With recruitment starting tomorrow, I've spent the past week thinking about why I joined the sorority I did and what the principles that it stands for mean to me. Believe it or not, when you have to keep repeating your creed all day every day, the words start to really sink in. At the end of the week, I began to ask myself, "Am I really practicing what I preach?" Unfortunately, many times I feel like I don't even think about what I'm preaching. As a member of my sorority, I made a pledge to live out our creed daily, but how can I expect myself to do that if I don't even consider the words that I'm promising each day? When I really started to consider each line of the mission statement, I noticed that certain lines stuck out to me, which made me challenge myself to make it a point this semester to do a better job of living out the principles of my sorority daily.
To lend to those less fortunate a helping hand. This is the first line of the creed for a reason. At the center of everything that I do through my sorority should be selfless service for other people, yet so often I get caught up in the social aspects of Greek life and forget what is truly important. When the founders of my affiliation started the organization, they have swaps, date parties, or comfort colors t-shirts. They created the society to build character and instill high values in women so that their intellect and unique abilities wouldn't be wasted. I think many of us forget that the original purpose of each Greek organization should still be at the center of them all today as well. Although I've done more than my fair share of community service and philanthropy work, that doesn't mean that I challenge myself to go above and beyond to make sure that I am constantly doing more. Serving others shouldn't just be a requirement that we check off of our list each week, or month, or semester. Rather, it should be about investing in the people that we get to serve and giving back to the communities that encourage and enrich us daily.
Being steadfast in every duty small or large. This line is very convicting for me because many times I overlook the importance of being persistent in the small things that I do in my chapter. It's the little things that make a chapter run smoothly and get things done efficiently, and recently I've learned that not everyone is meant to be in a position of high leadership. Regardless of what size role we play in our chapters, our persistence in accomplishing the goals we set is essential for our success. Helping set up for an upcoming philanthropy event, tutoring a girl who's struggling in school, or simply encouraging a sister who's having a bad day are all jobs that may not seem very large, but are just as important for a sorority's success. No matter what duties I have this year, I am challenging myself to give 100% effort toward completing them.
To reverence God as our maker, striving to serve him in all things. I feel that this line is the most important one for me to challenge myself to live out because it says the words in all things. I am very confident in my relationship with God, but it is so easy to lose sight of what it means to truly serve him in EVERYTHING. Striving to serve him in "all things" means trying our best to glorify God when we are sitting in a two hour long formal chapter meeting. It means trying our best to glorify God when we are running through recruitment procedures all day everyday for an entire week. Lastly, it means trying our best to glorify God when we are sweeping up glitter for multiple hours because we got stuck on attic committee. A selfless attitude and willingness to serve is something that everyone should challenge themselves to achieve each day, but it doesn't always come easy for most people, including myself.
I'm willing to bet that your mission statement has some lines that are quite similar to these. No matter what your Greek affiliation is, we are all called to live by the high standards of our creed. I challenge you to take a look at the promises you make in your chapter and ask yourself, "Am i really living this out everyday?"
