7 In Our Party: "Sisthas"

It's true. Most of my life I've replied to the question of whether or not I joined a sorority with "Noooo, I'm part of a sisterhood!" or "It's really more of a supportive community than a sorority" If you would have told me in high school that I would someday be part of a sorority, I would have probably told you that your were crazy. No way! I saw sororities as groups of sheep, people who liked to follow, they were blonde and blue-eyed, cheerleaders and did stupid stuff like have high teas. Well, my sorority experience was certainly different - very different!

When I became a "Founding Sister" of the Eta Rho Chater of Alpha Delta Pi at Chico State University, I didn't see a group of followers, I saw a diverse group of extremely strong women who were all leaders in their own way. I think that being a part of the "founding sisters" was just what I needed. I couldn't have had a better welcoming group of friends to not only help introduce me to the sorority life, but to the possibilities of my own life.

When I went to college, I was looking for an "experience". High School was "ok". I wasted most of my high school years "in love" with someone miles away, that had no interest in me at the time. I was ready to "GO TO COLLEGE"!! I had a great freshman year in the dorms..didn't "rush" a sorority but felt the pull to do so.

The following year I "heard" that a new sorority was coming to campus. My prayers were answered. I didn't have to join one of the already "established" sororities. I was so excited to be part of something new..something I could make my own!!

So, no matter where I've been since joining ADPi, no matter what I've done we are bound by our "sisterhood". Anyone with any experience in a sorority is probably not surprised by this. But what is so heavy and hard to comprehend about this group is that we made it all up on our own. We started our chapter from scratch (well, with the help of our sisterhood dating back to 1851).

As I sat at our beautiful ADPi house this past weekend, looking out into the crowd of 18 year old girls, away from home for the first time, with quite the varied personalities and upbringings, I thought.. 'WOW!!!' I was dumfounded at what we created, and quite proud.

There I sat with my "Founding Sisters"... looking around at the smiling faces, I saw woman who’s secrets I knew. I saw moments of time flash before my eyes, like, well,... I don’t think I can share those memories here and maintain my friendships. Maybe in a book, later. Ah, suffice it to say we went to Chico State during a more lenient time. We are all thankful for how safe we stayed, despite some of our careless actions. (sorry mom and dad)

Look at these pictures: these women are accomplished professionals, executives, nonprofit leaders, supermoms, journalists, event producers, cancer survivors, ad execs, etc Throughout the weekend, we proudly shared stories about our kids, families and jobs. We shared about the good times since leaving college and the not so good times. And, we lowered our heads in remembrance of our dear sister Kelly who passed away from breast cancer at the young age of 35, but in the same moment raised our cocktails (yes, there were lots of them too) honoring her life and our wonderful Chico and AdPi memories!