Quote of the Week: October 10, 2013

It is currently 6:31a.m. here in Lexington and the only reason I am awake is because I actually went to sleep last night.  Now if this doesn't make sense let me clarify.  I'm not sure why, but 4 out of the 6 of my professors decided that they should schedule exams at the same time, and the other 2 scheduled them last week, so needless to say I have been pulling all nighters like it was my job to get all my studying in.  Last night I actually decided sleep was more important, but now I am regretting it, as I wake up at 6a.m. to start studying again.  I know many of you are in the same boat with midterms coming up, so this weeks quote is a little motivation to just keep going.

Though these meme's will always be there for you, don't forget during tough times like struggles with school, family, or anything else, your sisters are the ones you can really lean on.  Honestly they may just be the ones sending you meme's like this.  So if they're having a tough time help a sista out, you'd want them to do the same for you.

XOXO- Taylor S

Big/Little for CHEAP

When you were getting your presents from your big, did you walk by all of the big baskets of canvases,  candies, wine glasses, and so one and think "Holy Cow! How am I going to be able to afford this stuff for me little???" I did! I had no idea how I was going to be able to give my little so much stuff just like my big did for me!

Well, ladies, I figured it out. As with everything you do, start early!!! Be on the lookout for things you may need like paints, brushes, glitter, and little things. Over the summer, Michael's had a sale going that was 3 acrylic paints for $1. Usually those are about $1 a piece. Needless to say, I bought a ton!

Get on Hobby Lobby and Michael's email lists. They send out great coupons every week! Start stocking up if you haven't already. I can promise you, you will need so much more than you think you do. Hobby Lobby has a web address just for their weekly coupons. Michael's has one too!! Download their apps as well. You can show the coupon straight from there without the worry of printing a coupon out. 

Don't be afraid to check out the $1 aisle at Target, Walmart, or anywhere else. They have all sorts of stuff to give your little that they will love! I found owl Post Its, which were perfect seeing as it is one of Kappa's symbols. I loved when my big gave me glow sticks and bubbles. If you're lucky like I was, Big/Little week was around Halloween. Can we say Halloween candy???? Baked good go a long way too, and that is not expensive at all!

The first day of gifts for my amazing little. Shout Out to Lindsey Hopewell for at least pretending to like everything I gave you. ;)

Fright Night - Socials for the Holiday

With recruitment winding down (for most of us anyway), it is time to get our new members introduced to the Greek Community. What better way than through mixers, socials and functions. Every campus does it differently but no one can ever have too many ideas of ways to interact with those fraternity men. I have some Halloween themed ideas that can be transformed for any social, mixer, themed dance you name it.

Fright Night

This is the "cooler" way to name a Halloween themed event, that is simple and everyone can have their own creativity. At a Fright Night event the attendees wear any Halloween costume that they desire, but paired costumes are always preferred. 

Thriller

Everyone knows Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Come to your event dressed like those in the video. Here are some examples: 

Ghouls & Goblins

Take this social back to the day when you were a kid, growing up with Hocus Pocus, Halloween Town, Gremlins, and all the other classics that make you think of Halloween. Dress for this themed social as one of those things that make you scream when you hear something go bump in the night. Or even something simple and classic, like a witch, a ghost made from a sheet, a jack-o-lantern. Use your creativity on this one and bring your DIY skills! 

Other Ideas

We all know that probably our favorite types of socials are our themed dances, but the holidays can go much farther. Do a mixer (what my school calls a social without a third-party vendor for alcohol) where everyone can crave or paint a pumpkin, your chapter supplies the tools and the paint, while everyone is BYOP, bring your own pumpkin! 

Have everyone bob for their own apple then decorate it with carmel, chocolate, crushed candy, sprinkles you name it. It is a blast watching everyone try to grab their apple but then that satisfaction when you get to eat that decadent treat. 

When you are planning a themed social, especially for the holidays make sure to keep it simple and classy. Think about the little things that will make your event a success, turn your punch orange, bring a spooky trail mix, hang cobwebs from the ceiling. You make think that the small touches go unnoticed, but they are what truly makes your event fit for the holidays!

Hope these ideas help you make the most out of your holiday themed socials! 

Quote of the Week: October 3, 2013

"You can take the sisters out of the Sorority, but you can't take the Sisterhood out of the Sisters."

I have been reminded of the truth in those quote many times throughout this year.  My chapter is the second newest on campus and our first pledge class of founders just graduated this past year.  These girls joined a sorority when there was no sorority.  They created it, they grew it, and now we are one of the top chapters on campus after just four short years.  These founding members put everything they had into the chapter.  They had faith when others did not, they had dedication to make the chapter succeed, and they gave love to not only the sorority, but every member that joined their sisterhood from that point forward.  Now that the founding class has graduated its amazing to see that their faith, dedication, and love for our chapter had never wavered.  We had sisters join us and celebrate on bid day and others just congratulating us from afar on welcoming 86 new members into our sisterhood.  We are happy to have many alumni attending our annual philanthropy event this coming weekend, and we even had a founder come back on big/little reveal to see how her family has grown.  These girls show the true meaning of sisterhood, and that though you can take the sisters out of the sorority, you can't take the sisterhood out of the sisters.

XOXO- Taylor S

Switching to Fall Formal Recruitment

This year my school decided to change our recruitment up a little bit. In previous years we had spring formal recruitment or deferred recruitment. This meant that students with less than 12 hours could not go through any form of recruitment formal or informal until their second semester of college. This gave students a chance to get themselves situated on campus for an entire semester and make friends outside and inside of Greek life before they decided to join.

Don't you love fall? Photo found here.

The decision to switch to a different time of recruitment was based on a lot of factors. Numbers played a role because ultimately people were very excited to join in the fall and so it's important to catch those people before they decided not to join. By switching to fall formal recruitment we gained about 100+ potential new members at the start of formal recruitment from the numbers we had the previous spring. This made all the classes of new members much larger than they would have been if we had done spring formal recruitment.

It wasn't an easy switch though. There were many questions that came along with it such as grade point averages, the size of the classes, and the switch in general. It wasn't easy financially because of the fact that we had to prepare for back to back formal recruitments. It wasn't easy mentally because that is a lot to go through for a class that has just been initiated a few months back, or for the classes that had to go through two formal recruitments on the sorority side in a row.

Ultimately it was well worth it in the end. Was it difficult/nerve-wracking/hard to deal with? Yes. Was it amazing/lovely/earth-shakingly great? Yes. As organizations we have to be willing to move and shake with the times. It was definitely a hard thing to deal with, but in the end I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world.

Photo credit to my lovely sister, Christina H.

Finally, my advice to you if your school is planning to switch to formal recruitment in the fall: go for it. It can seem daunting or nerve-wracking but it is honestly such a great experience. The transition is going to be an icky time period but the ends will justify the means in this situation!