“Sisterhood.” It’s a catchphrase you’ve heard often, mostly used by college girls everywhere when asked why they chose their particular sorority. The word litters your Instagram feed and Facebook wall. You’ve probably rolled your eyes at it, thinking, “They’re not really sisters.”
And you’re right. Biologically, I am not related to the other people who wear my letters. We do not share the same mom or dad. We don’t all go home to the same place over Christmas break. We haven’t lived together since we were born.
But those things aren’t the only things that can make someone my sister. We share clothes and help each other get ready for dates. We live together now and go on trips together and quiz each other before our big tests. Most importantly, we’re there for each other in the really, really hard moments of life.
This summer, one of my sisters went through an unimaginably terrible time as her mom got progressively sicker and spent weeks in the hospital. Even though she’s a new member of the sisterhood, everyone from the 5th year senior down to her own pledge class gathered around her and supported her during this time. When her mom passed away, the love and prayers only increased, and we were able to gift her with flowers and a bracelet with her mom’s name on it. At our first meeting after school, my sister got to stand in front of us and tell us all the details of the summer - and we were there to weep with her and hug her.
I got to personally experience why sisterhood really matters this past week. I hold the office of New Member Orientation chair and just as pledge week started, I contracted strep and mono. I couldn’t do anything that I had planned on doing and I even ended up in the hospital at one point. Through it all, my main focus was that I couldn’t do my job. I felt like I was letting everyone down, but my sisters never complained once. They stepped up and did everything for me - whether that meant going to the store, monitoring our pledges, or doing my laundry. They never stopped checking in on me, and where I had expected annoyance, I was met with grace and love.
So yes, sisterhood is a word that sorority girls throw around. And yes, I have a hell of a lot of “sisters” because of it. But if calling those girls my sisters means that I get to see them stand together and unconditionally love each other, then I’ll take it. Sisterhood really matters - and because of that, I’m proud of the cheesy Instagram captions.
