When you think of a sorority, you usually imagine a college sorority. High school sororities are rare, and practically unheard of all together. Nonetheless, little ole Athens does have a couple of high school sororities. I had the honor and privilege of being a part of Sub Deb (ΣΔΧ) my four years of high school.

Pledging was an experience that's kind of hard to put into words. All of the rushees spent the entire month of June going to these different events each day that had a specific thing to do. We had a pool pledge day, pledge olympics, and even a Hell Night. We had to memorize every word to several 90's songs. (To this day I still know all the lyrics to "Ice Ice Baby" and "I Want It That Way.) We had to make up skits to perform for the members, and if they didn't like them we had to do several obscure yoga positions as punishment. All of this may sound stupid to you, but pledging for Sub Deb was honestly one of the most fun experiences of my high school career. After all of this was said and done, we got initiated as members. I was a little sad when this happened because being a pledge was so exciting, and I didn't think it could get any better than that. Boy was I wrong.

Going into my sophomore year I decided that I wanted to be an officer for the club. I ran for Song Leader, and surprisingly enough got it. My duties for this included being "the voice" of all the chants on rush night, getting in touch with sponsors about events, and attending pledge parties to make sure the pledges were staying on track. I personally feel that I did a good job in this office. After pledging ended, however, I started skipping stuff quite often. I didn't feel like going to all these events, and I even debated quitting for a while. I'm so glad I had several friends talk me out of quitting.

At the start of my junior year of Sub Deb, I decided to run for an office again. I honestly didn't think anyone would vote for me to get the office, because I had skipped out on stuff and didn't really care about the club as much. Thankfully, I got the office of Pledge Trainer. Pledge Trainers are the lowest ranked office, but are still incredibly important. They are the face of the pledges. They help all the pledges learn songs, make up skits, and make posters. Taking on the responsibility of pledge trainer really helped me become a more organized individual, and this especially started to show more in my schoolwork. Because of my hard work a dedication to get back and be a better member, I was selected Sub Deb's "Member of the Year." Receiving this award meant a lot to me because it helped show me that staying in Sub Deb was worth it.

Senior year of high school, one of my best friends, Merritt Malone, and I decided to run for the top two highest offices. I ran for Vice President. The Vice President is the second highest office of the entire club; it is right along side the President.The duties of the VP included helping the President, leading meetings/events when she couldn't be in attendance, and most importantly, planning our formal dance, leadout. Planning our leadout was a lot like planning a wedding. I had to find a venue, pick a date for the event, find a florist, find a DJ, and so much more. Being the VP was at times very stressful, but it was so worth it. Getting to plan leadout was great, but getting to plan it with my best friend right next to me was so special. We had both dreamed and planned of being President and Vice President our senior year, and we did it. Seeing leadout put together gave me such a sense of pride and accomplishment. I had never been so proud of myself, and I guess I did a decent job, because my fellow members selected me for "Officer of the Year."

I guess the point of this little autobiography is that no matter what, just keep going, and always try things even if they may be out of your comfort zone. Put yourself out there. Try new things. If I hadn't done Sub Deb, I would've never learned some incredibly important life skills such as organization, dedication, and how to work with others. If I hadn't done Sub Deb, I would've never had so many sisters that I still have today. Most importantly, if I hadn't done Sub Deb, I would've never learned that Vanilla Ice didn't stop when the girlies were waving just to say "hi", oh no, he just drove by. Thank you for the incredible memories, Sub Deb.