Sisterhood.

For the majority of my life, this word meant nothing to me. I was a lone soldier. I played by the rules of the world that lacked the understanding of a sister. Do not get me wrong, four years old me would have died to have a little sister, but the word gave me a brother, something I wouldn't give up for anything ever. Our life as siblings has always been grand.

Yet, I still didn't understand the concept of a sister.

That was until the universe decided that I didn't just need one, that it was a necessity and I was not just going to get one, I was going to get three hundred. If you had asked me a year ago if I was going to join a sorority in college, I would have laughed in your face.

Boy, was I wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

When it comes to experience, I can say that growth was the most interwound aspect of the past year. I packed up my life in north Georgia and decided to make the bluegrass my new home. To date, that is the best decision I could have possibly made.

When I arrived in Lexington, I was convinced to go through with recruitment. My mom and a plethora of other sources urged me to take a leap of faith, besides, that is the whole point of college.

Take the risk you are terrified of taking.

So I did just that. I settled into my new dorm, in my new school, living three feet from my new roommate, a person I feel as though I knew in a different life.

I remember my first Gamma Chi meeting as though it happened yesterday. There we sat. All eleven of us, from each corner of the US, now staring at each other in the eyes. We introduced one another and quietly looked around at each other as if we were aliens.

It still shocks to me to this day that within an afternoon, I had met my soulmates, my neighbors, my girls and the people I was excited to have with me when I walk down the aisle someday.

Recruitment, if you are wondering, is not the easiest experience for all. It tests you and the relationship you have with yourself. It is a true testament to how you handle yourself, but it is the best form of growth.

I had told myself a vital piece of advice. Give it a chance. Give these women a chance for all of the work they have done. Maybe you can find your people.

When I yanked open my bid day card on September 4, 2019, and ran up the steps at 476 Rose Street to my sisters at Alpha Delta Pi, it was as if I had another place to dwell. Dwell in peace, with my people.

I had found them.

To date, I can say I have three hundred of the most generous, tenacious, selfless, and caring sisters one could possibly ask for. They support me when I am high, and pick me up when I am broken. They speak words of truth and wisdom, even when I think I don't need it. Hugs, tears, laughs, and prayers, all from a place I never expected to be.

Thank you Beta Psi, for your years of service and love that has allowed me to be the best version of myself, every time I walk through your doors.

Thank you, Haggin Hall, for giving my best friends, even if we don't share the same sisterhood. They are my rocks on a daily basis.

Thank you to UK Panhellenic for showing me a community that can be one, giving support to others and empowering women every day.

I truly love with my sisters, my chapter, and my school and I know, the best is yet to come.