My Forever Friends... That I Paid For

I still remember the first time I walked into the house. There was a lot of chanting, a lot of singing, a lot of smiling, a lot of questions:

"Where are you from?"  "How's recruitment going so far?"  "How do you like Texas State?"

I was nervous, but I thought it would be a good way to meet new girls, to make friends at a school where I knew a whole 3 people. I went in with no clue what I was doing. I thought, too many times, about quitting the recruitment process all together: 

This wasn't for me, I got cut from houses I thought I liked, I'll never find a home.

But I stuck it out, and man I'm glad I did.

The sisters who helped me become a Mrs.

I spent four years getting to know these incredible women. All different in their own right... Different hometowns, different interests, different majors, and ultimately different futures - with one thing in common - we were members of the second largest women's organization in the nation (second only to the Girl Scouts). Together, we'd learn about the chapter; its history, its philanthropy, its sisterhood. And we'd have a good time doing it.

More than just helping me to find my place within the sisterhood, these women helped me to find myself. The plan was always to go to class, make good grades, and have a wee bit o' fun. But as with anything, life got in the way. Life outside of that little college town continued and sometimes - it was pretty heavy. These women were there when I needed help - a prayer, a friend, support, and love.

Love. Most importantly, they loved me - unconditionally and without judgement. They saw through the tears (and there were a lot), through the mistakes, through the stress, through the fun. They saw me. They knew when I needed a laugh, a hug, a serious reality check.

These are my forever friends - and I paid for them. We've experienced so much together because of our membership, because of our sisterhood. These women hold a special place in my heart that only their friendships can fill. It's been years since we've graduated but even still - when we're together, it's as though no time has passed. We're still the college women we once were. Sure, we've aged, moved away, started careers and families, but we're the same sisters - and I love that.

To the women who've cried with me, who've laughed with me, who've played with me when we should have been studying, the women who've grown with me in age and life, the women who will live forever as my sisters - I wouldn't be the woman I am today, without you.

Chi-O Love and Mine

To live constantly above snobbery of word or deed;

to place scholarship before social obligation and character before appearances;

to be, in the best sense, democratic rather than 'exclusive' and lovable rather than popular;

to work earnestly, to speak kindly, to act sincerely, to choose thoughtfully that course with occasion and conscience demand;

to be womanly always;

to be discouraged never;

in a word, to be loyal under any and all circumstances to my Fraternity and her highest teachings and to have her welfare ever at heart that she may be a symphony of high purpose and helpfulness in which there is no discordant note.

1904

Ethel Switzer Howard, Xi Chapter of Chi Omega