I've been thinking a lot lately about my life. Where I've lived. People I've met. I was sitting in a cafeteria about a week ago, I attended a pre-Panhellenic dinner with the new Panhellenic Delegate - another chapter's delegate sat next to me. She was cute, bubbly, trendy, VERY chatty. I was engaged, but have no idea what we talked about. The entire time I thought to myself, "I will never see this girl, ever, again. How many people have I had conversations with this year, and actually made a connection with many, and how many of them will I see again? Will they even remember me? What a strange feeling..."
I've lived all over the world. I've spent less than a quarter of my life in America, my "home" country. At the age of 23 I have probably experienced more than one person might experience in their entire life. Please don't interpret that as "bragging rights" - if anyone knows me well enough, they know that I'm not one to talk about those experiences for fear of standing out and drawing attention to myself. More than anything, I do everything I can to adapt to my surroundings - it's something [I like to think] I almost perfected living abroad.
Tonight I found myself going back to some of those "experiences" and questioning which ones compare to what I experienced tonight. Ha. I have to laugh out loud when I think back to where I was standing a few hours ago.
Part of my duties during these first two weeks is to contact the Greek Presidents - to set up a time I can visit their chapter meetings to explain our process, etc. Tonight I visted two different fraternities.....
Now I understand why Jackie didn't have much to say when she and I discussed meeting the fraternities. What CAN you say?
I'm standing there - so nervous, I can feel my hands shaking so I hold them in front of me and try to stay still - and all I can see is fraternity men smiling back at me. Smiling so big I questioned whether or not they were paying any attention to what I was saying! It was....surreal. I don't know how else to explain it.
After the first one I felt a little better - because they were kind and polite, and while I questioned what was said after I left the room I had gotten my feet wet, I was a "pro"! So I head to the next one - the largest fraternity...and not to mention one of their nationally recognized ones.
They are so large they hold meetings in one of the auditoriums - to enter you walk in on a platform type balcony area where the audience can look up and see you, and then you have to turn the corner and walk down the stairs....with the audience watching you.......
I wasn't ready for that.
I wasn't ready for the "whistle" either!
The Seargant at Arms grumbled, "inappropriate" after a brother had let it out - but it was too late. I was already ten shades of red and smiling one of those goofy smiles that I'm so good at.
My reaction? Look up, around, keep smiling, shrug my shoulders and say, "thanks!" and focus on not falling down the stairs. Yep.
I'm surprised no one asked for my number. But someone in a salmon colored sports coat did ask if I would be "available for socials". Again - all smiles, "we would LOVE for you to invite our women to socials once our colony is formed!"
Every time I turned to look at their President sitting behind my left shoulder, he looked like he was just getting the biggest kick out of my being there. In a good way though - I had previously met him and he seemed timid, polite and proper - and that carried over to tonight during the meeting....but still. He shook my hand, all smiles, quite a few times while I was there.
Can we say, "EGO BOOST" for this little lady?
If the rest of this experience is anything like my first week - I might just have to stay in Newark to get my masters. What will I study, you ask?
Well, I don't have to make that decision today, do I?
:)
