I'm bringing blogging back

I think I know what you are thinking. It's something along the lines of "Hmm, I think I can handle this blogging business" to "What? This is kinda weird." And yes, it might be hard to get the hang of things but I think you will do just fine. Learn from Tyler, from me, from your classmates. I know I did.
That being said, I hope you all are super excited to dive into this class. Believe me, it will be like nothing you have ever seen before. My goal is help you realize your full potential as an influential member of our community here at Ohio State. The textbook will also be a great resource that gives insight into how leadership affects our lives. I won't restate everything that Tyler already posted but please keep an open mind about this class and what we hope to accomplish in the next ten weeks. See you in class!

The Grand Finale... or maybe not

Describe your perfect world. What role does (or should) sorority/fraternity life play in achieving your perfect world?

Let's hear John Lennon's view of a perfect world because I think he has some good insight:



Yes, it's the Glee version. =)

Anyway, my perfect world fits on somewhere in there. I want people to be content with who they are and not have to worry about how their lives might have turned out differently had they chosen to go one way or the other. In my perfect world, everyone has food, clothes, shelter, and an education. Learning is one of my favorite things to do and if only some people bothered to appreciate to learn new things, the world would be a little more peaceful and respectful. That's another thing. Respect. It can be applied to so many different areas but I feel it is an issue that needs to be dealt with. We need to not only respect each other but respect ourselves as well.

I'm big on developing/maintaining the relationships and friendships I have with others. It turns out I am what some call an Individualizer. I think that if people were in tune with those around them, and really cared about them, then they would value their relationships and work hard to keep them growing. Friendship is one of the most important things to me, although I have my faults as well. Over the years I have come to realize how much I value friendship, and if the rest of the world were to feel the same way as me, a lot of problems would be solved. We wouldn't start wars because when you care about someone, and really value who they are as an individual, you would not do anything to bring about harm.

Love. All you need is love. But I think the idea of love has been so commercialized that people have forgotten its meaning and purpose. Love should be unconditional, forgiving, understanding, and caring. We need to love each other, as one, huge, universal family. Again, you don't hurt the ones you love.

Ideally, in my perfect world there's no pain, no disease, no death. I'm not really sure if that's possible, since I'm sure the earth can support a maximum amount of people, but anything is possible in this blog! Tears that fall would be happy tears, not ones of sorrow. I would be able to read whatever I want for as long as I want and wherever I want. You remember in Beauty and the Beast, the part where he shows Belle the library? Well, I'm going to have a room in my house just like that. Huge big windows, books lined up floor to ceiling. Sheer bliss.

So let's recap: my perfect world has respect, valued friendship, love, and the absence of bad feelings/situations. I think this sums up everything pretty well, because I feel that so many more good things come out of these general ideas. My blog would never end if I listed all the details of my perfect world. I have high standards.


Now the question is: What role does (or should) sorority/fraternity life play in achieving your perfect world?

The purpose of sorority and fraternity life is to build strong people to be the leaders of tomorrow. Not only do we need leaders, but we also need people who are responsible, who uphold the values and ideas I see in my perfect world. The fraternity is the foundation upon which we mold ourselves to be respectful and responsible people. The fraternity is there to enforce the values that we would already have. It is there to build on our character we have already formed. There is always room for improvement.

To be honest, this has been one of the more difficult prompts to blog for. I think it's because I already had read some other blogs.. and I tried not to copy any of their ideas. And I guess it's because I'm not quite sure I know how I want my perfect world to be. I haven't lived enough to figure out what I absolutely love and what I don't. I'm only starting to figure out who I am on top of my values and what I hold dear to my heart. Perfection can be deceiving, for without hardships, how could we appreciate perfection, let alone recognize it?

Excuses

Excuses. They're like armpits: everyone has them and they stink. But honestly, I have a knack for making excuses to myself to feel better about not doing something I should be. Like the past couple of weeks and blogging. I kept telling myself that I need to do other work instead or that every time I would try to write something, nothing came out. Eventually, your excuses come back to bite you in the butt....

And they have for me, numerous amounts of time. Each time it happens, I say to myself "Laura, this is the last time. You have got to start holding yourself accountable for such things." Do I listen?

You're probably right, I don't. But since I have a slightly larger than normal conscience, I always feel terrible and beat myself up about it. As I write this, I've been thinking about something I learned a few years ago. I'll share it with you now:

"Excuses are tools for the incompetent, which create monuments of nothingness.
Excuses do not explain excuses.
Explanations do not explain excuses.
Those who emphasize in them are seldom good at anything else."

Now I have no idea where that came from, just that it has been passed down over the years. For awhile, reciting that in my head helped awhile. Until I learned to mute the little voice in the back of my head reminding me about it. It is just so much easier to make an excuse to rid ourselves of the responsibility we have to ourselves and to each other. We tell ourselves it's not our fault and wipe our hands of the situation. I think the same can be said about the fraternal community. For whatever reason, we find a way to blame the guilt on other people.

But... now we are all in the position to stop making excuses for ourselves. We can do something about the obstacles we face. I know it's easy and there are going to be times when we will want to, but we can't. And when things get tough, know that you have a classroom full of people who are willing to support you. No one wants to see friends struggle. I think our commitment to our values and our passion for what we stand for will serve as that crutch to lean on when we need to.

Dilemmas and Opportunities

Usually I have some idea on what to blog about for our topics each week, but this time I'm at a loss for words. I guess my troubles start with the idea of the Fraternal Movement. What is the Fraternal Movement? How does one define such a diverse community as ours? I believe the Fraternal Movement is the realization that our society is changing in such a way that the antiquated beliefs/practices of fraternities and sororities no longer benefit students and in fact hinder them. More and more research is being done on multiple aspects of fraternity life, bringing to light the positives and negatives of our community. By beginning to hold other accountable, leaders are stepping up to initiate the changes necessary to take our organizations to the next level.


With that little introduction out of the way, here's the dilemma:

How do we, as members of the fraternal community, address the issues plaguing our organizations? How do we go about initiating the change? Maggie and Tyler have said repeatedly that they think fraternal organizations are the most relevant organizations in today's society. The dilemma is proving that to current members who aren't really sure what being fraternity people means and to the outside community that fraternal organizations do much more than what is portrayed by the media. We need to show others that we live out our oath and Ritual every day. Actions speak louder than words... so if we walk the talk, I think we'll have a greater impact on others. As a community, we have become stagnant. What worked 100 years ago doesn't work anymore. It's similar to the little social experiment we did at the beginning of the quarter where not many understood their rituals or their values. That may not be how the majority of the members of this community feel but until everyone is on the same page, it will be difficult to become cohesive and unified.

And the opportunity we face?

It is quite simple: to take the building momentum toward change and run with it! We have the chance to really to roll up our sleeves and get to work restoring our community. Diversity is increasing all over and I think that if we embrace this change, we can really learn something. In my head, it's like we're at a crossroads. To the left the path that hasn't really been created and to the right we have our familiar status-quo. I say we plow through the cliched path less-traveled and establish the fraternal organizations that meet the needs of our ever-changing society. Fraternities and sororities are no longer about catering to an exclusive type/group of people. I was talking to Tyler this week and we talked about how we're at a crucial turning point in regards to MCGC and establishing a solid foundation to help our council grow. We all realize we need to do things differently, and I think that we will be able to initiate that change as long as we don't fall apart as a class come next quarter. Like our class assignment, we have the opportunity to reinvent the fraternity. It is up to us as to how far we take it.

Who we are vs. who we want to be

Introducing: Alpha Psi Lambda, Inc. - Alpha Chapter
Other than ritual stuff, I haven't spent much time thinking about my chapter. We talk about the big picture often that I kinda put my chapter on the back burner. But I do think we have a lot of strengths. The one thing that I love about my chapter is our unity. We are so extremely close to each other but it helps that we're not that big. Currently we have eight active members. What is also great is that depsite our size, we work our hardest to continue providing the same programs we've been putting on for years. I like to think of ourselves as the Little Giants (partly because I watched the movie all the time growing up). We can't compete size-wise with other chapters but we put on 3 big programs a year. I consider that a huge feat. We are all focused and know what needs to be done.

Despite our strenghths, there is always room for improvement. I think that sometimes people are so quick to jump on the bandwagon without really considering all the options befor making a decision. I get so frustrated when people just sit back and let everyone choose for them. Sometimes we get so proud that we forget that we're a part of a council, a part of a community. We stay in our own little bubble. I think we have a lot to work on in terms of branching out, and not just with regards to collaborations. A lot of the members just aren't interested in meeting new people, but I think we can learn a lot from others. We get so set on "Oh well we do things differently" but we don't bother to even consider other options. How can we grow if we just stick to the same old routine?

Featuring: Multicultural Greek Council:

Ohhhh MCGC. Our eboard meeting this week was intense. But I think we are all dedicated and passionate about our council to trudge through the tough work and take mcgc to the next level. So in a way, here are our strenghts: Theresa, Ashley, Lin, Qi, and Laura. Our dedication, our determination, and all our personal strengths combined make up mcgc's strengths. It is often said that you are only as strong as your weakest link, and after our meeting this week, I'm having a hard time finding our weak link. What I liked best was that we weren't afraid to disagree with each other. I admire how Ashley stood her ground despite the fact that she didn't feel well.

After last meeting, we realized many ways in which our council needs to change. I personally discovered that the rules hadn't been followed in a long time. And it's embarassing to admit it. I feel a lot like the incoming president of the US. They inherit everything that came from the former administration and it's up to them to deal with it the best way they can. But a huge weakness is apathy and downright lack of interest in the council across all chapters. It is incredibly frustrating when we have so many ideas but are unsure of them because we might not have support for them. I think for mcgc to reach the next level, we have got to earn the trust and support of the chapters.

Bringing up the rear: Our community:

I am so proud to be a part of the fraternity/sorority life here at Ohio State. Even though I wasn't able to attend the conference, I am not surprised at how well it went. The people I've gotten to meet are a dynamic group of people willing to go the extra mile. And outside of this class, the other people I've met are great leaders as well. So I think one of our strengths is how many leaders that are getting involved. Last year at BGLI I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of different people and I learned so much about what it means to be a leader. I think another strength is our ability to admit when something needs to be changed. It was awesome hearing about how NPHC has really come together as a council after realizing that it hadn't always been that way in the past. We're not stagnat... we're fluid and able to make changes.

But there is still work to be done. Our community is somewhat fragmented, split into 4, unequal parts. Yeah, this class in one step in the right direction, but it's up to us to maintain our relationships next quarter and beyond. We're not going to have Tyler and Maggie getting us together once a week to talk about our issues. We'll be flying the coop, taking our first baby steps. But I believe we'll continue to fly high. We also need to continue to show the rest of the campus that we havent' forgotten our values, our oaths, our Ritual. Tyler made a point about stereotypes: they exist because that's what someone saw. Our actions speak louder than our words and I think that's something we should be aware about. It doesn't matter if they're stereotypes or not, the reality is that I've heard numerous people say we only care about alcohol, drugs, and sex. It hurt more coming from my sister at home. It's like the saying, "If it walks like a ___ and acts like a ____, then it must be a ____". (I don't remember the specifics). But I think we're heading in the right direction.

"Ask me about the new Ohio Union"

I remembered to wear my shirt today, which is surprising because I've been a bit frazzled lately. Anyway, I was studying for my midterm this morning and I was asked about the new Union. Here were the top questions of the day:

1. Can I buy alcohol?
2. Can I use swipes for alcohol?
3. Why am I paying extra for this?
4. How much did the new union cost to build?
5. What can the place do for me?

People were kinda bummed when they found out that swipes weren't for alcoholic beverages (which I'm about 95% sure they aren't). But what got me thinking was how not everyone is looking at the new space as a once-in-a-lifetime event. Students are more concerned about the cost. And I guess I'm not surprised seeing as money/economy is on everyone's minds these days. I tried my best to convince my roommates that this was an awesome thing, but they weren't impressed.

Now, question 5 was the toughest one for me to answer. It should really be, "what can't the new union do for me?" Other than explaining all the offices/centers that will be housed there, I mentioned the new merchandise store (one kid was pretty excited to hear about that) and the restaurants. I talked about all the lounge space and all the different rooms people can use. And I mentioned the gigantic ball room. It's pretty big. But I realized that people aren't interested in anything unless they get something out of it. They're not willing to support this new union since they don't see what's in it for them. To be honest, I'm not sure how to respond to that. Got any advice?

I can relate this back to Greek life as a whole. If students don't see the benefits they get out of joining a fraternal organization, then they won't be as willing to find out more. And as ambassador, I've been thinking hard about how to spark that interest and market all the great benefits we provide. Once students see what we can offer them, maybe then they'll show more interest. But it needs to be a team effort, a community-wide effort. The next big thing I know that's coming up is Greek Week. I think that's a great time to show the OSU community all the benefits of going Greek such as brotherhood/sisterhood, community, and unity.

By the way, I feel kind of important wearing this shirt. Kinda weird, I know.

ready....set.....Stroll!

So clearly I was a bit excited to stroll as a group today at the end of class. At a meeting Tuesday, Evelyn and and Sam were talking about how much fun it would be to do one as a class. So while we're on the topic, I thought I'd share videos of Alpha Psi Lambda stepping/strolling in last year's program, Stepping with Knowledge. It was hosted by the women of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. The gist of the program was for other orgs from the other 3 councils to pair up with an org from NPHC. They were taught a step and performed it at the program. I was paired up with the lovely ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and they helped us out a lot in teaching us a fun step. So below is our step from the program in 2 parts, and at the end we stroll out, to give you guys an idea of what a stroll is going to look like. Warning: lower the volume on the computer because the cheers/screams get loud.

Enjoy!!

Part 1:


Part 2:


ps- you all better not judge me because I look like a crazy person. Don't worry, I've learned to step better.

Oath?

I was blow-drying my hair, thinking about what oath means to me, and I realized that there is more than one type of oath. Depending on the situation, you can make an oath to yourself, to your parents, to your friends, to your husband, to your children, etc. but people usually don't make oaths to a student organization. That's where Greek life comes in. We take an oath to uphold values, secrets, and brotherhood/sisterhood. We've acknowledged the fact that we're different from other student orgs because of our lifetime commitment, so we get it and I won't rehash it here. What we haven't really talked about is how we can apply that oath to our post-grad lives. As someone who has spent time with alumni, I can see that Alpha Psi Lambda is a part of them that they can't deny. So many members have done big things with their lives and really gave back to the community. They have been staying true to their oath for years. I really want to be able to say 15 years from now that I'll have done the same thing.

An oath can be a tricky thing to deal with as well. We're human and no where close to being perfect. That being said, we're going to fall and make mistakes every now and then. But the beauty of it is that your oath that you took will still be there. It's like your mother, who was there after you wiped out on your rollerblades to clean off your scraped knee and put a band-aid on it. She will remind you to be more careful, to be more aware of the consequences of your actions. But no matter what you do, she will still love you. Your oath that you took upon becoming a member of your organization reminds you that you have responsibilities and that your actions always come with consequences, good or bad. But breaking an oath doesn't condemn you as a failure; the oath just gives you the guidelines on how to live your life just as your mother teaches you how to live your life. In my head, it kinda works as an "I told you so." As much as we hate to hear it, there's usually a good reason for it. You break your oath, things happen, and you get an "I told you so."

Maybe organizations should start hosting a re-commitment ceremony, a renewal of the oath, so to speak. Couples often have a renewal of vows ceremony x amount of years later. And since marriages are similar to fraternities, why not have a fraternal renewal of vows/oath? Instead of just witnessing new members take an oath, have current members take it as well. It might help new member development, seeing the commitment in those older than them.

I totally believe that my oath transcends my undergraduate life. It has taught me to hold myself accountable for my actions. I do not only represent myself, but also my organization. An oath should never be forgotten.

Marriage/Fraternity Values

I came across this article about SC-governor Mark Sanford's wife and her tell-all book about her husband's affair. This story came out last year, so I'm not sure how many of you have heard about it. Here's the cliff notes version:

Governor starts affair with woman from South America. Letters and emails exchanged. Wife of governor finds said letters and emails. Husband provides excuses. Wife files for divorce. Wife writes book.

Sadly, we've heard this story before. What got my attention were quotes from the wife, Jenny Sanford.

"It was her husband Gov. Mark Sanford's loss of values that she blames on his much-publicized affair"
"It was awful," she said. "I literally was in shock. My stomach felt gut-punched."
"I felt in some respects that we had lost something that we would never get back," even as she initially considered staying with him, she said.

That's exactly how I felt when certain facts were made known to me a little bit ago. Oaths were broken and values tossed to the side. I love my letters and to have someone disrespect them broke my heart. In class we mentioned holding members accountable... and it's something that we should all take seriously. I was not the only person affected, my chapter felt stabbed in the back.

If you guys read this, please please please do not be afraid to stand up and speak out if you feel someone has lost their values. Our organizations can only be as important and strong as we make them to be. It is not an easy task, but we have brothers and sisters there for support.

Here is the article if you would like to read it.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/08/south.carolina.jenny.sanford/index.html?eref=rss_politics&iref=polticker

Thoughts on Ritual

I have thought about this all week, hence why I'm writing this with a little over an hour until class.

I really enjoyed our class discussion on the Ritual, and even though I've read King's article three times, it still moves me. Ritual is one of the most important things to me and to my chapter. We try our best to live it everyday. But despite the fact that no one else knows them, in a sense we all know each others Ritual. They all serve the same overall purpose. Each time a member experiences Ritual, something happens. Brotherhood and sisterhood bonds strengthen. Each member re-evaluates the reasons why he or she joined in the first place. We are reminded of our purpose and our values that we pledge to uphold.

Now for me, there is one ritual that gives me goosebumps every time it happens. I don't what it is, but something magical happens. I am in awe at how the Founders created our Ritual and impressed at how they are still relevant 25 years later. Did the Founders have this in mind back when they were a group of undergrads? I don't know, but I am quite fortunate to be able to ask them myself. Since my organization is only 25 years old, my Founders are on facebook!

What is sad is how so many people come to think of their ritual as a chore. It should be a beautiful thing. My Ritual gives meaning to the stuff my chapter does. It gives meaning to our existence. Without it, what would be? If there was no deep, historical connection transcending generations, where would the modern-day Greek organization be?



This video is pretty cool, and the speaker makes some good points. She suggests talking about your ritual symbols laid out in front of you, but in your own words. Make the ritual your own.

I think that the Ritual is one of the most powerful aspects of Greek Life. But like anything powerful, in the wrong hands it can be dangerous. Just as my chapter president challenged us to live our Ritual, we should all challenge our chapters to live the Ritual.

The Last Lecture

While on the note of inspiration, I would like to share a video that I enjoyed watching. It's called, "The Last Lecture" by Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch. He wrote this after his diagnosis of cancer. Unfortunately, he passed away but he did leave a wonderful message behind that everyone should hear.



Now, I realize that this video is over an hour long, but please take the time to listen to parts of it. I couldn't find excerpts of it so the entire lecture will have to do. He's a dynamic speaker and I never got bored watching this. He reminds me that if I want something, all I have to do is just go for it. Nothing is stopping me but myself.

I hope this serves to inspire you all as it has done for me.

Post-dinner thoughts.

Despite the fact that I got zero work done tonight, I did head over to the RPAC for some delicious pasta served by my peers. I met a friend of mine for dinner and really enjoyed the meal. But although I was helping out the cause by donating some money, I felt somewhat guilty by eating a great meal when so many in Haiti don't have anything to eat. At dinner, I heard people talk about how they aren't letting people fly in. It makes me worry that survivors and relief workers won't have the resources necessary to do help. It all makes me so incredibly grateful for the life I am able to live.

Circumstances such as these cause me to reflect on just how short life is. And yes, it's an overused cliche. But really, I wonder what would happen if we stopped getting caught up in the little things and looked at the bigger picture once in a while. Maybe we should take the time to readjust our bearings and refocus on our goals. Just like any instrument used in a lab, we as humans and as Greeks could undergo a recalibration every so often. That way we can continue working at our highest potential, doing the best that we can for ourselves and for our community.

But on a lighter note, I was super impressed with the way things turned out tonight. Everyone who helped out did an awesome job. It is great to see a large university such as ours coming together and working as one to really make a difference in the lives of others. I am so proud to be a Buckeye!

Maybe this is what happened:

A quote to start off this post:

"Each of us has much more hidden inside us than we have had a chance to explore. Unless we create an environment that enables us to discover the limits of our potential, we will never know what we have inside of us."
-Muhammad Yunus

I'd like to think that this quote sums up the goal of this class and our responsibilities as Greeks. But on with the show:

The mission: Interview Greeks from different councils and get the scoop on what values and rituals mean to them and return to Mission Control by 5:30pm.

Our Strategy: Walk down 15th avenue and start knocking on doors while calling our contacts from other councils.

The Debrief: Team MCGC, down 2 vital members, managed to interview 3 PHA members, 3 IFC members, 1 NPHC member, and 3 MCGC members. During our mission, we came across the same general answers such as service and brotherhood/sisterhood. One response was even partying. Which makes me wonder, do we as a community truly understand our values? Ritual was also a tough question. The first response was "Ritual? Uhhhh..." The consensus was that it was a way for current members to connect with past generations and strengthens the bonds between members. What I did not have a chance to ask was, "What does it do for you, personally?" Nor did they offer their own opinions.

The Conclusion: I'm not too sure that our community walks the talk. Are we living the ritual? No one I asked told me their mission statement/creed unprovoked. Now, I know I'm not perfect, so I can't be the one to point the finger. I'm just as guilty as the next person. But I'm willing to work on it. It's one of the reasons why I took an e-board position on my council. I have no choice but to start walking to talk if I'm to gain the trust of my council members and peers.

So what happened? I think a re-evaluation of our values and the meaning of the Ritual happened. It broke my heart to hear someone say that his chapter's values were "sex, drugs, and fraterol." That is a huge giant step back and if our own members aren't willing to challenge and change the Greek stereotypes, I don't know how much we can do. It was disheartening to hear that. A group of us sat there, thinking, "This guy for real?" Here we are, a dynamic group of students, but I feel as if we're preaching to deaf ears.

But on a lighter note, I did feel that we bonded as a council. Walking out of Stillman, we were thinking "uhhhh we don't know any of the houses." We thought we would just walk around and call friends we had. But we had a mission, and the three of us marched toward 15th. We decided to knock on doors and go up to people. Surprisingly, we did pretty well for just 3 people. It was a total team effort and I was happy to walk back with the results we had. Granted, it might not be as much as the other councils, but I am more happy with the fact that I feel closer to them as a council than I had before. It makes me that much more excited to start our positions and lead our council.

And, last but not least: This mission was a microcosm of the next 52 weeks and on, of going out into our community and trying to bring awareness to what Greeks stand for and our potential as future leaders. Friday was focusing on values, but we have so many other aspects to focus on. Our work is just beginning!! This activity was just a taste of what we can expect, especially what obstacles we're going to face. If Greeks think that their chapter values partying, we have a long road ahead of us. But I know we're all up to the challenge!

My values? Where do I begin?!

First and foremost, my faith in God is one of the most important things to me and is what guides me. A lot of my values have their foundation there. I try to live my life the way I was raised, by respecting others and being helpful to others. Second, I would say that I value family and friends. My mom has taught me that you will always have family no matter what. When you need someone for anything, family will be there. I am really close to my family and I am so blessed to be able to see them as often as I do considering that the majority live in Puerto Rico. I consider my friends my extended family. I often take for granted the individuals who know me so well and help me out with anything.

I also value laughter, personal growth, and balance. Days seem worse if you don't cut yourself some slack and laugh. You may not want to laugh at a particular instant, but as the time goes by and you move on, life will be easier if you can laugh at yourself. I am a firm believer in always being aware of who you were, who you are, and who you want to be. OSU has changed me in so many ways, and I appreciate it so much because of how I was in high school. I've slowly been watching myself grow up into a young, responsible adult, and I can see how it's building the foundation for the person I will be in the future. I truly have grown personally. I also value balance because life gets out of control sometimes and it is important to take the effort to find your happy place. I love being involved around campus but it gets difficult juggling school, friends, parents, and other responsibilities. I learned last year how vital it is for me to make time for myself, to find that balance that keeps me from going crazy.

I am my values. If you were to take away everything I cherish and believe, you would have the physical Laura, the skin and bones of her. I react the way I do and feel the way I do because of my values. My character and my values go hand in hand. I don't think I can have one without the other. When I get asked, "So tell me about yourself," I talk about my values. I guide my actions with my values... or at least I try to. Reading about congruency of values and how hard it can be makes me feel better.

When doing last week's activity, I found that a lot of my values were shared by my council. We all decided that balance, friendships, enjoyment, growth, and integrity were important to our council and those went along with my values as well. It was nice discovering that I shared the same values as my council. I think it's a good sign of what's to come. If our council can agree on what's important to all of us, then it will make it easier for us to work together and bring about change.

I think that my values are shared within my community here at OSU and outside of the university. As a Greek community, we value friendship and family, in the form of our sisterhoods and brotherhoods. How we treat our blood family should be no different than how we treat our Greek family. And I think family values can be applied to the outside community as well. By treating our community as family, we work hard to make sure we do the best we can for our neighbors. I think generally people value the same things, just not to the same extent as others.

Marting Luther King. Jr. once said, "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment."

To go along with Dr. King, I think that our values intertwined create our sense of community because we believe in the same things and cherish the same things. We are all one community because we share mutual feelings and work together. So my values work together with the values of others to build on our community.

How far do you wanna go?

I've been sitting here at SEL, hoping for inspiration to suddenly take over and help me write a thoughtful entry. Maybe I'm trying too hard or it's writer's block at its best. Usually when this happens, I listen to music. In this case, a song by Gloriana played on my ipod and I think it has a good message.



It's challenging us. How far do we want to go as a chapter, as a council, as a class, as a community?? The song is about changing the status-quo. I especially like these lines:

"Bigger dreams came from smaller things baby
Yeah maybe we are a little crazy
But I see that look in your eye
And I can tell your ready to roll
I just need to know
How far do you wanna go?
How far do you wanna go?"

I think we all agree that we want to be change agents for our community. But are we ready to push our limits and be innovative? I know that in the past, my chapter has really turned things around for the better, realizing that things needed to be different. And although they met a lot of criticism, they knew they were doing the right then and kept moving forward. We as a chapter know how far we want to go and try everyday to keep that goal in mind.

Help Haiti

I'm terrible with names, so I don't remember who brought up the idea in class yesterday. I've been searching the internet for some information and I've come across some websites that might point us in the right direction.

CNN's Impact your world: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/
It lists a bunch of charities and groups them according to area of focus.

Charity Navigator: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1004
Rates charities and provides tips

I read that the best way to help is to give financial aid because those down there helping have a better understanding of what supplies they need and it saves on shipping costs.

I've never done something like this, so I'm not really sure the proper procedure. Maybe we can collect change from students on the oval, sell hot chocolate, set up buckets in different buildings on campus? If anyone is familiar with stuff like this, I'm willing to help out.

Sandwich-making in class?!

Why did we choose to start a class about fraternal change with a service project, and what did you learn about yourself and your peers as a result of our shared experience today?

Clearly, I've waited some time to answer this question. When Tyler first gave us the prompt, no clear answer came to mind. There was no obvious answer, and maybe that's one of the reasons he asked the question. What good is it to ask a question to which we all know the answer? If that was the case, there would be no reason for this class.

I think Tyler and Maggie picked a service project to start the class because it is one of the fundamental reasons we choose to be leaders and take part in extracurricular activities. Greek life as a whole is meant to serve. Serve what/whom? The student body and the outside community. It is so important to the Greek community that it's included in our Standards of Excellence. Service can be applied to so many things, and people have lots of opportunities to serve in different ways. I also think Tyler and Maggie wanted to show us how simple service can me. In Pay it Forward, he had an idea and implemented it.

I learned from class that we all want the same things for the Greek community. We want to see it grow and improve from where it is now. More importantly, we've all decided to take on the responsibility of initiating change. I think we all had fun making sandwiches and getting to know our partner(s). I was ready for the usual lecture, but the change really made the class that more enjoyable. I think we're ready to have some fun with our class.

"I can write a blog. I have thoughts!"

Every time I think about what to write, the movie Julie & Julia comes to mind. For those of you who aren't familiar, I'll do a quick recap:

Julie Powell, the protagonist, decides she's going to start a blog after one of her friend's blog gets picked up for a movie (or book. I saw this on my flight to PR and I fell asleep). Her blog chronicles her journey cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook over the course of a year. By the way, it's based on a true story, Julie's book about her experience with the blog.

My point is that the one line that sticks out is when Julie says, "I can write a blog. I have thoughts!" implying that what she has to say is as important as anyone else's thoughts, and that they're good enough to people to hear. It's the same way I feel about this blog. We all have thoughts about leadership and making a difference in this world, so why not say it loud for all to read? I was thinking we can all share this blog at our chapter meetings, or if someone says something in particular you think your chapter should hear. This class isn't just for us, it's for us to take to our councils and chapters to start bringing change about. Post your blog on facebook or twitter. Who knows? Maybe we'll start an entire blogging phenomenon. On Friday, Tyler and Maggie kept emphasizing how this class will transcend our ten-week period. I think this is a good way to ensure that.

And so we begin!

I never thought about starting a blog before. To be honest, my day-to-day activities are not that interesting. But I'm trying to keep an open mind. I mean, how hard can keeping a blog be? Lots of people are bloggers, so why not just go for it?

As for the questions Tyler asked, I am a third-year chemical engineering student minoring in Spanish. When I'm not doing homework in Koffalt, I do enjoy running and spending the weekends unwinding with my friends. I'm pretty outgoing and I like to talk to everyone, so I hope you are willing to make some new friends.

The reason I joined my fraternity was because I was attracted to their sense of family here on campus. The Latino culture is very family-oriented, so it's nice to be able to share that same feeling with other students. At home I'm very much connected to my culture but during freshman year, I felt I was missing that connection. I found it in my fraternity.

Honestly, reading the entire Blogabus was overwhelming yet inspiring. Wanting change is one thing, but actively pursuing change is daunting. Reading it was a nice break from the usual syllabus format, though. All the youtube videos added a unique touch also. This class will definitely be different from the kinds of classes I'm used to taking. I'm hoping that since Tyler and Maggie seem really excited to teach this class, some of that enthusiasm will rub off on me.


Now that wasn't so bad. I think I could get used to this. Here's to blogging!