a perfect world part II

Last prompt of the quarter and I messed it up, sweet. I didn't realize hitting enter would submit it :-/ mah bad.

A perfect world I was always taught didn't exist. But I would come back and say that a perfect world starts with a brand new union ;-) Seriously though, it is almost time for class and so I am in a little bit of a time crunch..

A perfect world will  never exist. If we beat ourselves up trying to figure it out, we will never move forward. So instead - an improved world starts with a brand new union. A large goal I have is to really utilize the new union to our benefit. Students and freshman next year will be going in an out of the union all the time. If we are there hosting events or just doing "things" our name will be out there. If Julie Knox is hosting service events in the great hall - people will see it!

In an improved world the Greeks would play a role of what we ACTUALLY stand for. We stand for service, diversity and ritual. We do not stand for having to be acknowledged (cough Greek Awards cough), hazing, or poor brotherhood. In an improved world the Greeks would live their Rituals everyday. We would become the people we are supposed to strive to be like. 

Maybe in an improved world our rituals wouldn't be kept private. Maybe we would want the world to see the values we are supposed to up hold every single day... 

a perfect world...

Greeks v. Lindsay Lohan

MILKAA - WAHHH?

So I waited a little to write this blog about our dilemma in the fraternal movement. Which turned out to be somewhat of a good thing because I saw this link this morning and it made me think of us...

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/lindsay-lohan-suing-e-trade-for-milkaholic-parody/37130?nc

Watch the commercial, under the (watch the video here) link on the site, its really funny! But at the same time, don't be offended that this reminds me of us and our struggles! 

Time and time again Lindsay Lohan has what we like to call "f-ed up". Throughout her life, my life, our lives, we have watched her struggle. We have seen her make poor decisions that have really skewed America's view of her. Now, I am a huge Britney Spears fan - think what you will but you can't change it. Lindsay to me is on a different playing field. At least Britney tries to make things right (sometimes). 

When this e-trade commercial came out, I thought it was really funny. Apparently Lindsay didn't because she is currently filing a law suit against them.

The Greek people all over the nation are always making poor decisions and "f-ing up". Whenever something negative happens it is all over the news and never escapes us. Whether its hazing, drinking, deaths, or just partying, the people of this nation see us this way. The difference between us and Lindsay is we do things to better ourselves. The purpose of our organization is to make us better people and make this world a better place. Even if Lindsay donated millions of dollars to New Orleans, she would still be looked at the same way by the people in this country. She would still be perceived as star who couldn't figure out her life. Even if we raised millions of dollars to send to Haiti relief, we are still looked at as college students who haze to death or destruction and pay for our friends. 

The disturbing part is - we know WHY this is. We know why we are looked at this way even though I can honestly say that I know a ton of Greeks on this campus that dedicate more of their time to service than to partying and socializing. So what is holding us back from changing? Not necessarily you and I changing, but the way people see us changing. Its the actions we have already taken. What if Lindsay tried to redeem herself? How long would it take? The commercial portrayed babies believing that Lindsay was an holic of some kind... drugs, alcohol, milk, whatever. 

Even if all of the students at Ohio State were for this change. If all the Greeks here did everything within our power to help change the way people view us, how long would it take for other schools to catch on? We have an opportunity here! Opportunity for change, something that people wait their whole lives for. We have the raw materials to make it happen. We have the drive, the education, the experience. Now what we have to do is put it together and make it work. Make it become that thing we are striving for it to become. I said a lot of "it" in the previous two sentences. What is "it"? Is "it" us, is it the perception others have of us, it is changing to truly and individually live our rituals everyday, what is it? You tell me.. 

Our final project in essence is to make something perfect, something that we all will hold in the highest regard. We can make those changes here with help from the rest of our community. We don't want to be like Lindsay Lohan and fail to represent ourselves in the highest regard. We want to be the Greeks of the nation and allow everyone to see us in a positive light. 

Recruitment Anonymous

If someone would be kind of enough to find me a Recruitment Anonymous meeting that would be fantastic...

I had to do an assignment on my moods for my psych 331 class. The high numbers were when I was feeling "happy" and the lower the numbers went the "sadder" I was getting. This is a little blurb:

...My other high numbers were due to my position in my sorority chapter and on the PanHellenic Council (the association that encompasses 16 sororities on campus and hundreds more nationally). I am the outgoing Vice President of Recruitment for my sorority and I am currently the VP of Recruitment and Retention for PanHell. There are many positions under the VP of Recruitment that make up the recruitment team. One of my first tasks is to interview women and fill those spots. While I was interviewing the women from all different sororities on campus I was really enjoying myself. I love to meet new people and I especially love recruitment. I feel as if this position is an unpaid full time job but I enjoy it so much that I would never give it up.... It is important to take pleasure in life and so the activities I enjoy are the things I like to take part in. I love to exercise and be healthy and I absolutely love to be a part of Greek Life. These are things I do everyday that make me happy, they don’t allow my mood level to drop too low to a point where I don’t want to be...

A few days later Julie asked us to write up a little something about what we learned at AFLV and this is how I responded: 

What was learned at AFLV

• I learned the most from the people I went with. The four councils being together and forming strong friendships in a short period of time gave me hope. It made me believe that what happened to us at that conference could happen to our community. If our exec boards can do it, why can’t everybody else? A cohesive bond is something our community needs.
• I learned that there a lot of things Ohio State can improve upon. We have the numbers and the potential to make our Greek Life as strong as it is at other Big Ten schools. It was pretty obvious that Erin attended the same conference a year before. She really took a lot away from the conference and put it all into action here. Some examples of this are: having the same “catchy” logo for a year, true quota system, etc. What I took away was a little different. Erin made really great steps toward a better recruitment but what I took away was strengthening us before recruiting the members we want. We need to make our community stronger to attract the men and women our way.
• I also learned a great deal from a speaker I went to. It was a lecture about leading with ethics. I actually have been emailing with him (not creepy I swear) and he signed his latest email to me, “With the best of success, remember we do not need luck.” And he is right, we absolutely don’t. Some things are left to chance but for the most part, we are responsible for making the outcome we want. Our boards are responsible for the changes PHA and the entire community will make within these 52 weeks and even after.

As we can see, I cannot stop thinking about recruitment, PHA, our exec boards, and just plain Greek Life. 

SAVE ME!! but I made really cool buttons today at the source for PHA. You guys should make them too!

I can transform ya...

No I am not strolling to Chris Brown as I write this! I'm saving that for Friday...

I briefly touched upon this in a response to Jackie's post the other day but I would like to reiterate. Not to be blunt but sorority recruitment has the tendency to be fake. Recruitment round tables have the tendency to be boring and women tend to only look out for their own chapter. One of my goals is to improve these issues and lay down the ground work for friendships between the chapters. At the most recent table I asked the women to tell me what they expected from me. I also asked them to come up with ideas to make our time together more enjoyable. I told them about how PHA is re-working our meetings to bring out the meaning behind what our community does and told them how their options were never ending. They all smiled and looked at me kind of funny. Then I stood there with my arms wide open and said, "Anyone?"... No answer. I clearly took them by surprise so I took another approach. I explained to them they are the leaders of their chapter. As the leaders of a chapter it is essential to exemplify leadership qualities and prove that our "Greek system" (sorry Tyler) is a community, not just a bunch of different chapters. The breaking down of barriers starts here, with the Recruitment Chairs. With the women who are responsible for recruiting quality women into their chapters, into our community. 

Personally, what can my chapter change? My chapter can start out by initiating conversations, friendships, and events with men and women of other chapters, and not just social and drinking events might I add. We have many strengths as a chapter, its not all bad things of course. In 3 winter pledge classes Alpha Epsilon Phi went from 40 women to 100 women. I was a member of the first of the three classes and it has been remarkable watching this change. I think an advantage we have is that we still have that "small house feel". I know every single woman in my chapter by name, nick name, hometown, major and so on. But now that we are a large chapter we will have to work on the sisterhood that comes with it. 

Panhellenic - oh Panhellenic. I could not be happier to be in this position. It has given me opportunities that I would never have dreamt of having. We have great strength as an association. We just added two more chapters to our 14 and I think we are improving now more than ever. The Sorority Women Redefined campaign has been a phenomenal addition for us. It is so beneficial in breaking down the stereotypes that all the women of PHA are the exact same "cookie-cuter sorority girl". Our efforts to join all 4 councils is also improving - especially within these 52 weeks of us becoming friends and learning together. Anyone who is a part of PHA whether its delegates, officers, or the executive members, we are always trying to improve. I think as a council we need to improve the communication. But before that can be improved, we all need to be FRIENDS. I can't understand sometimes why this word is so frightening. Why can't a member of sorority ABC tell a member of XZY their secrets of recruitment? The purpose of recruitment is to allow new women into our community right? Oh wait no... to some people its chapter based only. I am going to respond, "not cool."

As a community we stand for great things. As we have said again and again, the Greek Community offers things that other organizations do not. First, we are lifetime brothers and sisters. Ten even twenty years from now, we will all still be considered members of our organizations. Organizations that stand for brother/sisterhood, diversity, rituals, service, philanthropy (there is a difference!), and so on. We are so fortunate to be a part of this. I am unaware of another type of organization that can all go out and raise money for AIDs awareness, then dress up in all the same clothing running down 15th to make it to the O before 2 am, and then all get to go home to the same house and at the end of the night still call each other a brother, or a sister. This is all well and good and WE know what WE stand for, but do others? Does an outsider's perspective match ours? No, most likely the two opinions are completely different. Our community needs to work on our reputation. But before we can change that, we need to work on ourselves. As a community we need to carry out what we promise to carry out. We need to be cohesive and bond with each other to make others feel our love. 

Jeff Pelletier said this the other day during one of our meetings and it really stuck with me so I would like to leave it with all of you. "Are our Rituals a secret because we are scared for others to find out what we are supposed to be living up to?"

AFLV

This e-mail was received at 5:45 am Tuesday morning:

Hey!

Just checking; erin told you to keep all of your documents right? and minutes? (for AFLV award:)
julie 

Yep, its true. I woke up Tuesday morning - a snow day might I add - to an e-mail from Julie about AFLV, because we are always prepared. 

AFLV was so much more than I expected. I read Julie and Amanda's blogs and they made me LOL, literally. I made strong connections with a lot of the people who attended the conference which was an important aspect of going. But what really meant the most to me was getting to know everyone from Ohio State on a much deeper level. The people I met there and the connections I made are all well and good. I'm sure they will come in handy one day and I will look back always remember where I met them. But the students I went to the conference with are the most important to me. Getting to know everybody from the bus ride, to the hotel rooms, to eating meals, was where the real fun was. Everyone can learn a lot from seminars and from people who are there to teach. Its the people who are there to learn that teach the most.

 

Maggie and Tyler - it was awesome and if I could do it all again, I would in a heartbeat. 

Everyone else - you guys are awesome and I wouldn't want to road trip with anybody else.

Although I am a vegetarian and haven't eaten meat in two years, I would LOVE to hit up McDonalds any day of the week with you guys. In fact I would even LOVE to watch everyone eat chicken for every meal for an entire weekend again, while of course Ashley and I eat soggy pasta. 

You guys are the best and I will say this once and probably never ever again - I am looking forward to a class that takes place on a Friday afternoon at 4:00pm. Don't tell anyone outside of the blog I admitted to liking a class that takes place on a Friday!

Be Ready To Stroll!!!

Strive to Live

I keep learning more and more about myself, my council, and my community as this class continues. I would like to start this blog with a short story from my sorority's elections last Monday evening. Before we began my president, Jodi asked us to raise our right hand. She then asked us to repeat everything she said. What we repeated was an oath that whatever was said in that room, stayed there. The way our elections work is whoever is elected for the President position or a Vice President position goes into another room while the other candidates are speaking. All of the candidates for one position will sit in another room together while the rest of the chapter speaks about who is the best woman for the position. I wouldn't say that "terrible" things are said about the women of our chapter, but things are said that one wouldn't necessarily want to hear about herself. 

The oath we took was to promise that nothing we said would get back to the candidates. The following Tuesday our New Member Educator called a woman to ask her if she wanted to take a little this quarter. This particular woman responded via text message, "Do not call me, I know what you said about me during elections when I was running for the Vice President of Operations. For the good of this sorority I will be civil with you, but do not call me." The New Member Educator ran into my room and read me this text, I was appalled. What does she even consider "for the good of this sorority" if she prefaced that statement by proving she broke an oath taken the night before?

What good is an oath if one doesn't live up to it? This individual also took an oath to the national sorority of Alpha Epsilon Phi, if she took this oath as lightly as the last, who am I to boost about the good my sorority has done? We pride ourselves on sisterhood, philanthropy, and ritual. It was proven to me that Tuesday night that not everyone will take the oath as seriously as others. How do we fix this problem? I think the answer lies in our class we take every Friday at 4:00 pm. How do we show people how important this oath is? How can we prove to others how important this oath is to us? How can we break down these stereotypes? Lastly, how can we change the world?

An oath to me is something I take very seriously. As said in class, we read everything in a contract before we sign it. This is on a similar level. As a new member you learn what it is to be in an organization such as the ones we are a part of. You have time to think hard about the situations that lead you to where you are and you have time to think about what will keep moving you forward. Breaking promises is not something that will keep one moving in a positive direction. 

This leads me into my values schpeel (Yiddish word that refers to the story or the scoop, you must excuse me). Something I truly value is trust and integrity. I uphold these by carrying out what I promise to do. If I make a promise or an oath, it sticks with me forever. Whether its to the sorority as a whole in the very beginning or just during elections that takes place every year. 

Some other things I strongly value are my friends and family. These people are the single most important things in my life, without them, I have no idea where I would be. A family to me are my brothers, parents, and dogs back home in New York. My family also consists of my sisters that I live or have lived with. My family also includes my three best friends from home that are studying abroad in Europe, with out me might I add. My friends are everyone around me (well I like to think everyone, but in reality probably not). The men and women that keep me going, that I trust and hope that they trust me in return. I value the relationship aspect I have with all of these people. 

One of the reasons I joined a sorority is because I have three boys at home, I have never had a sister even though I've wanted one for most of my life. If an immediate family that you were raised with is based upon values such as trust and love, so should a sorority filled with sisters. If a sister goes against the values WE hold or an oath WE took, then who is the WE?

As far as PHA goes, a women from Alpha Epsilon Phi may not realize she is a sister with a woman from Kappa Delta, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Xi Delta, or a Tri Delta but we are trying to change that as an executive board. We may not have the same secret Ritual but I believe it is safe to say that we have all similar rituals and standards. As a board we went over our values together. As a board we learned that the difference between our organization and all others is that we took a lifetime oath. Now as a board we are teaching our delegates, and hopefully the delegates teach their chapters. Paying it Forward?! 

We have the raw materials to show everyone how interconnected we are. Now all we have to do is use them to make us a stronger, more achieved organization. Tying it together with the last statement of our creed "strive to live". What does this mean? As a board we all had some sort of an idea, with help from Tyler of course but we were able to answer it. We then gave the question out to the delegates. They answered in such a way that it showed us that our raw materials were paying off, the product of this is going to be so worth it. Striving to live is something that everyone should think about - what does it mean to you?

Soooo... I couldn't add the video because I'm a little slow with computers, don't judge. I think everyone will really like this youtube. I am not going to lie I saw the commercial and thought of you guys, check it out :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kStT_VvLXg0

Happy midterm week!

Secret Thoughts?!

To be honest, when I first wanted to join a sorority I didn't realize the importance of rituals or anything "secretive" about Greek life. When I was a new member I started to understand some of the importance but I still didn't take it too seriously. When I became a member and learned the "secret" motto and heard our Ritual for the first time I was like man, this is cool. But again I still didn't really know why some of the older girls were so crazy about it. Now here I am, about 2 and a half years later and yes, I am one of those crazy older girls who loves (R)ritual. Yes big and little r. 

Another point to be honest about, I have never heard the big, little r dilemma before. Now that I have, I like it. I was taught what it meant to others, now it is time for me to make my own opinions about it and pass it on to women in my chapter and others around me. I think one of the most important people to pass it on to are the new members of my chapter. After class on Friday I ran upstairs to the New Member Educator's room and asked if I could talk to her. I asked if it was okay if I spoke to the new members about rituals. I felt kind of weird asking, as if I was stepping on her toes but I couldn't help it. I feel even she, the New Mem Ed, could benefit from hearing what I have to say. The things I would be saying and teaching to the new members are all the things I have been learning from my peers in this class. Its going to be difficult when the time comes because I honestly don't know how I am going to put everything into words (its a good thing I have some preparation time!)

All in all, my secret thoughts? My thoughts aren't so secret, well not anymore. The things I've learned from myself after speaking about this last week and the things I've learned from the students around me are going to be the things I pass on to the new members. The difference between Ritual and ritual, the importance of representing our individual letters, our councils, and our community as a whole. 

So.. umm.. thanks guys! I am now considered a crazy older girl in the chapter. Which I think is a good thing, it just means that I am passionate about something and am capable of rubbing off on other girls. To help the young girls learn faster and facilitate their guidance of respecting and living their and our Rituals. 

Our Greek Community

Class last Friday was very entertaining. It was a great experience for a number of reasons.

1. This assignment allowed us to go outside of the classroom, on  a figurative level, go outside of our friendship boundaries and create stronger bonds. It was a good time running around campus with the women on my panel trying to think of all the Greek friends we've ever had.

2. Unfortunately, the friends we have at Ohio State were mainly PHA and IFC. This bothered me a little bit. I've met tons of people from the other councils but I didn't have any of the their phone numbers or even emails to contact them. This made me realize that although maybe I think I have all of these friends, do I? I couldn't call one NPHC or MCGC member and honestly that embarrassed me. Now that this has come to my attention, it is my job to change it.

3. Some of the answers we received from individuals was very eye opening. When asked what three things their chapter spends most time on, some people asked, "Will I get in trouble for answering this?" We responded that no, it was for a simple survey. Perhaps they asked this because for one answer someone said, "Sex, drugs, and frateroll". I believe the term "frateroll" is a mix for frattying and adderoll, but what do I know? Hm, okay, sex drugs and frateroll, maybe we should be working on breaking our stereotype by answering more appropriately but at least they were being honest. On the other hand, the same men corrected their answer a little but later in the questioning. They responded with answers such as: brotherhood, social, philanthropy, and bettering their house (physically). These men also recited their Creed to us. From beginning to end and seriously  without taking a breathe. Crazy. We also found these men at the local pub, The O, enough said.

4. Lastly, some chapters really did know what they were talking about. We were very grateful for these answers yet not as well entertained. The answers included: sisterhood, philanthropy, service, honesty, integrity, community and so on. When we asked what Ritual meant to them they answered honestly (so we think). They responded that each chapter's individual Ritual is a set of written guidelines. Guidelines that remind people to live a better life, to carry out certain things that represent that chapter. This to me was a great answer. 

Ritual is something that is unique to every chapter (Well is it? Thats a blog for another day). Either way it is a binding book that allows each Greek individual to live to his or her fullest potential and to always live that way. For the people who aren't in this class and recognize that? Two thumbs up! Now we need to spread that to every other person in our community and outside of it. THIS is what sets us apart! Every other organization can have service opportunities and member development, but we, the Greeks of the world have something more. We have secrets, subjective word, that allow us to push each other and strive to do great things. 

Main point of today: we do rock just some people aren't aware of it... yet. 

FRATTING.

I hope that got everybody's attention! Its officially mid-week and for some including myself that means the middle of midterm week one. Now here is the controversial issue of the day. What is the term Fratting? Fratty? Why is it so popular? And who is responsible for keeping these terms around?

I googled imaged the words "fratty" and "fratting" and wasn't happy with the images that appeared. I then urbandictionary.com - ed the terms and was APPALLED by the definitions that were listed. What got me thinking about these terms and ideas was my transition meeting with Erin Ferlet. She told me how she believes that the Fraternities and Sororities who don't meet the requirements of the Standards or Excellence and/or who behave in ways that are harmful or lets just say, not beneficial to the Greek Community really undermine her and now my position. Putting that idea into retrospect, it perhaps undermines all of our positions. Julie posted the other day about how a young woman is nervous about her commitment to the Greek Community. The  young women is questioning whether or not the Greek system really prides itself on Philanthropy and Service and not partying every night with different chapters. Who are we to tell her what we really take in as important when she's the one walking around campus and witnessing men and women drinking on front lawns and loud music playing. 

I think it is safe to say that everybody who is in our class and may or may not be reading this blog understands. It is also safe to say that the men and women who attend retreats such as BGLI or the diversity retreat also understand what is going on. It is the people who don't realize the importance of our organizations. I truly think that we need more programs to represent the GOOD of Greek Life. 

Even in individual chapters, our Nationals look at the bad things we do and hardly compliment the good. Is that why some people who aren't Greek don't believe in our good side? They may be blinded by all of the dressing up on Thursday nights and the beer drinking games on Saturday to realize that yes, we do amazing things for this campus?

Last Saturday night I was spending some time at the O Patio&Pub on 15th. This is the conversation I overheard:

Woman 1: OMG he is so cute! That one in the Polo over there!

Woman 2: Ugh him? Too fratty, I always see him with different girls. 

Woman 1: Ugh okay... whatever. 

Then I stopped listening and almost punched someone (but I didn't). I'm sorry but was he coined the term "fratty" because we was wearing a Polo?! Because where I'm from, Polos are very fashionable and look good on most men. 

The point is, I want to know what you all of think of this. Why are we looked down upon in so many ways? More importantly, how can we change this?! How can we explain first to people in our organizations that what we do really is special? And then pass that message on to the rest of the Community at Ohio State?

How can WE extinct the poor cognition of the terms fratting and fratty?

P.S. Not all Fraternities and Sororities are like this, I love you all! I just wanted to raise the heat a little.

blogging, values, and leadership?

I would like to preface by saying that I don't save all my blogging for Fridays like it seems. I read everyone's all week and thoroughly enjoy them. I think of comments in my head and I tell all the girls in my house all the funny or intellectual things that you guys write about. So I do enjoy blogging! I'm just trying to get my blogging down to a science here. I vented to Julie and Tyler for a little, I can't really tell if they feel my pain or not. But now that Sorority Recruitment is over I can kind of, maybe say that I am back to being a normal person. That being said, AEPhi has formal a week from tomorrow so the whole house is upside down scurrying for dates. Anyone down? I'll let the girls know.

I am officially done venting and I apologize! Now that all of that is behind us, we can get down to business. My values are something that define me. Throughout a lot of my classes and leadership work shops I am asked to define my top values. I can honestly say that I am lucky. I am lucky that instructors ask me to do this. It allows me to explore myself and really enable me to dig down and figure out what is really important to me and me only (for now). 

This is an important concept for everyone, not just the men and women who hold leadership positions. Everyone is a leader in their own way. When women in my chapter look to the executive board and me for the answers because we are the "leaders", I often tell them to ask themselves and ask each other. Everyone leads how they want to lead. Just being a member in a Greek house and sharing a bond with people all over the country is leadership in itself. Instead of looking to other people, you can look for the answers within yourself.

I say this because most people don't think about their values unless they are asked about it. Before I was ever asked to complete an exercise such as this one, all of my values were just a subconscious thought that I figured was only important to me. After I met with the other members of the PanHell Board we saw that most of our values overlapped. That doesn't mean we are all the same and that we will 100 percent agree with everything the other says. It simply means that our values define us and believe it or not, we are all pretty similar. We all love our families and friends and strive for growth and integrity but enjoyment as well. Its who we are and now we will all have parts of us represented to our community. Everyone in our community is a leader whether they realize it or not. Once you put Greek letters on to sit in the front row of class to raise your hand about everything the teacher says, or just to go to coffee with a new member, we are all leaders. All of our values define us and who we are. 

Lastly, I think its special that we were asked to do an exercise such as this. It will help in future, allow us to understand why one thinks the way he or she does. It will allow us to mold and change to fit our values as well other members' and the communities. It has made us aware that we are all different to some extent but at the same time we are similar in so many ways. 

Paying it Forward.

It took me some time to figure out what this all meant. In class last Friday was my first time seeing clips from the movie but I trusted Zac's opinion when he said, "You've never seen it?! Its a great movie!" over peanut butter and jelly sandwich making. 

When I got home and throughout this past week I have been receiving tons of emails about new service opportunities. I found myself opening every single one and actually reading them instead of skimming through them to send them over to the VP of Philanthropy for AEPhi. I realized what it all meant. I knew why I wanted to read the emails and respond back, "YES!" more now than ever before. I can blame this on our class discussions from last Friday. 

Through out high school I never really participated in community service unless a class or an extracurricular required it. When I became a member of a PHA sorority it all changed. I was doing service hours every week. I was tutoring and going to the Boys & Girls Club, I became very involved in our sorority's philanthropies. I realize now I do this because I can. I never really put it into perspective until the other week. 

I have the resources and the ability to help myself and help others. Now is time to take advantage of that well-being. We are all college students, we are all members of an organization that prides itself on service and helping others who are less fortunate. We are paying it forward everyday. If we are doing it via our organization or through BuckeyeThon, or just volunteering at the hospital. We all have the abilities to do so many things to help other people, it would be selfish if we didn't.

The reason we watched those clips and made sandwiches wasn't to take up time and leave us hungry and craving peanut butter and jelly, it was to teach why our four councils work together to do the things we do. To teach us that we do this to be selfless so that we can use our resources to help others who don't have them. We do this so we can help people, who in turn can help other people. We want to start a chain of people helping other people who are less fortunate than them. We learned these things last Friday so we can teach the people in our chapters and our councils and they can teach the rest of the University, essentially we could all be helping each other. 

My First Blog Entry EVER.

My name is Samantha Feiden, my friends usually call me Sam. I am currently a junior at The Ohio State University and plan to be a physical therapist at some point after my education is complete. My urge to join a sorority all started when I was a freshman in high school. My best friend's older sister (basically my older sister as well) came home for a break from Syracuse University as part of an organization called a "sorority". She wore really fun t-shirts and wouldn't let us borrow any. When we went to visit her, we stayed in her sorority house and fell in love. When my best friend and I split up to go to separate schools four years later we both ended up Greek. Ariel joined the same house, Sigma Delta Tau, as her sister and is currently living in her room. I knew I would rush right away and now I am a sister of Alpha Epsilon Phi. For the three years I have been at Ohio State, I've changed my major three times, lived in three different housing types on or near campus, and lived with different women each time. Everything I have accomplished here has been a decision I, myself made. Joining the Greek Life on campus has been my best but also my most important decision. It has given me sisterhood, friendship, and leadership opportunities I've never dreamt of having. I absolutely love it. 

Now that I am enrolled in a class that doesn't use the usual syllabus to inform the students of the quarterly guide, I am excited. I like to believe that I am up to speed on the new internet advances, I recently got a kindle, an electronic book, and I Facebook on the regular. I do not Twitter and I never thought I would blog, but here I am. So now that I am blogging I can officially say that I'm okay with doing a lot of new things this quarter and I'm pretty excited.