You have presented a huge task in fron of our council: change Greek Life as we know it at The Ohio State University.
With change comes many reactions plotted on the spectrum ranging from excitement to opposition. This is alwyas going to be true in every change that is trying to be implemented, however, the larger the scale of change these feelings only intensify. In particular, with greek life at OSU there are many problems that I feel like should have been dealt with years ago, but now, as our exec council contains maybe the best and most qualified talent this community has seen in years, changes appear closer than ever.
AWARENESS: step one. We all are aware of problems ranging from drinking to hazing to laziness to those just not dedicated nor understnad the point and value that you can get out of being associated with an organization so complex and interesting. I know personally that in TriDelta we have old manuscripts, books, and just other documents that I could definently take advantage of and read to gain a stronger and deeper knowledge of how to be a better woman in like, but I fee like, and most like am not the only on ewho feels this way, the day-to-day activities just get in the way. We have our priorities but most of us can probably benefit from a switch in position of a few of them. Whoops tangent. Back to awareness...knowing the problems. Done.
Time to fix.
Next comes educations of HOW to fix them. I could sit here all day long and ramble on of how many drinks per hour is ok; the difference between building relationships and hazing...etc. Let's be realistic. Change begins with a single individual. Yes, it's difficult. Yes, you will face opposition. That is why you need to physically write down your thoughts and WHY you believe in them so when things get rough, you can easily refer back to them to get grounded and back on track when things being to get bumpy (which it will). There are countless examples of great change throughout history that began wiht a single individual...but just THINK how awesome of a council we are. There are like...25 of us. No such thing as being alone, being singled out in the group we have. The power each of us can bring to the table concerning the changes we feel so passionately about is just crazy.
I believe in our council...if you can't tell. I'm sooo stoked to look back in 42 weeks to see how far we have come and how much has changed. I know PHA has made strides and will only increase and I am just as confident in all the other councils.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sunshine and Rainbows
A perfect world is hard to describe. I can sit here and say that everything would be in synch. Nobody would have a bad day. The sun would shine year-round and everyone would have high job and home-life satisfaction. What I picture in my mind is the "Truman Show" where Jim Carey would wake up every morning to fresh breakfast and coffee by his trophy wife. He would see his neighbors who would br friendly. Day in and day out like would be the same.
(Scroll to 3:50 minutes which is what a 'perfect' world would be like)
I think that would get extremely boring, and like Jim Carey would start to question things and try to hope and look for disorder.
In this "perfect" world, fraternities and sororities would be like the one our class made up. It would be full of motivated, ethical, honesty and caring people who only want to produce positive change among campus, the community, and the world.
I would say that we would spend our time helping out underprivledged kids, and raising awareness and money for different cancers/diseases/issues, but then, that would go against a perfet world, wouldn't it?? In a perfect world there would be no such thing as an underprivledged kid, no such thing or need for St. Jude Children's Reasearch Hospital.
So does that go to say that a fraternity or sorority in a perfect would would just be like any other organization, simply formed on the basis of a common goal, ideal, value or belief??
(Scroll to 3:50 minutes which is what a 'perfect' world would be like)
I think that would get extremely boring, and like Jim Carey would start to question things and try to hope and look for disorder.
In this "perfect" world, fraternities and sororities would be like the one our class made up. It would be full of motivated, ethical, honesty and caring people who only want to produce positive change among campus, the community, and the world.
I would say that we would spend our time helping out underprivledged kids, and raising awareness and money for different cancers/diseases/issues, but then, that would go against a perfet world, wouldn't it?? In a perfect world there would be no such thing as an underprivledged kid, no such thing or need for St. Jude Children's Reasearch Hospital.
So does that go to say that a fraternity or sorority in a perfect would would just be like any other organization, simply formed on the basis of a common goal, ideal, value or belief??
Friday, February 26, 2010
Despite some loose bricks, we're a pretty solid foundation
This week's blog sort of goes along with the goals we outlined for ourselves last week in class. I'm going to g oin a reverse order and begin with strengths and ways to improve the community because I feel as though being on PHA exec. our main priority is improving the community versus our individual chapter.
Strengths of our Greek community: I think that as a whole we have a lot of unity when it comes to non-Greeks/outside personelle trying to put us down. Everyone knows we get a bunch of craps for specific stereotypes but that typically is only a select few and a good number of us like to show that we are more than just partying/hazing/yada yada yada. Also, another strength is our grades. We as a Greek community have a higher GPA than the rest of OSU undergrad which says a lot and helps to breaking the stereotypes.
Ways we can change: I think a big thing is having more respect from chapter to chapter within the community. Sometimes we get caught up in the "I only want to have socials with the best fraternity/hottest sorority". I know personally we had a tg with a fraternity who thought that my sorority was an academic one, not social, and none of the guys were excited to go. But once everything got going, the guys had a freakin blast and now we do a lot more with them. If we could just kick out those shallow thoughs runing through everyone's head, out community would be freaking awesome and more internally cohesive.
Strengths as a council: Our PHA council rocks. Period. We have an awesome group of girls for exec and for our directors. We have continual communication. We have an on-going brainstorming process of new and improved ideas of how to make everything bigger and better. We are close as a whole, but by the end of our year I can't even imagine what it's going to be like. I honestly feel I'm going to have some of my best friends when this is all said and done. We have much respect for one another and never put each other down.
Ways we can change: We have developed lots of goals and ideas so the best way for us to change is to actually enact them and get them implemented into our council and community!
Strengths of my chapter: My chapter has come a loooooong way in the past few years. I was blind to it going through recruitment, but we wre very disorganized and not a lot of unity was in place. But the past two years in particular we have had a bomb set of officers that have turned this sorority around. Change begins with good leaders and that is exactly what we have. Also, we have one of the more diversified chapters on campus which I love because let's face it, the real world is full of people not like you. Shocking I know, right? Another thing is our grades. We have significantly shifted our focus to the core values of our chapter, and one is grades which we have tremendously improved upon.
Ways our chapter can chage: Although we have come a long way, there's always work that can be done. We are working hard to break out of our little "cliques" that we have and branch out more. It's not that we don't like other people, we just get comfortable with routine and we want to change that up a little. Also, we are working on increasing the size of our already awesome philanthropy and trying to become more active on campus, outside the Greek community.
Welllppppp, there it is. My evaluation of our community, council, and my personal chapter. Improving is a process that can go on forever. However, establishing a solid core of individulas is the first step into enacting all of our possible changes and keeping our strengths in place and I do believe that our group of counicls is just those people to make great things occur over the next 44 weeks....and I'm STOKED about it :)
Strengths of our Greek community: I think that as a whole we have a lot of unity when it comes to non-Greeks/outside personelle trying to put us down. Everyone knows we get a bunch of craps for specific stereotypes but that typically is only a select few and a good number of us like to show that we are more than just partying/hazing/yada yada yada. Also, another strength is our grades. We as a Greek community have a higher GPA than the rest of OSU undergrad which says a lot and helps to breaking the stereotypes.
Ways we can change: I think a big thing is having more respect from chapter to chapter within the community. Sometimes we get caught up in the "I only want to have socials with the best fraternity/hottest sorority". I know personally we had a tg with a fraternity who thought that my sorority was an academic one, not social, and none of the guys were excited to go. But once everything got going, the guys had a freakin blast and now we do a lot more with them. If we could just kick out those shallow thoughs runing through everyone's head, out community would be freaking awesome and more internally cohesive.
Strengths as a council: Our PHA council rocks. Period. We have an awesome group of girls for exec and for our directors. We have continual communication. We have an on-going brainstorming process of new and improved ideas of how to make everything bigger and better. We are close as a whole, but by the end of our year I can't even imagine what it's going to be like. I honestly feel I'm going to have some of my best friends when this is all said and done. We have much respect for one another and never put each other down.
Ways we can change: We have developed lots of goals and ideas so the best way for us to change is to actually enact them and get them implemented into our council and community!
Strengths of my chapter: My chapter has come a loooooong way in the past few years. I was blind to it going through recruitment, but we wre very disorganized and not a lot of unity was in place. But the past two years in particular we have had a bomb set of officers that have turned this sorority around. Change begins with good leaders and that is exactly what we have. Also, we have one of the more diversified chapters on campus which I love because let's face it, the real world is full of people not like you. Shocking I know, right? Another thing is our grades. We have significantly shifted our focus to the core values of our chapter, and one is grades which we have tremendously improved upon.
Ways our chapter can chage: Although we have come a long way, there's always work that can be done. We are working hard to break out of our little "cliques" that we have and branch out more. It's not that we don't like other people, we just get comfortable with routine and we want to change that up a little. Also, we are working on increasing the size of our already awesome philanthropy and trying to become more active on campus, outside the Greek community.
Welllppppp, there it is. My evaluation of our community, council, and my personal chapter. Improving is a process that can go on forever. However, establishing a solid core of individulas is the first step into enacting all of our possible changes and keeping our strengths in place and I do believe that our group of counicls is just those people to make great things occur over the next 44 weeks....and I'm STOKED about it :)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
You say Top Tier, I say nothing
Here's the deal...venting session begin:
I was at a fraternity's date party friday night. All was well, having fun, being dressed up, enjoying everyone's company....until some girl decided to ruin the entire night. This may sound slightly catty but frankly I don't care because it is girls like these that make me react in two ways: I hate being in Greek Life - or - I want so bad to change the way Greeks within the same system perceive each other.
So my boyfriend and I were dancing, chillen, having fun. This girl whos chapter and name will remain anonymous (mind you i've never even met the girl before) decides to come up and try to makeout with him right in front of me. Luckily I have a great guy and he stopped her before anything could happen. Strike One.
Naturally I had to use the restroom, so I went upstairs and what do ya know...the same girl is there. I do my business and leave keeping to myslelf and she decides to start b****ing at me saying that I am ugly and not as good as she is. Strike Two.
Lastly, still keeping my classy composure I do my best to ignore her and brush is off. I walk downstairs back to my friends with this trailing in my ear "Yeah keep walking. You're just mad and jealous you're not top tier!!!" Strike Three.
It took everything in me to keep walking and pretend she just didn't say that. It is people like her that get me so angry because I honestly believed that we have all graduated high school and that kind of behavior and remarks were all in the past. And it is people like her that makes me appreciate the wonderful women in my sorority that do not act so immature and just plain dumb and make me so glad that i didn't make the mistake of joining one that feels like they are above others. I'm not saying that I am better that her, but am saying that she is not better than me. As an observation, I feel like the only ones who use the "tiered" way of thinking are those individuals who post things on greekrank.com, refer to themselves at top tier to make them feel better because as stated in a speech at AFLV, those who make themselves feel better by putting others down have very low self-esteem and confidence, and fraternities who are only concerned with hanging out with a select number of sororities.
This night made me want to try to figure out a way to abolish stupid things like the one that happened to me from happening to others. It's so unnecessary and just reaffirms that some people are so ignorant and live in a bubble that isn't parallel with reality.
I was at a fraternity's date party friday night. All was well, having fun, being dressed up, enjoying everyone's company....until some girl decided to ruin the entire night. This may sound slightly catty but frankly I don't care because it is girls like these that make me react in two ways: I hate being in Greek Life - or - I want so bad to change the way Greeks within the same system perceive each other.
So my boyfriend and I were dancing, chillen, having fun. This girl whos chapter and name will remain anonymous (mind you i've never even met the girl before) decides to come up and try to makeout with him right in front of me. Luckily I have a great guy and he stopped her before anything could happen. Strike One.
Naturally I had to use the restroom, so I went upstairs and what do ya know...the same girl is there. I do my business and leave keeping to myslelf and she decides to start b****ing at me saying that I am ugly and not as good as she is. Strike Two.
Lastly, still keeping my classy composure I do my best to ignore her and brush is off. I walk downstairs back to my friends with this trailing in my ear "Yeah keep walking. You're just mad and jealous you're not top tier!!!" Strike Three.
It took everything in me to keep walking and pretend she just didn't say that. It is people like her that get me so angry because I honestly believed that we have all graduated high school and that kind of behavior and remarks were all in the past. And it is people like her that makes me appreciate the wonderful women in my sorority that do not act so immature and just plain dumb and make me so glad that i didn't make the mistake of joining one that feels like they are above others. I'm not saying that I am better that her, but am saying that she is not better than me. As an observation, I feel like the only ones who use the "tiered" way of thinking are those individuals who post things on greekrank.com, refer to themselves at top tier to make them feel better because as stated in a speech at AFLV, those who make themselves feel better by putting others down have very low self-esteem and confidence, and fraternities who are only concerned with hanging out with a select number of sororities.
This night made me want to try to figure out a way to abolish stupid things like the one that happened to me from happening to others. It's so unnecessary and just reaffirms that some people are so ignorant and live in a bubble that isn't parallel with reality.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Oath: A Matter of Expectations
To begin this post in kind of a cheesy way....an oath can be defined in a couple different ways which are contrasting:
#1: an oath is a formally affirmed statement or promise accepted as an equivalent of an appeal to a deity or to a revered person or thing;affirmation.
#2: an oath is also considered a swearword or curse
These two opposing definitions I find interesting because every one of us took an oath to their respective chapters, many of which pledge to live by their ideals for the remainder of his/her life. Can an oath be in a way setting your own fate? Destiny? Or not even relevant to either of those two options?
Summarizing a line out of TriDelta history/purpose/statements: ...it does not give you the right to, in any way, make you higher or greater than anyone else, but it does give others the right to expect great things from you.
I feel this encompasses an oath really well because although, like rituals, pledges, purposes, etc..they are more sacred/secret/really only understood by the specific members, but to outsiders they do expect great things from us when we publically acknowledge and allign ourselves with a specific organization.
For example, let's make a list for everything that you take an oath or promise to/in:
-court, spouse, fraternity/sorority, other relevant organization, the President, many officers & leadership postions that transition new members, contracts in general, etc..
By agreeing to the terms and conditions set out that you promise to abide by, others are entitles to think higher of you and expect more things out of you. We expect the President of the US to take care of the nation as a whole. The Greek community expects us council exec's to keep everyhting running smoothly, to expand Greek Life, to make it better. Other TriDelta's expect me to abide by our purpose and everything else that we stand for and want our members to emulate on a daily basis.
#1: an oath is a formally affirmed statement or promise accepted as an equivalent of an appeal to a deity or to a revered person or thing;affirmation.
#2: an oath is also considered a swearword or curse
These two opposing definitions I find interesting because every one of us took an oath to their respective chapters, many of which pledge to live by their ideals for the remainder of his/her life. Can an oath be in a way setting your own fate? Destiny? Or not even relevant to either of those two options?
Summarizing a line out of TriDelta history/purpose/statements: ...it does not give you the right to, in any way, make you higher or greater than anyone else, but it does give others the right to expect great things from you.
I feel this encompasses an oath really well because although, like rituals, pledges, purposes, etc..they are more sacred/secret/really only understood by the specific members, but to outsiders they do expect great things from us when we publically acknowledge and allign ourselves with a specific organization.
For example, let's make a list for everything that you take an oath or promise to/in:
-court, spouse, fraternity/sorority, other relevant organization, the President, many officers & leadership postions that transition new members, contracts in general, etc..
By agreeing to the terms and conditions set out that you promise to abide by, others are entitles to think higher of you and expect more things out of you. We expect the President of the US to take care of the nation as a whole. The Greek community expects us council exec's to keep everyhting running smoothly, to expand Greek Life, to make it better. Other TriDelta's expect me to abide by our purpose and everything else that we stand for and want our members to emulate on a daily basis.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
We were asked, as a pha council, to blog about our values and ritual for today so here it goes:
As i had already posted a few times ago my top two values. However, today i will focus more on school related values, such as prioritizing and accountability. This week, as fun and exciting it will be with going to St. Louis tomorrow (yippeeeee!) I am freaking out. I have two midterms in core business classes on the tuesday we get back, meaning i am going to have to study while on our trip and on the bus. I have to pack, schedule classes, go to class, do homework, maybe sleep and eat, study study study, go to work....then brave this weather. The only way to live through all of this is to prioritize. Knowing that you can only do one thing at a time, and when youre in class you need to be there, in the moment, to maximize the time spent away from doing other tasks.
Secondly, accountability i very important when working with a group. I know that i have dropped the ball and let some people down over the years but i do the best i can using time management/prioritizing skills to get everything accomplished so if i say that i'm going to do something, I will do it.
I'm finding it difficult to try and thing of core values and emotions when I am so bgged down with many other things, so my mind is a one-laned road running a thousand miles an hour...
I am really looking forward to this trip and hope that as a council we grow closer, not just PHA but ifc, mcgc, and nphs. I think that we all can benefit from from learning from one another in order to expand our respective councils and as a person in general.
See you on the bus!!!!! On to the home os Nelly!!
As i had already posted a few times ago my top two values. However, today i will focus more on school related values, such as prioritizing and accountability. This week, as fun and exciting it will be with going to St. Louis tomorrow (yippeeeee!) I am freaking out. I have two midterms in core business classes on the tuesday we get back, meaning i am going to have to study while on our trip and on the bus. I have to pack, schedule classes, go to class, do homework, maybe sleep and eat, study study study, go to work....then brave this weather. The only way to live through all of this is to prioritize. Knowing that you can only do one thing at a time, and when youre in class you need to be there, in the moment, to maximize the time spent away from doing other tasks.
Secondly, accountability i very important when working with a group. I know that i have dropped the ball and let some people down over the years but i do the best i can using time management/prioritizing skills to get everything accomplished so if i say that i'm going to do something, I will do it.
I'm finding it difficult to try and thing of core values and emotions when I am so bgged down with many other things, so my mind is a one-laned road running a thousand miles an hour...
I am really looking forward to this trip and hope that as a council we grow closer, not just PHA but ifc, mcgc, and nphs. I think that we all can benefit from from learning from one another in order to expand our respective councils and as a person in general.
See you on the bus!!!!! On to the home os Nelly!!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Secrets? Ritual? Golf Course?
So like many of you who have responded to this blog question, your thoughts concerning ritual is still a mystery..and not mystery in the way of it being a secret and not wanting to share, but mystery in the way that you don't quite know how to put it into words what it means. Well, shockingly enough...I am with ya..
Ever since growing up i've sort of had a preconceived thought about secrets/rituals because every male on my dad's side of the family is a master mason. I've heard stories about how it has evolved over time from only allowing white men, then allowing blacks, and now, even allowing women. I know that in order to become a master mason you have to learn a secret "language" of sorts, there's a secret handshake (like all of us..i think), secret ceremonies and practices and handbooks and gathering places...on and on and on. But, above all else, having dominant men in business, playing golf is just like having a board meeting. Being said, I have grown up playing on York Country Club Golf Course...which is masonically run and operated and only masonic members are allowed to play (and guests). On the hole signs and throughout the club house, masonic designs and symbols can be found. So, in a nut shell...being apart of a secret group = allowed to play York.
Like the masons, rituals for my chapter have evolved over the years and expanded to incorporate more and more women all the while trying to remain faithful. At what point do you say "no" though?? At what point do you want to make sure that your secrets and rituals stay that way...a secret. with each new member, and the development of new technologies comes one more opportunity for someone to take a phone or digital camera into a chapter room/where ever ritual may occur and post it on wikipedia or youtube for all to see.
I think that it is part of our duty as members of secret ritalistic organizations that we should try to expand the publics by acting in a particular manner that emulates our ritual and secrets versus, for example, knowing that you get to play a particular golf course.
Shown below is just an interesting video i found about the Freemason's and how in-depth all of our organizations are/can be/i can't really say because i only know TriDelta...
Ever since growing up i've sort of had a preconceived thought about secrets/rituals because every male on my dad's side of the family is a master mason. I've heard stories about how it has evolved over time from only allowing white men, then allowing blacks, and now, even allowing women. I know that in order to become a master mason you have to learn a secret "language" of sorts, there's a secret handshake (like all of us..i think), secret ceremonies and practices and handbooks and gathering places...on and on and on. But, above all else, having dominant men in business, playing golf is just like having a board meeting. Being said, I have grown up playing on York Country Club Golf Course...which is masonically run and operated and only masonic members are allowed to play (and guests). On the hole signs and throughout the club house, masonic designs and symbols can be found. So, in a nut shell...being apart of a secret group = allowed to play York.
Like the masons, rituals for my chapter have evolved over the years and expanded to incorporate more and more women all the while trying to remain faithful. At what point do you say "no" though?? At what point do you want to make sure that your secrets and rituals stay that way...a secret. with each new member, and the development of new technologies comes one more opportunity for someone to take a phone or digital camera into a chapter room/where ever ritual may occur and post it on wikipedia or youtube for all to see.
I think that it is part of our duty as members of secret ritalistic organizations that we should try to expand the publics by acting in a particular manner that emulates our ritual and secrets versus, for example, knowing that you get to play a particular golf course.
Shown below is just an interesting video i found about the Freemason's and how in-depth all of our organizations are/can be/i can't really say because i only know TriDelta...
Friday, January 29, 2010
One Week Ago...What Happened?
What happened today? In a very simplistic manner...we went out as council groups and asked member of other councils in the public (ie: other IFC's, MCGC's, NPHC's) for answers to broad questions which related to ritual and activities/values a particular chapter spent the most time doing.
I had preconceived notions to the answers, but were actually shocked of the actual responses. I knew that sororities were going to give answers more "politically correct" as in they value sisterhood, philanthropy, academia, etc..over what fraternities. That part was not shocking. Most everyone associates fraternities with drinking...and the two IFC fraternities we asked their first answer to most time spent towards an activity was drinking. I was shocked that they didnt' even try to hide it by saying brotherhood which would atleast soften it. Another frequent response was eating meals as a fraternity. Then, struggling for a third answer (because the qustions asked for 3) was either brotherhood or philanthropy.
In it's irony, I sometimes feel as though fraternities have stronger bonds within members that sororities. Yes this is me generalizing, and yes this could vary from chapter to chapter. I'm not saying my chapter has weak bonds by any means, but I feel as though fraternities have a lot more "bro-ness" or "tight-ness". So as sororities can spit out mottos, quotes, whole passages from ritual, what does it actually mean if it's not being applied to creating the bonds within individual chapters??
I had preconceived notions to the answers, but were actually shocked of the actual responses. I knew that sororities were going to give answers more "politically correct" as in they value sisterhood, philanthropy, academia, etc..over what fraternities. That part was not shocking. Most everyone associates fraternities with drinking...and the two IFC fraternities we asked their first answer to most time spent towards an activity was drinking. I was shocked that they didnt' even try to hide it by saying brotherhood which would atleast soften it. Another frequent response was eating meals as a fraternity. Then, struggling for a third answer (because the qustions asked for 3) was either brotherhood or philanthropy.
In it's irony, I sometimes feel as though fraternities have stronger bonds within members that sororities. Yes this is me generalizing, and yes this could vary from chapter to chapter. I'm not saying my chapter has weak bonds by any means, but I feel as though fraternities have a lot more "bro-ness" or "tight-ness". So as sororities can spit out mottos, quotes, whole passages from ritual, what does it actually mean if it's not being applied to creating the bonds within individual chapters??
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Do you ever have those days when nothing particularly big happens..but there's just a culmunation of little things an by the last one you just break down?? Pretty much describes my past Thurday-Tuesday. Obviously it's the right thing to take someone you care about to the ER when needed, no big deal. Then stay with them while they're on the prescribed medications and take care of them, all the while however two big midterms were on Tuesday and severly cut study time which just stressed me out. Then, on Tuesday was the doozie. I had set my alarm (so I thought) for 6:00 am for my 8:30 am midterm #1. Naturally it didn't go off and ended waking up at 8:00. The only good thing that happened was that my roomie graciousl drove me to my test. With lack of breakfast, being all frazzled, I forgot my wallet and couldn't prove it was actually me who took my test so that was just anothr added stress. On top of it they were supposed to give us a 30 minute warning...oopsies..didn't happen. Just a 5 minute warning. Rush much?? Then, I went to open my bananaand just the top came of..not the rest of the peel. Sooo not even my food would cooperate with me that day. As I look back, I honestly just have to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. It reminds me of my all-time favorite movie Dumb & Dumber. Here's a clip...
Soooooo things like these, it's just important to realize that no matter how many things go wrong in a short amount of time, just think about all the things you do have going for you. There are always people less fortunate than you and should just try to spin it into a good light whether it be laughing at yourself or doing something that makes you happy.
Soooooo things like these, it's just important to realize that no matter how many things go wrong in a short amount of time, just think about all the things you do have going for you. There are always people less fortunate than you and should just try to spin it into a good light whether it be laughing at yourself or doing something that makes you happy.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Values For Thought
Vlaues can come in many different forms and are all dependent upon how you grew up and the life situations you were presented with. Below, I will share two experiences that have defined me and how they shape my perception....
#1. Family:
As I previously wrote, I have a mom, dad, and older brother. Typical family right? Well it was even more typical when I was in second grade and my parents got a divorce. What is it.. like half of the marriages in the US fail?? That's super depressing if you ask me. Through the next 6 years of my life, my brother and I would spend 2 weeks with my mom then 1 week with my dad. Luckily they only lived a few miles away from each other, but it was still difficult to have 2 lives, 2 homes, 2 sets of clothes, toys...everything. The only constant was my older brother. My dad worked full-time during the day and at night would go to classes earning his masters degree. My mom worked full-time as well. Through these 6 years i vividly recall staying awake with him at night talking about everything whether it be our friends tv shows, music, anything abstract, or coping and trying to understand what was going on with our parents. One thing we did a lot was build forts out of the couch cushions. I'm guessing if we spoke with a physocologist they weould say we were hiding from our situation...perhaps. All I know is that we used to sit in there for hours on end. Six years later, when I was in 8th grade, something miraculous occurred...my parents got re-married. My brother and I still don't know fully what was going on during these years. My brother and I are extrememly close and it wouldn't of happened if it weren't for those six years. Like any family..we have our little bumps in the road, but I can honestly say this experience made me value family. No matter what, they are going to be around and is your rock, your foundation, your support.
#2. Integrity/Honesty:
These two words go hand in hand. Without honesty, you cannot have integrity and vice versa. Me being a business major, espeically in finance, corporate social responsibility is something that is taught and taken seriously in Fisher. We all know the scandales of Enron and WorldCom and various other corporations that did not have honesty nor integrity, and look where they are now, along with hundreds of thousands of people without their retirement savings and investments. Also, a current situation in which I cannot get into much deatil displays the lack of integrity and honesty that exists all around us. I like to believe that I give people the benefit of the doubt even when they have been caught and preseumed guilty, yet they still refute the evidence. Then, documented conversations arise and prove them otherwise...I've heard a saying: Before you start pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean. I especially like this because coming from certain individuals, it makes it ironic in the fact that they are the ones trying to persuade me that they have done nothing wrong, all the while unrefutable evidence surfaces....Make of this what you will, but being honest and having integrity is the only way to carry out life, otherwise you lose everything that's closets to you then you are loeft with nothing and when you have nothing...done.
Family and integrity/honesty are my two main values in which I strive to live by everyday. Obviously there are some slip-ups but it teaches and reaffirms your beliefs. These two values will be pertinent in PHA and in the community because they are broad enough to where everyone can understand and activly incorporate into their daily lives. Life runs smoothest when honest, and family can be the rest of PHA exec in that we will be working closely together to ensure the best possibly PHA year ever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSSOwtjrm1U
#1. Family:
As I previously wrote, I have a mom, dad, and older brother. Typical family right? Well it was even more typical when I was in second grade and my parents got a divorce. What is it.. like half of the marriages in the US fail?? That's super depressing if you ask me. Through the next 6 years of my life, my brother and I would spend 2 weeks with my mom then 1 week with my dad. Luckily they only lived a few miles away from each other, but it was still difficult to have 2 lives, 2 homes, 2 sets of clothes, toys...everything. The only constant was my older brother. My dad worked full-time during the day and at night would go to classes earning his masters degree. My mom worked full-time as well. Through these 6 years i vividly recall staying awake with him at night talking about everything whether it be our friends tv shows, music, anything abstract, or coping and trying to understand what was going on with our parents. One thing we did a lot was build forts out of the couch cushions. I'm guessing if we spoke with a physocologist they weould say we were hiding from our situation...perhaps. All I know is that we used to sit in there for hours on end. Six years later, when I was in 8th grade, something miraculous occurred...my parents got re-married. My brother and I still don't know fully what was going on during these years. My brother and I are extrememly close and it wouldn't of happened if it weren't for those six years. Like any family..we have our little bumps in the road, but I can honestly say this experience made me value family. No matter what, they are going to be around and is your rock, your foundation, your support.
#2. Integrity/Honesty:
These two words go hand in hand. Without honesty, you cannot have integrity and vice versa. Me being a business major, espeically in finance, corporate social responsibility is something that is taught and taken seriously in Fisher. We all know the scandales of Enron and WorldCom and various other corporations that did not have honesty nor integrity, and look where they are now, along with hundreds of thousands of people without their retirement savings and investments. Also, a current situation in which I cannot get into much deatil displays the lack of integrity and honesty that exists all around us. I like to believe that I give people the benefit of the doubt even when they have been caught and preseumed guilty, yet they still refute the evidence. Then, documented conversations arise and prove them otherwise...I've heard a saying: Before you start pointing fingers, make sure your hands are clean. I especially like this because coming from certain individuals, it makes it ironic in the fact that they are the ones trying to persuade me that they have done nothing wrong, all the while unrefutable evidence surfaces....Make of this what you will, but being honest and having integrity is the only way to carry out life, otherwise you lose everything that's closets to you then you are loeft with nothing and when you have nothing...done.
Family and integrity/honesty are my two main values in which I strive to live by everyday. Obviously there are some slip-ups but it teaches and reaffirms your beliefs. These two values will be pertinent in PHA and in the community because they are broad enough to where everyone can understand and activly incorporate into their daily lives. Life runs smoothest when honest, and family can be the rest of PHA exec in that we will be working closely together to ensure the best possibly PHA year ever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSSOwtjrm1U
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Peanut Butter Jelly Time
So Friday's class in which we made a few hundred pb & j sandwhiches was a super clever way of getting to know each other. Ice breakers just don't do it for me so I'm glad we all got to use our hands and converse freely rather than "name, major, year, fun fact" sort of thing. In getting to learn about one another, we also discussed our opinions on "paying it forward" which is doing a good deed without anyone telling you to do so nor receiving anyhting in return. My group had a few different points of view on this that were different than the rest of the class. In a utopian world, this would be all fine and dandy. However, we do not live in a worl dfilled with rainbows and butterflies and while the majority of citizens are good people, I cannot honestly believe that the world can and will be changed through this theory of "paying it forward". On a slightly more positive note, because we are members of THE Ohio State University, we should have the responsibility of using out vast amount of resources in order to help the campus and surrounding communities in any way we can. I guess you could say I'm the skeptic or realist when it comes to ideas such as "paying it forward" compared to other ideas that were discussed in class. Although, having the notion that it could work on some scale is definently reassurance of the many giving people that we have in today's society.
Since this class is fraternal change oriented, why not make the first class begin with change! By making the sanwhiches we chaged the amount of food and work that a particular food bank would have to do. Although relatively small, I think that's how change is most effectively completed. Starting small and with one single bite at a time (really tacky pun intended..i tried..) is how most people positively respond to change as compared to a sudden 180.
Thoughts??
Since this class is fraternal change oriented, why not make the first class begin with change! By making the sanwhiches we chaged the amount of food and work that a particular food bank would have to do. Although relatively small, I think that's how change is most effectively completed. Starting small and with one single bite at a time (really tacky pun intended..i tried..) is how most people positively respond to change as compared to a sudden 180.
Thoughts??
Thursday, January 7, 2010
My Life In A Snapshot
Hi all readers,
To those of you who have no idea who I am, I'm Jackie. For our first encounter these are the basics: I've grown up and lived in a medium sized community 6 miles away from campus my whole life. I guess you could say that my life is kind of boring or typical in the fact that I have one older brother who is in his second year of Dental School here at OSU, and I have a mom and dad, both of whom work as business professionals. As you can read, I am a third-year junior majoring in Business Finance and minoring in Economics, but knowing the current economic state, it doesn't really matter the major as long as you can find a job. Growing up, I mostly played tennis and softball but beginning high school sports become more year-round so I stuck with softball and became captain by my senior year. Because I played for 12 years, you can guess I miss it whenever spring rolls around. I love doing anything outdoors which was instilled in me from an early age as I learned to ski at 4, began to camp at 6 with Indian Princesses and just for family fun, and trips to the beach were regular. I am very much a home-body, which is a big reason why I didn't venture too far away from my house. While on campus my friends are my driving force and the goofier the better as I love to laugh and have a great time.
I am in Delta Delta Delta Sorority and absolutley love every minute of it. My brother was greek and from hearing all his experiences I knew i wanted to be greek at well which is why I went through recruitment in the winter of my freshman year. I fell in love with TriDelta because at one of the rounds I had an obscure conversation about aliens and thought "well if I'm having this talk now with someone I just met, just imagine when I'm best friends with her/the rest of the women". However cliche and tacky it sounds, I really have found my home away from home and my best friends and experiences through going greek.
After reading Tyler's blog, I was shocked to see how little time it actually took me to read it beacause the conversational voice made it seem like I was just sitting there listening to him speak. I hope that through this blogging process (which I am COMPLETELY new to..aka first blog ever) that I can use my own voice more so that it is more engaging and entertaining since he will be the one to read and grade it haha.
I guess this concludes the first assignment! Please stay posted for more exciting entries are on their way!
To those of you who have no idea who I am, I'm Jackie. For our first encounter these are the basics: I've grown up and lived in a medium sized community 6 miles away from campus my whole life. I guess you could say that my life is kind of boring or typical in the fact that I have one older brother who is in his second year of Dental School here at OSU, and I have a mom and dad, both of whom work as business professionals. As you can read, I am a third-year junior majoring in Business Finance and minoring in Economics, but knowing the current economic state, it doesn't really matter the major as long as you can find a job. Growing up, I mostly played tennis and softball but beginning high school sports become more year-round so I stuck with softball and became captain by my senior year. Because I played for 12 years, you can guess I miss it whenever spring rolls around. I love doing anything outdoors which was instilled in me from an early age as I learned to ski at 4, began to camp at 6 with Indian Princesses and just for family fun, and trips to the beach were regular. I am very much a home-body, which is a big reason why I didn't venture too far away from my house. While on campus my friends are my driving force and the goofier the better as I love to laugh and have a great time.
I am in Delta Delta Delta Sorority and absolutley love every minute of it. My brother was greek and from hearing all his experiences I knew i wanted to be greek at well which is why I went through recruitment in the winter of my freshman year. I fell in love with TriDelta because at one of the rounds I had an obscure conversation about aliens and thought "well if I'm having this talk now with someone I just met, just imagine when I'm best friends with her/the rest of the women". However cliche and tacky it sounds, I really have found my home away from home and my best friends and experiences through going greek.
After reading Tyler's blog, I was shocked to see how little time it actually took me to read it beacause the conversational voice made it seem like I was just sitting there listening to him speak. I hope that through this blogging process (which I am COMPLETELY new to..aka first blog ever) that I can use my own voice more so that it is more engaging and entertaining since he will be the one to read and grade it haha.
I guess this concludes the first assignment! Please stay posted for more exciting entries are on their way!
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