As I am prepping to go back to my university, I have been thinking about my household sisters...a lot. Household may sound foreign to anyone who is not from Franciscan University, or Frannie-land as some of us affectionately call it. For those who may not know, households are the same thing technically as sororities but minus all of the secular aspects.
As a part of a smaller family, with only a brother to be with, coming into a household full of around thirty girls is more than daunting. For a while, back in high school I got tired of constantly being around girls; it was too much drama, and maybe it was because I had a brother but I always got on better with boys; until I found my household sisters, it was then that I was reminded of the beauty of having sisters could hold.
For starters you have about 20 automatic new clothing items that you can somehow obtain, whether it be that they're giving the clothes away and leave them in the common room, or if you really want to borrow a dress all you have to do is ask a sister and chances are that vintage dress will make its way to your closet for a wear. But that is of the least importance when it comes to sisterhood.
You can trust your sisters. Considering that vulnerability is quite possibly one of the hardest "virtues" to obtain, your sisters will listen to you and through personal experiences and prayer will help you through any hardship you are going through. They will listen to your joys, and pains, and they will want to experience life with you. ESPECIALLY your big. Your big is like your direct older sister that you are the closest to, one that you have a unique relationship with. She will look out for you in a way only a big sister could, and your love for her will grow stronger than you can ever imagine. You can have deeper conversations in confidence she won't go and tell someone else, a quality that is difficult to find in this day and age.
Additionally, somehow households manage to corral a group of girls who couldn't be more different and unite them through a devotion to a particular saint or the Blessed Mother. It's beautiful to see unlikely friendships grow. Regardless to whatever household one chooses to be in, your sisters become your family away from home and according to each household's covenant, will help you grow into a stronger person in Christ and in the world via certain pillars to uphold such as redemptive suffering and authentic femininity.
It is indescribable to gauge how much household will change an someone's life but I know personally, that I have become more positive and confident emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
