Hello there thanks for joining hair girl Danny blue so today from the title you can tell I’m going to discuss my experience joining my black greek-letter organization as a graduate member and what I mean by graduate member is basically a person who already has a four-year degree for your college degree
And they are seeking entrance into one of the four NPHC National pan-hellenic Council sororities with the first one being Alpha Kappa Alpha 1908 Delta Sigma Theta in 1913 Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated which is my organization 1920 and then we have Sigma Gamma Rho as well in 1922
So with that said um I’ve been a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated for um I’m in year 9 yeah I’ll be 10 next year yeah and it was it was it was awesome I wanted to join an undergrad but some things happened and I wasn’t
Able to do it and you know life goes on I knew there was the option to do it in grad but I really wanted to do it in undergrad because that’s where all of the women in my family did it they did it when they were undergrads and that’s
What I thought it was you know what I’m saying and then I’m when it didn’t happen I was a little bit devastated because I tried I went to school in Milwaukee Wisconsin that’s where I went to my undergrad at Alverno college and it was a it is a
Girls school and I wanted to be part of the organization and it just didn’t go my way fast forward I moved to Minnesota and I become a member and it was just everything happened man it it was a process so I know people think you know you just say oh I want to
Join an organization no it’s not like that it’s by invitation only you have to be invited you cannot just say I want to join I attended a lot of the events I showed my face I made sure they knew who I was and members of the organization
Knew I knew who they were stuff like that and everything was cool but I keep on back to when I was an undergrad and I just hated it happened then because that’s pretty much when I wanted it to happen when I was younger and I was
Energetic and you know I just wanted to have that type of collegiate experience and it didn’t happen and you know I have a lot of friends who actually us okay me and grad you know things happen situations happen and they’re just not able to join as an undergrad in all
Organizations and they’re just not talking about mine and the one thing I will tell you is some of them have felt like you know there’s been a little bit of shade thrown towards them because they decided to come in as Grand members whether it was my choice or it was
Because of life happens and that really hurts because it’s like we all joined the same organization you got the chance to join as a undergrad and that’s not cool to try to throw that in somebody’s face and make them feel beneath you because they came in as a graduate
Member like would you want somebody in your family to be treated badly because of that like because I joined after I had a degree you know and there has been a few times because I’m in a lot of Greek groups or whatever and sometimes somebody was trying to throw shade at
Someone who was made a member at the grad level and I just be looking at them cuz I’m lying that’s sad like you really are putting your experience all on how you came in nobody cares how you came in let’s let’s just be real nobody really cares how you
Came in once you’re in you move forward and the point is are you there to do the work or are you there just to say I’m a member and you wear t-shirt these organs don’t need no t-shirt where’s we need movers we need shakers we need four thinkers we need equity minded
Individuals we’re going to push these organizations into the next century you know what I’m saying because pretty much all of the organizations are 100 we will be a hundred in 2020 and then we have the Sigma Gamma rows who will be 20 in 2022 and then well iota Phi Beta they
Were founded in 1963 so 2063 would be the last year that one of the divine nine organizations will turn 100 and it’s just like if we’re at the point that we’re still talking down to people about how they came in I don’t know how we can move forward like we have enough
Issues in the black Greek community as it is we have these stigmas attached to certain ones depending on which one you came in which organization you came in people say certain things like the AKS they’re the pretty girls the deltas people try to say they’re ghetto the
Zetas they always try to say we’re fat now to shape and ugly the SG rows they always try to say who you know like they’re not there and I’m just like let’s get past a dissing like move forward why are we acting like the stigmas that are attached that have been
Attached because we the people are the ones who make stuff happen like I mean people don’t really know is so much more to Greek life than just step in and party in and you know strolling like it’s so much more work that’s the reason like this is the organization what
You need to know that it cost a lot of money it’s not just you’re in it just to be in it oh no you’re gonna have to put in your time your talents and your coins in order to make the organization grow to keep it going you know what I’m saying
You didn’t join something that you want to see die so in order for it to keep growing you have to grow with it you have to help it grow and I just don’t know why people spend so much of their time trying to worry about how you came
In versus what have you done for the org you know what I’m saying and I don’t know I’ve taken up for quite a few people I mean not taking up for them but like got it people like why are you so worried about some stuff that happened
Back when ever like that that’s gone nobody cares yeah you came in but what have you done since you’ve come in really and that’s what it boils down to and I don’t think we think about that and I’m just like we could do so much more work we have too
Many pieces of division that’s going on we have the light versus dark we have the grand versus grad we have the young versus old we have the I mean I can go on and on and on and it’s just ridiculous it’s like you can’t escape it and I’m
Not saying you’re supposed to join this organization and oh my gosh it’s glitter and sprinkles everywhere because it’s not you’re not gonna be best friends with these people all the time it’s gonna be some times when you will be kind of upset you know what I’m saying
Like you’re gonna be mad that you actually have to work with somebody that you’re not feeling right now like you just don’t like them and you’re not in organizations I like everybody and everybody is not there to like you so I mean if you could just manage that and
Be like your organization is a job and you understand where do you fit into that equation you’ll be okay but if you come in thinking oh my God we’re gonna be sisters yeah we’re gonna be bros and it’s gonna be all this and that please don’t do
That if you put in 10% you’re gonna get 10% out of that order but if you put in a hundred percent I swear you will get out a thousand now again there’s no such thing as perfection every organization has its issues and that’s just life you know
Life and issues go hand in hand because happens whenever people are behind things stuff happens yeah but I don’t want anyone to go away from this thinking oh my god it’s the worst thing to join a bgl oh no it’s not it’s an awesome experience I’ve done so many things I’ve
Learned so many skills I’ve changed for the better in different facets of my life I’ve learned how to manage things differently than I would have just by being in my employment field and the outside organizations that I do work with later does fit in my life and I fit
Into it I’ve made some really good connections some lifelong real sisters you know that I talked to most of them don’t even live in the state I live in like I only see them at conferences or if I happen to be in a state and I appreciate that so if you’re looking to
Go grab go ahead and do it I’m saying if you’re a person that hasn’t graduated I suggest you try undergrad because I really feel like you will have a more well-rounded experience when you are younger when you’re able to do a lot of this stuff and you don’t probably have
As many types of responsibilities as a grown person does you know what I’m saying so you can get more out of joining organization yeah I love my org the good the bad the ugly I’m here for it I’m here for it all ain’t going nowhere and one thing I will
Say is make sure you got thick skin and be open to give and accept correction because you’re not always gonna be right and you’re not always gonna know everything and somebody else will so again make sure you go into this knowing that there are obligations like there are expectations there are standards and
Remember whatever you do they’re not gonna look at you as an individual they’re gonna look at you as an organization so whenever I do something it’s not oh that’s just Danielle no it’s Danielle the Zeta yeah that’s just how it goes anytime you do something people associate you with whatever you are not
Just you so with that said I hope you got enough out of what I’m trying to say my husband’s calling me I just want to get this in real quick and enjoy your journey bye
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