Sponsorship/Letter of Reccomendation

You find out that the chapter at your college/university or the alumnae/alumni chapter has a rush. You are beyond excited, nervous; your adrenaline kicks in on the thought of you fulfilling your dream of becoming a member of XYZ org. You attend Rush with your excitement in tow, trying your best to impress who could soon be your sorority and or fraternity sister/brother.

Then reality sets in. The fee for membership is announced at Rush, and it is a lot more than what you anticipated. You realize you have to have so many hours of RECENT community service. You need a sponsor and don't have one. You have to have a FINANCIAL member write you a letter of recommendation that can speak about your character,  your RECENT community service efforts and why they feel you would be the perfect candidate for membership.

The problem? You do not have the money. You don't have a sponsor. You can't find a financial member to write you a letter of recommendation. You realize that you are either lacking in the community service hours, or the service hours you do indeed have has been from years prior. So what do you do? Well, it appears you didn't prepare yourself for membership. Real Talk! When I found out I wanted to be a member of Delta Sigma Theta (14 years old btw), I did my research. I  have spoken to members. I was able to establish various relationships with Deltas. I also attended multiple events. The internet wasn't as popping as it now, and the only website that was available at the time was the DeltaNet founded by Sorority Sister Bonita Jackson (BeeJae, RIP Soror). I loved that website. It was filled with a wealth of Delta information. Her popular blog post entitled "So you think you want to be Delta" was VERY popular and appeared on many College and Alumnae websites. She is the reason why I decided to create this blog. Her website helped me SO much, and I wanted to pay it forward to all prospective BGLO members.

Although it wasn't publicly known HOW much it would cost, I worked my tail off during Summer months while I was in college to save at least $1100 for the initiation fee.  (It cost nowhere near that much, thank GOD)! I kept my community service hours current, and I stayed in touch with the people that was in charge of my volunteer service so I could use them as a reference. I was hoping to use my ex's sister to gain a letter of rec. from her since she is a Delta (unfortunately, that fell through) I was blessed enough to have two other Delta on standby who were willing to write me a letter. (Thank Goodness) I guess my point is, I was prepared. I was ready. I just needed for the members to take a chance on me. Thankfully they did. The competition was fierce at my University. EVERYONE wanted to be a Delta, so to be quite honest, even after putting my best foot forward, I wasn't expecting to be chosen during the first try. I was wrong. They extended an invitation to me. I was blessed enough to have received the necessary votes for me to start the process of becoming a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

If you don't have the $, the sponsorship, or someone to write your letter, all is not lost. You need to take this time to work, work, work! Work on saving that money. Work on establishing meaningful relationships with members of the org you so desire to become a member of. My RD gave me the BEST advice. She stated that if someone asks you to write a letter of recommendation are you willing to PAY for their initiation dues? (Hint, membership in all of these orgs are NOT CHEAP). If so, write them a bomb rec. If not, then keep it moving.  I have had a quite few young ladies in applying for membership at both the College level and at the Alumnae chapter ask me for a letter of recommendation.  How many have I written? ONE! I am very particular on writing letters, and if I haven't worked with you, (and recently) and cannot honestly speak on how you can be an asset to the organization from my personal experience, then I will not be writing a letter. Some of the women I haven't heard from in a while. So the first time I hear from them was to ask for a letter of recommendation? Sorry sweetheart but Issa no. If you know me personally, you know that I am a HARD working Delta. I am very active with my chapter, so I will only be writing letters for people that I feel will work hard for the organization as well.

When people say no, don't take it personally. Just realize that you need to ask someone that you feel comfortable with, that can speak to your character, work ethic and knows you personally. This is vital. We (and by we I mean ALL members of BGLOS) have enough T-shirt wearers in our Orgs and don't need any new ones. A T-Shirt wearer is a person that wants to be a member of XYZ org, goes through the process, only to be never seen again. But trust and believe they will make random appearances at Greek Parties or will give a shout out twice a year on Social Media. (The time they crossed as well as their Founders Day). They are either only active/financial while they are in college, and never pays another DUE after graduating from college, or goes through the process as an alum member, and disappears. As I have always stated, LIFE happens. (It did for me during my first few years of getting married, and although I was a member at large while making my monthly Diamond Life Payments, I was not affiliated with an actual chapter).

I tell people all the time, membership in these organizations requires Sisterhood/Brotherhood, MONEY, TIME, and EFFORT! Without them, these orgs would not exist. Just giving you all a food for thought as Rush season is upon us. Good luck all of you, and for those of you that are currently going through the process.

Getting back into my Old Greek Paraphernalia

Happy New Year Again Folks!

Today was a chill day for me. I didn't wake up until late; then the hubby treated me out to one of my favorite restaurants "Outback Steakhouse." We then went to the store "Michaels" to look for some frames for a few art pieces that I bought him for Christmas. My house is FILLED with Art pieces, and 90 percent of them are musical pieces. As you already know, I was a music major in College and my darling husband was an Art Major. (He is now in leadership in IT, go figure, lol) He can draw/paint his tail off. At any rate, after putting up the artwork, I started to look at one of the art pieces that he had drawn for me when I crossed into Delta Land many years ago. I had on this one of a kind Delta tank top that I had made the same year I crossed. I haven't seen it or worn it in years. I decided to pull that baby out and was kind of in denial in trying it on. It did not fit at all. I grew a little sad. I realized that my days of being tiny were gone.

Now don't get me wrong, my husband LOVES me at this size (I gained about 25 pounds since we got married) I am now a perfect size 8 sometimes 6 depending on the cut of the clothes This is far from the size 0 when he first met me. I was a size 4 when we got married. He loves the fact that I filled out all in the right places and didn't want me to lose a pound.  I now have more of an hourglass shape, which he enjoys. ;-) Thankfully the weight I gained filled me out on top and bottom.

After realizing on today that I can no longer wear my cute tank top, I made a promise to get back into shape. I NEVER want to be a size 0 in life, and quite honestly, losing weight is not my primary goal. Just getting toned up is. My hubby and I use to work out consistently when we first got together. We both had six pack abs, and I my arms was very toned. Although I was very muscular, I was still very much so feminine. I always made a point to modify my lifting if I was getting too buff.  So now the weight-loss, getting tone journey begins. Thankfully my darling husband bought me the top of the line Vitamix so I will be putting that to more use. He misses the fact that we don't work out together like we use to, so now he is on this journey with me. YAY!!!!

Here Is Tonight's Dinner 

 My next few posts will be about my weight-loss journey, and at the end, I will post pictures of me in my old paraphernalia. I am excited about the mere thought of it.

Are any of you on a weight-loss/healthy journey? If so, what types of things do you do? What keeps you motivated? Another precious gift my wonderful husband bought me is the wireless beats by DRE. They sound AMAZING!!!!!  Funny story behind that is we ended up buying the headphones for each other for Christmas. We had NO IDEA!!!! We laughed and laughed and laughed when we both opened up our Christmas gifts. He bought me the red version (duh) and I got him the color, platinum.

One of our Christmas Gifts to each other

I guess we've been together for so long, we know what we both like. I will be utilizing them at the gym for my workouts. The fact that they are wireless, as well as noise canceling, is a bonus.

Well, here's to me getting back to my old self. Wish me luck!

Ciao for now,

V