To the Girls in Blue and Blue [and Purple (EMAW)],
As I spend a rare day off during this beautiful summer weather, I lay by the pool and reminisce about the past six months of my college and sorority life. I think it is safe to say that 2015 has been a strange and difficult year for our chapter thus far.
We have experienced situations no sorority ever predicts and we have faced these things head on. This year had a rough start with the unexpected loss of a sister. This kind of loss can never be described until it happens to your own chapter. Our sweet soul of a sister can never ever be replaced and will forever remain our sister through and through.
The shock and pain that came with that message left us all speechless. I think we can all agree that we didn't actually believe it at first. How do you begin to wrap your mind around such a thing? Although our minds were [are] still confused, we gathered together and, instead of spending all our time as a chapter mourning and looking back with sadness, we joined together in celebration of a life that was beautifully spent influencing the lives of others, including our own—for some of us, more than we ever realized.
That is what I love about us. We can find beauty and goodness in every situation. Experiencing that loss revealed a lot about our chapter's strength, values, and sisterhood. We will forever miss our sister, and we will shed a tear every now and then, but more than anything we will look back with smiles and lots of laughter—and I mean a lot of laughter—for the memories and sweet moments, never to be forgotten.
This year brought more struggles as we sacrificed living in our beautiful home. Although we were all ecstatic about the newly renovated home we will have this fall, we were all a little bummed out about living in eight-girl apartments at Jardine, having our chapter meetings in the Derb; no more of Liz's cooking, no more houseboys, and no more casually seeing Mom Jules everyday. But I don't have enough time to describe all the extra memories that were made because of this situation.
I became so close with my roommates in that eight-girl Jardine apartment. I don't think I ever would have made friends like them if it hadn't been for random Derb lunch trips simply because we wanted french fries and 2 bowls of cereal, going to JP's Grill after chapter (and a full dinner) to sit at the bar and use our three Free Chips and Queso coupons, ordering water, and trying to convince Courtney to give her number to the cute waiter (she didn't do it). The long nights watching "The Bachelor", painting coolers in that tiny living room, and yelling at each other to clean up after ourselves left me with some of the best college and sorority memories so far. And it wouldn't have happened without those dang house renovations.
Although our house was perfect the way it was, now we will have that beautiful home along with some renovated perks to show off thanks to the sacrifices we made together and our exceptional house board. I don't think we have thanked them enough.
The new house renovations bring the possibilities of a new start. We have always been an exceptional chapter, but I hope you all realize the amount we've grown this year. Let's face it, every sorority girl is guilty of complaining from time to time about certain aspects of their chapter, whether that be about their house, their sisters, or just one of their bylaws. It is easy to lose sight of our missions and values and become very exclusive. We are a unique chapter, as we are all very different from each other. I always tell people that they can find literally every type of person and personality type in my sorority. This is great for us, because we really have an amazing opportunity to learn from one another.
Many times, we unconsciously overlook the fact that every member has a different past, a different outlook on life, and a different way of thinking. But even with all those differences, we are all here in the same state, at the same school, in the same sorority—together. We all have something in common and something to offer, and we all chose to be apart of this sisterhood. We are an amazing chapter. The values, morals, and possibilities displayed to me by our chapter during my recruitment week gave me that without-a-doubt feeling that something special was going on in that house, and I know most of you can relate. We have always been exceptional, but it is important to realize how far we've come and how far we have the opportunity to go. We are always learning and always bettering ourselves. Everything is in our favor to grow, strengthen each other, and build upon the sisterhood we already have.
My sweet sisters, we are unique. We are smart. We are beautiful. We are gracious. We are generous. And we are strong. As we go into another recruitment season and another semester together, I cannot wait to see the brand new group of smiling faces that will join our sisterhood in August. Let us show them the beauty it is to be apart of this organization. Let us teach them what we do and what we strive for. I hope you all look back on everything that has shaped our chapter into what it is today and how those very situations have made us, as individuals, who we are today. Even all those Wednesday nights spent walking around with our food trays at the Derb, in our dresses and heels, and being stared at by EVERYONE—because who even wears heels to the Derb?—have helped shape us. Who would have thought?
L&L,
Baylee
P.S. - It's a Jardy!
