There are a few stages that people go through when their sorority Big graduates and leaves them behind to finish off college without the guidance of a Big. You have made so many memories with your person and now they are just going to leave you to figure out how to maneuver parties and classes alone! Just like there are five stages of loss and grief, there are 10 stages of having a graduating Big.
1. Denial
Plain and simple, you refuse to believe that she is actually leaving you.
2. Forgetting
You forget that they are graduating, thinking that it was actually just a terrible nightmare.
3. Stress eating
Once you have realized that it might not actually have been a nightmare, you start eating pizza trying to cope with your feelings.
4. Silent treatment
You stop talking to them because you are so mad, but then something drastic happens in your life so you have to talk to them again.
5. Attachment
You spend every waking moment with them because you are afraid that each day will be your last and the calendar on the wall is telling you that you only have six more days together.
6. Rejecting their grades
When you ask them if they are really graduating and they tell you yes because all of their professors passed them, you tell them that you fail them. Then grump at them for being so smart.
7. Spoiling
You cook for them. You clean for them. You go to happy hours with them and their friends because they want to. You do everything in your power to make them happy so that maybe they won’t leave.
8. Shopping
You have to start thinking about all the amazing things that they have done for you and find a way to put them all into a present for them. You have to find the perfect gift in the world.
9. Acceptance
You go to their graduation and sit with their family. You go to dinner after and you accept that they are moving on but will never forget you.
10. Crying
It doesn’t matter that you have accepted it and know they will never forget you, but still you cry so much you get a headache because you are dehydrated.
These are some of the hardest stages for some people. In one day, you lose your Big, mom, psychologist, shoulder to cry on and biggest fan. But you really don’t lose them; you just have to try a little harder. You still have your biggest fan cheering for you, it is just in a different stadium and they are cheering even louder than ever. So, to all the Bigs out there graduating and moving on to bigger and better things, don’t forget about the Little that you jumped out of a car onto the first day you met. And to the Littles out there with a Big who is graduating, they are never leaving you, they are still there for you, just over the phone. Because remember, when they promised to take you as a little, they promised to like you for always and love you forever.
