Chi Omega, Yours Forever

Here comes a sappy post about sisterhood. In case you didn't know, I'm a very sappy person when it comes to the people I love.

I've been ridiculously blessed in my college experience to be a part of a wonderful woman's fraternity, Chi Omega. My choice, and my Fraternity's choice, have made all the difference in my life.

my Spring 2011 pledge class

the best executive board I could ever ask for :)

I'm writing this post because my decision to study abroad, while my own, was greatly influenced by the experiences my sisters shared with me. Their love of travel and adventure and learning awoke in me a desire to put myself out there, and learn to live in a way foreign to what I have always known.

It is exceedingly difficult to put into words how much I love my sisters and my Fraternity. My time in Chi Omega has taught me much about leadership, friendship, and a whole host of other values I will carry with me forever. Perhaps one of my favorite examples of what it means to be a Chi Omega comes from our Symphony, written by Ethel Switzer Howard in 1904 (how amazing that something written over a hundred years ago stands true today):

"To live constantly above snobbery of word or deed;

to place scholarship before social obligations 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 which 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." 

Chi Omega has given me much to be thankful for, namely sisters all over the country (and the world!) who believe in the same things that I do. When I attended the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) conference in Orlando, Florida this past January, not only did I go with two of my own sisters, but I met Catholic Chi Omegas from all over the country! 

My time is Spain has also blessed me with a Chi Omega sister from Ohio! It is wonderful to have something so familiar to share so far from home.

I look forward to returning home next month and getting back into the swing of things at school with all my sisters! I also hope to inspire some of my sisters, like those who inspired me to travel.

XOXO,
Maggie