Personal

     So at the end of my freshman year it was time to move out of my dorm and back into my parent’s house. When I came home I got a huge surprise. I'll spare the family details but basically Adelphi was too expensive and my parents said that I was transferring schools. At the end of the summer it was decided that I would be attending LIU Post. I registered for my classes and started my semester here.

     So I suddenly decided one day that I wanted to get back in shape. I used to play volleyball in high school so I figured I'd try out for Post's team. Well with my luck I forgot that the volleyball season starts earlier than school so I was out of luck. A week past and I talked to my current boyfriends sister, Nichole, and I asked her how she was so fit. She told me how she had been cheerleading most of her life and it always kept her in shape. So on a whim, I decided to find out when Post's cheerleading tryouts were. I got the information and I signed up.

     One of my friends at the time was very interested in Greek life but she was only a first semester freshman and wasn't eligible to sign up for recruitment. She noticed that the dates for "Meet the Greeks" and my cheer tryouts were similar. She double-checked and they were actually on the same night in the same place, the Pratt Recreational Center (which for those of you who are unfamiliar with Post's campus, is the school gym). We made a deal, I would drive us to Post (because she didn't have her license yet) and we'd both go to Pratt together. I'd go to my try-out while she was talking to Greeks and then we'd both go home.

     So the try-out's didn't go so well, I got accidently punched in the face and was hysterical crying because well...I just got punched in the face! So I walk out of the try-outs trying to compose myself, but really more than anything I'm just angry and want to go home. So I call my friend multiple times and she never answers so I'm forced to go into the "Meet the Greeks" (which was inside this time).

     So as I enter it’s the same as before, booths and people in letters screaming and they're all trying to talk to me but I just ignore them and look for my friend. So the first person to come up to me is my big and I completely deaded her but to be fair I didn't know that she was gonna be my big AND I had just been punched in the face. So I ended up talking to this girl Krysta who is now one of my sisters and she was totally badass, she had tattoos and piercings like me. She just wasn't your typical "sorority girl" and I loved that about her. She asked me to come to Round Robin and I hesitantly agreed. 

My First Year at Adelphi

     When you start college you are required to wait a semester before you are allowed to pledge any fraternity or sorority. The reason the university makes you wait is because you need a minimum GPA of 2.5 to join any Greek organization. Since the org can’t use your high school GPA they make you wait a semester and if your GPA is high enough you can go out for an org. My first year dorming I lived at Adelphi University, I had never really been away from home before so I made the most of it by making friends with the people on my floor. I dormed in Eddy Hall for those of you who are familiar with the campus. The picture below is of me and the friends that I made my freshman year of college.

(From Left to Right: Sara N, Eric G, Ashley G, Anita S, Joey O, me, my roommate at the time, Amanda S, Rachel T and Abby P)(Not Pictured: Chris B)

     This picture is of us going out to the Hofstra Strip together. Like I said earlier I don’t drink so I was always the DD (designated driver). These guys were like (and still are) a family to me. They were by my side through a year that I don’t think I could have handled by myself. A lot of things changed my freshman year and without them I don’t know what I would have done or where I would be today. I love you all<3

     The second semester of my freshman year at Adelphi I became eligible to go out for a Greek organization. My GPA was much higher than 2.5 so I made the academic cut, however, I was still hesitant to go out for a sorority. It just didn’t seem to scream “Bre” to me and I didn’t want to do something like that half-hearted. One of my close friends who lived in my dorm came up to me and said:

     “Bre, I really wanna join a sorority but I’m afraid to go out by myself. Please come to “Meet the Greeks” with me”. 

     Now I knew nothing about sororities back then so of course my answer was “no”. She explained to me that going to a Greek Fair or “Meet the Greeks” didn’t automatically tie me to any org. It was kind of just an informal meeting to introduce freshman to the frats and soros on campus. Not knowing what I was walking into I agreed and the next day her and I walked together after class to the “great lawn” where the booths were set up. It was all so overwhelming, kind of like a giant carnival. There was music playing and girls screaming chants and raffles and people giving out bracelets and food. My goodness it was intense. Each booth had huge wooden Greek letters that were painted and displayed by their tables. They had baskets full of stuffed animals (of their mascot) that were wearing miniature shirts with their orgs letters on it. They had huge photo albums showing all of the girls smiling and posing with each other and underneath were short bios of each sister. I had no idea what to ask or say so as I approached booth after booth I kinda just hovered, following my friend and listening while other freshman asked the upper class soro girls questions. By the end of the afternoon I had a lot of fun and it seemed pretty cool but I was still hesitant. I told myself that if she ended up joining then I would too and if not then I wouldn’t.

     

     Well as it turned out I ended up not joining a sorority that semester. My friend got cold feet (probably because of all of the vicious rumors about hazing) and decided that it wasn't for her so by association I didn't join either. They say that "everything happens for a reason" and I truly believe that because my org, Alpha Xi Delta, does not have a chapter at Adelphi so I wouldn't have joined AXiD, I would have joined a different sorority. It almost scares me that I almost wasn't an AXiD. I love my sisters and I love my org so much. I'm sure that I would have loved whatever sorority I would have joined (had I did accept a bid at Adelphi) no matter what but now being an Alpha Xi Delta I feel I made the right decision for me. Every girl is different and you need to find the org that is right for YOU. It's YOUR decision so never let anyone choose for you. Everything does happen for a reason and that’s the reason I'm an AXiD today.

One Sweethearts Story

     Hello Sweethearts! Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Breana, I’m 19 years old and I am a member of the Alpha Tau class of the Delta Zeta Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta. Now I know that must seem like a mouthful but I promise that in time it’ll make perfect sense! 

     Growing up I was sent to a private Catholic school on Long Island. I wasn’t very popular in high school but I didn’t really mind it so much. I had a close-knit group of friends who were all guys.

                                     

     We may have not been the most popular but for the most part we were very normal high school students. We didn’t go to all of the parties or drink or cut class, none of that really, but we hung out together after school and were just genuinely happy being who we were.

     My senior year of high school I just wanted to go away to school and have a normal college experience. I was always told by my mother not to worry about the “popular kids” because most of them had peeked in high school and wouldn’t be so infamous in college. I graduated on June 2nd, 2012 from St. Dominic High School.

     
     So naturally when I graduated and began dorming for the first time, joining a sorority never crossed my mind once. Thanks to the media I perceived sororities as a bunch of perfect older girls who I could never compare with. I know today that sorority girls are anything but that, they’re normal girls just like you and me. What fueled that misconception the most was a combination of the media and rumors about sororities. In my mind I could never make the cut so why even try? If I wasn’t cool in high school then why would that change in college? It’s those silly thoughts I laugh at now because now I know the truth: that I was always good enough and so are you!