anything but are still there with plenty of opinions. Although I may have missed them as individuals, I was always ready for the seniors to go... but I also know when I was a senior everyone else was ready for my class to graduate too

It was so funny for me to read this because this is where I am now. When I was an underclassman I was always ready for them to leave - except when we couldn't figure out some part of ritual or remember the words to a song or figure out how to coordinate some detail of recruitment/whatever, and then we needed them! But the rest of the time we were sick of hearing from them because we thought we knew everything.

Now as a second-semester senior, I'm realizing how hard it is to let go! My senior sisters and I have been talking a lot about this. We've been running the chapter for so long that we really do know what to do, so it's hard to bite our tongues and not get involved when we see younger officers about to make a mistake. But they've made it clear they don't want to hear it, and I remember when I was in that place! When the seniors graduated it was a mix of Wow, this is a fresh start with us in the driver's seat! and Crap, now we just have to figure it out ourselves when we don't know what to do.