NPHC BGLOers: Why Did you Join?

[iotamason]

To build a tradition and not rest upon one.
also for networking.

[lovelyivy84]

My family is West Indian, so growing up I knew no black Greeks whatsoever. I think my first exposure even to the IDEA of black greek life was the movie School Daze, and the stereotypes of sororities in that movie. I saw that movie when I was 8 and I carried those images around with me for a good long time, thinking members of x org were all like this and y org were all like that.

Then I had my first real job, and it was something of a nightmare. I hated working in that law firm, and throughout my whole experience there was one friend I had who was kind to me, and in large part kept me going throughout. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, and completely changed my mind about what it meant to be a part of such a wonderful organization. The sisterliness that she showed to me when she was under no obligation touched me deeply, and throughout the years I have tried my best to model that behavior- always giving a hand up to people, regardless of what we share or don't share.

When I got to college, there were no active NPHC sororities. Both had gone dormant. My sophmore year there were rumblings that two would be coming back to our campus. I was still torn because of the stereotypes that I'd assumed for so long were the truth as a child, but I did my research, and was blown away when I realized all of the women that I considered to be my idols who were members of Alpha Kappa Alpha (not to leave out other organizations- I had a similar sense of pride in black women, and wonder at all that we do reading about the history of every sorority in the D9). Ultimately, it was a matter of personal experience. I didn't have any with members of Delta Sigma Theta, but I had a very special place in my heart for AKA.

And that was it for me.

The funny thing was that looking at my line, we broke every steroetpye on record. We range from dark to light, short to tall, slim to 'thick'. Some are very 'ladylike' and some are unconventional in many ways, but we all had incredible ambition, drive and I have rarely been in the company of a more intelligent and learned bunch of young women. I respect that immensely.

[Ilaria Ame]

Originally Posted by lovelyivy84

My family is West Indian, so growing up I knew no black Greeks whatsoever. I think my first exposure even to the IDEA of black greek life was the movie School Daze, and the stereotypes of sororities in that movie. I saw that movie when I was 8 and I carried those images around with me for a good long time, thinking members of x org were all like this and y org were all like that.

Then I had my first real job, and it was something of a nightmare. I hated working in that law firm, and throughout my whole experience there was one friend I had who was kind to me, and in large part kept me going throughout. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, and completely changed my mind about what it meant to be a part of such a wonderful organization. The sisterliness that she showed to me when she was under no obligation touched me deeply, and throughout the years I have tried my best to model that behavior- always giving a hand up to people, regardless of what we share or don't share.

When I got to college, there were no active NPHC sororities. Both had gone dormant. My sophmore year there were rumblings that two would be coming back to our campus. I was still torn because of the stereotypes that I'd assumed for so long were the truth as a child, but I did my research, and was blown away when I realized all of the women that I considered to be my idols who were members of Alpha Kappa Alpha (not to leave out other organizations- I had a similar sense of pride in black women, and wonder at all that we do reading about the history of every sorority in the D9). Ultimately, it was a matter of personal experience. I didn't have any with members of Delta Sigma Theta, but I had a very special place in my heart for AKA.

And that was it for me.

The funny thing was that looking at my line, we broke every steroetpye on record. We range from dark to light, short to tall, slim to 'thick'. Some are very 'ladylike' and some are unconventional in many ways, but we all had incredible ambition, drive and I have rarely been in the company of a more intelligent and learned bunch of young women. I respect that immensely.

that entire story was beautiful, but your last paragraph warmed my heart. i feel the same way about my own line sisters *tear*

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by iotamason

To build a tradition and not rest upon one.

hardyharharharrrrrr...and goonygoogoo......

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

...and goonygoogoo......

*LOL @ my immediately knowing where you got that term from*

[RedAngel]

Good Thread!

[IncontRHOllable]

Ok, I know that this thread is old, but I can't help but read it over and over...it just makes me smile

Hmmm, when I went to my HBCU, its funny but the only sororities that I had heard of were AKA and DST really because I had cousins on my dads side that were DST and cousins on my moms side that were AKA. I had never heard of Zeta or SGRho, so when I got to college, I was interested in learning more about both DST and AKA and even attended their informationals. But I still did not feel that spark so to speak. I met this (soror) in my class that was an SGRho but when I met her I did not know that she was. She was really nice and cool and it seemed to me that all her sorors were cool to, very down to earth, very public service minded, very classy. I was so intrigued that I could not stop thinking about SGRho or stop even talking about them. The rest is history....

I love my S-G-Rho, I love it I love it I love it!!

[Cloud5_DST]

I LOVE this topic!

My mother is a Delta, and I have two aunts that are AKAs. That was my exposure to Greek Life. However, I remember looking at my mother's pictures and whatnot at a very early age and asking "Mommy what is that? What does it mean?" And she said "It means a lot to me, and hopefully one day you will know."

By the time I got to high school, I had heard the small (and purely in jest) arguments my mom and my aunts would have; they would end in laughing and reminiscing, and, as an old soul, I ate up the stories about my family's experiences in college and with Greek Life. I had made up my mind that I wanted to be a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and nothing else. But other than sharing general experiences, my mother didn't try to influence me in any way. She wanted me to do the research that she had done (she became Greek before anyone else in my immediate family) and to make my own decision. I looked up to her so much that I couldn't picture being anything other than what she was. But I set off to do my research anyway.

Through my research and general observation, I became aware of all of the other orgs (although I didn't know about Sigma Gamma Rho or Iota Phi Theta until I was a freshman in college, lol, I was still oblivious). And I was so happy because through my research, I gained a deep respect for all of the orgs, but I also realized that my mother had made the best decision, for herself, and that I would be honored to be invited into the same sisterhood.

Ironically, most of my research was done on messageboards much like this one. I was subscribed to all of them, and I learned about all of the stereotypes as well as some of the issues that caused conflict within the Greek community. I learned how interests should act as well. All my mother ever told me was to be myself and not to tell them she is a Delta unless they asked, lol.

Sooo, that was a very long way of saying that my interest in Greek Life and specifically Delta Sigma Theta was accumulated over my lifetime, and finally achieved in the Spring of 2005. :-D

Looking back, I know my mother would have been temporarily (and maybe a little more than that, lol) devastated if I had chosen another organization, but if she knew I joined what was in my heart, she would have respected me nonetheless.

[L.O.C.K.]

too bad MB SP05 is WACK!!!

[mccoyred]

Originally Posted by iotamason

To build a tradition and not rest upon one.
also for networking.

Thanks for resurrecting this thread. I reread the whole thing and it just gives me a warm fuzzy inside.