As part of Ritual Appreciation Week, we asked sisters to reflect on their Alpha Chi experience. Sophomore Jess Brodman wrote this beautiful piece to share.
After receiving my bid to join the Delta Chapter of Alpha Chi Omega last spring, I sat cross-legged on the floor of the suite at the first new member meeting. As we made our introductions, I scanned the faces that made up my pledge class and was slightly intimidated by the beautiful, charismatic strangers surrounding me. I wanted more than anything to bond with these girls who would soon be my sisters, but I wondered how or when it would happen. Girls can be dramatic, and when twenty of them are thrown together, there is no telling what the outcome might be.
Fast forward to March 1, 2013, slightly over one year after I joined Alpha Chi. My sisters and I took the stage to belt out the pledge class song that we selected a year ago: “Home” by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. As we threw our arms around one another and formed a circle, I glanced at the faces surrounding me once again. This time, I felt a wave of warmth and sentimentality wash over me. As we sang “home is wherever I’m with you,” I realized how much more the song means to me now than it did when we first chose it last year. It baffles me to consider that, not too long ago, I worried about the dynamics of the group and whether or not I would fit in. Though I have only known these women for slightly over a year, I have come to view them as my family away from home.
A lot has changed for my pledge class over the past year. We have acquired leadership positions in our sorority. We have expanded our Alpha Chi families. Along the way, we have also become great friends. Naturally, our pledge class did not bond overnight. It took a bit of time, but with each new member meeting, group activity, and SAMS dance practice, everyone became increasingly comfortable around one another. After one year of camaraderie, I am more thankful than ever for all of my pledge class sisters. Their beauty and class make me proud to be an Alpha Chi, and their senses of humor never fail to put a smile on my face. I cannot choose one favorite recollection from my amazing experience in Alpha Chi Omega, but I can say that every moment I spend with my pledge class turns into a special memory. My wish for our current new members is that they come to respect, support, and love one another just as much as my pledge class does today. If so, I can promise that their Alpha Chi experience will be just as enjoyable and fulfilling as mine has been thus far.
Volleyball was my life. I loved the game. I loved the spirit of it, the competitive nature, the agility, speed, athleticism, intensity, and passion but most of all I loved my team. I spent my grade school years traveling the country playing ball in giant conference arenas and hoarding up in 2 person hotel rooms with my team. They became my family. We ate together, played together won together, lost together; they were my sisters. I never wanted to let them down so I poured my heart and soul- everything I had into the game. I had to be best. I pushed hard to be bigger, faster, and stronger.
left ankle, I pushed myself. I returned to school and within the first week of the season, I tour my left Achilles tendon, I was in the surgical room the first day of classes, and one week later, I lost the use of right arm due to complications from my injury. To get around campus I was given a handicap scooter and moved to handicap accessible dorm. I had never felt so small, so defeated, and so weak. I did not know what else I had to offer.
