One of my favorite aspects of sorority life is ritual. However, I think it is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Greek life. It is not necessarily an easy concept to understand. Ritual, after all, is the roots of your organization. When you are initiated, you make a promise. Every fraternity and sorority's promise is unique, but you know what happens in your ritual. I like to believe that most Greek members do truly hold their ritual close to their heart and do not let non-initiated members know everything behind the ritual. But that does not mean they necessarily understand it.
Ritual is one of the reasons behind the "secret society" stereotypes that, amusingly, still plague Greek life today. However, ritual is what binds us together. It definitely is not anything negative. It is something we share. Ritual makes a promise that we will live up to the standards our founders laid down. When you accept a bid to a Greek organization, you are making a promise that you will accept those standards and values. Your new member process up through and after initiation is to educate you about your Greek organization. Ritual.
Each group has its secrets embedded throughout; known only to those initiated. Why is this important? Why are these kept secret? Because when you were offered a bid, it meant that the brothers or sisters of the fraternity or sorority that you were being asked to join felt that YOU could live and uphold the ritual that they already knew and understood.
I think ritual is like a puzzle; it comes together in pieces. Only a few know how the pieces fit. Do not disregard ritual. I am not trying to sound pompous or snobby here-others believed that you could live these values. Often, ritual means being more than yourself. While we all have different ritual, I feel that in some ways, we have the same goal: Create good. That's what Greek life is rooted on, correct? Philanthropy? The differences lay in how we do it. But it doesn't matter. Don't brush off ritual. Embrace it. Help others embrace it too.
Truly, I feel honored knowing that there are things in my sorority that only initiated sisters know and that others will never understand. My ritual has helped me become a better person. Every day, I try to live out our values in ways that would make my sisters and founders proud. Being in a sorority is about doing more.
I live our ritual, and I see sisters do the same. Sometimes, I see blatant disregard in the Greek community for panhellenic or fraternal values. It is disappointing. Ultimately, we are all apart of one Greek community. We owe it to our founders and our brothers and sisters to live to our values. You accepted the responsibility. As it goes, you wear your letters on heart; not on a t-shirt. Usually, the first time someone sees you wearing the letters on a t-shirt, you will always be associated with them.
By participating in ritual, I feel that it continually installs your values. The majority of Greek life is fun; this is more serious. But I still enjoy it. It brings us closer together. Think about your Greek organization. Think of how many members there are, nationally or internationally. Then consider how many Greek members there are. Only a fraction of them know your ritual. Put that in perspective. I see it as significant.
Live your values everyday. I see myself becoming a better person. I am proud to live out my ritual.
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