Sisters Sitting Around The Table

Some of us sitting on the front steps of the sorority house

Last weekend I met up with nineteen other sorority sisters from when I was in college. Most were from the pledge classes after mine; three others pledged before I did.

As people arrived, it was amazing how the years literally melted away. It was so easy to walk through the house and think about things we did together there, and how much these women were a part of my life when I was in college. I know that I loved my college experience because of these women; I just don't know that I really appreciated what a special thing we had when we were in the midst of it.

I would be paying attention to the cameras :)

At dinner I sat close to the middle of the table, so I found myself engaged in multiple conversations at different times. But as I'm wont to do, I also found myself sitting there just absorbing the energy of the room, and thinking about what incredible people these women are. Each one has a story to tell about where life has taken them in the 19-21 years since we were in college together. Some are very successful professional women. Others stay at home with their kids. Some are married; some are single. All have made some difficult choices along the way, and all are women I respect and love. All of us were shaped by the joint experience that is our sorority - one that honored us as individuals yet allowed the group to be something greater than anything we could have done on our own.

Moments like these reconfirm for me what a great decision it was to be involved in Greek life. It's not about parties, really - although they are a lot of fun, and tend to be what turns the heads of 17 and 18 year old women as they are going through rush/recruitment.

No, what sorority is really about is much bigger than that. It's about the relationships that form that are truly life-long. It's about being supported as you move from home to college, a chance to learn who you are within a peer group, not to mention an opportunity to gain some valuable social and leadership skills in a safe environment. When people ask me why I'm still involved, it all boils down to this: I want to be sure that women have what I did when I was in college.

I loved sitting at that table with my sisters. And I truly can't wait to do it again.