citizenship.

being a citizen means doing what is best for your fellow citizens.  in alpha chi, it means doing what is best for your sisters.  i believe that most of our sisters do what is best for another, but sometimes it is difficult to see beyond your personal needs.  also, people arent always an adequate judge of what is best because they cannot see past their own flaws.

we just had elections, and it was an awkward time for a our chapter. multiple people believed they could run axo best and its hard to tell your sisters that they are wrong and THIS girl is the best for the job.

i stole this video from a friend on facebook:  dane sanzenbacher made a joke of lebron's commercial in order to raise awareness for organ donations. this is being a citizen.  going above and beyond to help others.

panel

the greek leadership panel was inspiring to say the least.  i wasn't sure how the conversation would go, and honestly, it started out a little awkward.  i joined my sorority last year and haven't held a leadership position, so to be asking these questions of people who have accomplished so much for greek life, was a little overwhelming.

one thing i took away from this discussion is quite simple: do what YOU can do.  it reminds me of that ghandi quote that everyone knows, "be the change you wish you to see in the world." one of the girls advised us to get involved.  a leadership position is not necessary to do great things. you can make a difference on your own.  this is a goal that we have set for ourselves in this class.  but i've began to realize, it is much easier said than done.  our group is smaller, since i believe one of the members dropped out of our class, and we're all involved in different things which makes it difficult to meet.  i know we have a goal and a vision for change, but we don't know the avenue in which to pursue it.  i'm impressed by our panel's initiative and, most of all, follow-through. because it is very difficult to actually discover how to get things done when you have such grandiose ideas for our community.

our panel also reminded me of alpha chi omega's president.  she was not on the panel that the class spoke to, but last week, for the first time, i read her blog.  she is in the greek presidents class right now. and her blog amazed me.  we've spent a significant amount of time this quarter talking about congruency, and i can honestly say that her blog and her values are the most congruent thing i have read to date.  to be fair, i don't know most of the other students in the class well enough to know whether or not their posts have been congruent to their actions.

sisterhood is a relatively new concept to me.  i had two brothers growing up. they are twins and a year and a half younger than i am.  they stuck together all the time, and i was kinda on my own.  my best friends from high school, i considered sisters, but i did not sleep, eat, study & live with them the way i do with axo.  christine, our PRESIDENT at a chi o, defines sisterhood in everything she does.  when she sees something that she does not agree with, she speaks up. and when she sees a sister doing something extraordinary, she always expresses her pride.  more often than not, i hear her telling girls how proud she is to have them as a sister because of this or that.  she has changed our chapter for the better.  she has brought unity and encouragement and brought out the best in each and every one of us.  i have doubt in some of my sisters sometimes.  i believe that they may take on more than they can handle, but if christine believes this, she does not voice it.  she helps her sister and helps that girl prove to herself and her chapter that we can do more than we ever thought possible.  this is her symphony. it is loud and evident in our house and in my life.  it is inspiring and i only hope i can bring the same sincerity to my life in anything that i do.

oath.

to get started on this, i googled a few definitions of oath. my favorite one is as follows: A solemn pledge or promise to a god, king or another person, to attest to the truth of a statement or contract; the affirmed statement or promise accepted as equivalent to an oath; i really like this definition because it calls the oath a contract.  contracts are 2-ways. when one makes an oath, theyre not only making a promise, but there is also a sort of deal involved.

when i pledged my loyalty and sisterhood to alpha chi, they also made a promise to me. a promise to be my family, a promise to accept me and a promise to be there when i needed someone.

we takes oaths when a member of or attending the chapter relations and standards board, both to keep the person's case a secret and for the sister to keep CRS's decision secret.

 after promising we are who we say we are, we choose a president, who takes an oath to be the president he claims to be.

i enjoy thinking of an oath in a back and forth scenario because then, it seems like more of a compromise.  it seems unfair to make a promise to someone if they don't intend to make it matter or count.  the oath is strengthened by two parties' involvement.

to uphold my oath, i try to ELEVATE my chapter in every way possible.  i know that when i am in my letters, people who don't even know me can connect me to my chapter.  and out of my letters, i can still be recognized as an alpha chi, or at least a member of the greek community.  every person has faults, but because we are associated with a large organization, it is easy to place the blame on our name.  so while in my letters, i try to be on class on time and be attentive and watch my language and actions.  i wear my letters to the library and share stories about our philanthropic events with my friends from home and non-greek friends.  though not completely our fault, since movies like Animal House came out 12 years before i was born, it is still our responsibility to live above the words said about us and attempt to change the minds of who ever we can. and we need to try our best not to give up.. its hard because these ideas have been around for so long..

i found this website with some helpful inspiration on all aspects of life.. including elevation:

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/22-reasons-to-never-give-up/

pride.

its hard to focus on the negatives when surrounded by such a source of pride.  today, our chef had a problem and needed to leave the house.  tonight is our scholarship dinner, at which professors were invited and awards are given to those who have excelled academically.  as of 2pm, we were screwed.  less than an hour later, tables were set up, plates, knives, forks and spoons were arranged.  another cook was consulted, and dinner looks like it is going to go on without a hitch.  approximately six girls who were at the house at the time pulled together to create a comfortable situation instead of a stressful and failure of a dinner.

these girls are why i am proud of axo.

last weekend was our date party.  yes, there was drinking and high priced dresses, but we conducted ourselves in a classy way and had a great time and all returned home safe and sound.

these stories don't make the news.  we dont get recognized unless we cause a scene, defile public property or make someone sick.  our events that run smoothly and are a sense of fun, pride and sisterhood don't make headlines.  yes, there is room for improvement, but this is still a great organization, even if it isnt depicted as such in the media.

the symphony of alpha chi omega

alpha chi omega's motto is together let us seek the heights.  i think this it pretty relevant to the "elevation" we are attempting in this course.  and as with in this course, i believe a chi o still has a long way to go.  it's difficult to rise above certain situations that occur within the house.  i truly believe that every alpha chi girl has an immense amount of pride in our chapter, but sometimes, it is hard to show it.  when girls get in quarrels, (bc im not gonna lie, living with 38 girls is not ever going to be perfectly harmonious) they can forget to uphold our values.  we all have the intention of being congruent with the values of our chapter and want to show off our chapter as much as possible, but personal emotions can definitely overtake the good of the chapter on occasion.

i find it difficult to realize that every single action of mine reflects on the chapter because of my membership in alpha chi omega.  there's certain rules that apply to the chapter, that i don't necessarily need to follow outside of chapter activities such as "no boobs, butt or belly" at TGs.  obviously, i dont run around in nothing, but in the summer, i will wear a bikini.    this doesn't reflect poorly because its a social norm outside of a chi o functions.  sometimes, though, it is difficult to separate what is okay ever and what is only okay on your own.  loud scenes at the o patio, for instance, are never particularly acceptable.  even if i am not there as an alpha chi, its a pretty fratty bar, people know where i am from, and it will reflect badly on my organization.  i dont think im alone in this issue.  i do not WANT to cause scenes of course, and this helps me to be the best person i can be, but its hard to think that every little choice i make can be traced back to an organization that i want to be seen as absolutely perfect.

a chi o started as a musical fraternity, so we have a "symphony" which is kind of our mission statement.  i think it is beautiful & its something i strive to achieve daily, but its difficult.  to see the beauty in everyone and everything can be hard because im not always in a sun shiny mood.  but i think if everyone did what this symphony suggests, the world would be a better place.

to see beauty even in the common things of life,

to shed the light of love & friendship 'round me.

to keep my life in tune with the world so that i shall make no discords in the harmony of life.

to strike on the lyre of the universe only the notes of happiness, of joy, of peace.

to appreciate every little service rendered.

to see and appreciate all that in noble in another,

be her badge what it may.

and to let my lyre send forth the chords on love, unselfishness, sincerity,

this is to be my symphony.

my personal organizations.

so, after i realized that audrey already wrote about toms (look at her blog! shopping, shoes & a good cause. i love it), i was pretty stumped about what to write about.  the blogs were pretty creative this week coming up with organizations that publicly display their values.  it was jaclyn's blog though, that led me to realize that an organization doesn't have to be nationally recognized or a huge business to prove its values.

so i decided to write about my church.  bellarmine chapel is on xavier university's campus in cincinnati.  when i first moved to cincinnati (approximately age 1), my family began attending mass at bellarmine.  when i began catholic school in 4th grade, until my little brothers graduated 8th grade in 2007, we took an intermission and attended St. Mary in Hyde Park, since thats where we went to school.  my mom had always missed bellarmine, and jumped back almost immediately.  this church is pretty liberal, due to its location on a college campus, and has the strongest sense of community that i have ever witnessed.

just this past weekend, a member of our congregation passed away.  it was an old man with a large family that had been attending mass for as long as i can remember.  i had only spoken to him a couple times, but he had always gone out of his way to make sure he waved to my family or said a friendly hello, no matter where we ran into him.  there was an enormous wake and funeral, due to the loss of one person.  everyone came to tell the family that we were here for them and bring them food as a comfort.  the strength of our church is amazing.

i bet this story doesn't stand out as something abnormal for a congregation, but it still reminds me how important it is to stick together and belong to a group that will always be there for you.  this is very reminiscent of alpha chi omega & ursuline academy, my high school.  these 3 places are the groups in which i feel loved and connected to those i am around and far away from.

ive mentioned before that i have 16 best friends from high school, but one of the closest's mom died our freshman year. 10/10/04.  six years later, i always personally send and hear from someone who is organizing sending her flowers on this day.  it's something that i cannot relate to, but i still want her to know that i'm thinking of her in this difficult time.  during mother/daughter brunches, my mom would always invite my friend to come with us and she gives her a call sometimes to tell her that we're here for her.  i can't imagine going through such an event, but i know if i did, that axo, ua and bellarmine chapel would be there for me & i can't think of a better way to display values than actions that show this degree of love and compassion.

"die for the truth"

okay, so this is actually pretty unrelated to "dying for the truth" that will smith was talking about. but for some reason, it reminded me of this story.  im a pretty avid fan of stumble upon, because i work at a desk on a computer and if nobody calls, i have an excess of free time.  ANYWAYS.  this is one of 5 lessons that everyone should know in life and i cry pretty much every time i read it:

5. Fifth Important Lesson - "Giving When It Counts"

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?".

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

for the other 4: click here!