Centennial Celebration in DC/National Convention Recap Day 1

OMG, this has been a BUSY Summer. Sorry, I have been missing in action, but this has been a summer of ALL Summers.

First off, I planned a 70th birthday party for my mom. It was hard to do since I live in  AZ, and she still resides in Chicago. I was expecting with my brothers and sisters who live all over the world, and that was quite a joy! I was named "Teacher of the Year" at our School, which was a pleasant surprise, and on top of that, my principal encouraged me to be the summer school principal at our school. It required a ton of work but gave me a ton of experience. It was interesting for managing teachers, handing out discipline to students, etc.  I enjoyed every min of it. In between this time I did a massive amount of traveling, back and forth to Chicago, Texas for hubby's convention,  Las Vegas, and finally DC for our centennial.

I have SOOOO much to say about the centennial I don't even know where to begin! Since I am on a break from school, I will ATTEMPT to make a post about each day I spent in DC, so I hope you all enjoy as I take a break from advising to on  becoming Greek."

So here's to the first day. I was wondering if I should pack an empty suitcase because of all the "Goodies" I would find at the vendors. What type of clothes I need to pack for business sessions, Social Action Luncheon, Choir Attire since I was chosen to sing and be a part of the centennial choir AND praise team, club clothes, etc........ I was also able to connect with my Ships (Line Sisters) during this time as well.  Although my husband was trying to convince me to go alone and kick it with sorors, I couldn't bear the thought of not being with him during our wedding anniversary, so I BEGGED and PLEADED with him to come.
Okay, so WHERE should I begin? Packing was a Pain in the Patootie! I had to make sure I had enough "White Dresses" for Choir, Opening Ceremony, Memorial, etc., etc., etc.... And for those who know me, know I am a fashionista, meaning I am NOT going to be wearing the same white Dress over and over again. I also know that since I needed to have several backup chargers for my phone. So I packed several of them.

We decided to take a red-eye flight, which was the FIRST time I ever made a red eye. I had a lot of fun until I found out from several sorors via FB, and twitter that a lot of their flights was delayed due to bad weather. As I was sitting in the airport, I realized that our flight was delayed as well. I was NOT a happy camper because I had the entire itinerary planned out for the whole week and a half we were in DC and mother nature decided to mess it up for us. Blah!!!!  We finally got to our layover the next morning, only to experience yet ANOTHER layover due to the rain. BOO!!!! I was able to snap a picture of how it looked while we were waiting in the airport.

When we FINALLY landed in Baltimore, I was thrilled to be greeted by several sorors, and this great Airport Sign.

Exhausted is all I could say......After spending several hours in the airport, not getting in sleep due to the excitement of seeing my sorors, my chapter sorors, my shippies, my Big Sisters, etc. I couldn't believe I was FINALLY HERE! When my hubby and I finally reached the hotel, I was in awe to see how many sorors waiting to check in. From the look of things, one then I was SO glad I packed was my patience, LOL! When we FINALLY got to the hotel, I was greeted with THIS!

The Look on my hubby's face was priceless!!!! What is not captured in this picture is how there were suitcases wrapped around the hotel.  He was like my goodness he has never been to a convention with this many people, even at his Centennial in 2006. All I could do was laugh!

After it had taken over an hour to check in, thankfully the hotel gave us a ticket and told us that our luggage would be in our hotel, so we didn't need to wait. I ran up to the hotel, changed into some comfortable shoes and headed out to register. My heart was pounding because from the looks of my hotel I could only IMAGINE how hectic and LONG the registration lines were going to be.

We got on the shuttle and headed out register. Once they dropped us off, I had to take some quick pix of the signage.

                                                      Upon Entering the Convention Hall

                                             

                                                                The Line to Register


The line was LONG.....and by long I mean 3 1/2 hours long. When I first entered the Convention Hall, I first thought to myself, this line isn't that long,,, but then I was told that the end of the line was down two escalators, YIKES!   My darling husband never complained once and was very patient. Although he didn't wait in line with me, he found a nice cozy spot on the floor in the OTHER hall where I needed to go after registration to get my bag.

After the long wait, meeting new sorors, and seeing a few old ones, I was finally registered and was pleased to have my badge.

My Official Convention Badge

After registration and retrieving my badge, I was dead tired, and although I was "suppose" to meet up with my line sisters, my feet were killing me, and I needed to eat. I also had choir rehearsal at 6 am in the morning so although I felt BAD about not meeting up with them; I realized I had to get some REST! When we got back to the hotel, it was beautiful to see all the sorors in the lobby dressed to the nine in their crimson and cream. A lot of them was with their hubbies as well, so it was GREAT to see my boo hook up with a lot of his Fraternity members. (AphiA) My darling husband and I decided to order room service and call it a night. I was praying that I had a voice to sing with the next morning. (Or should I say later that morning since we didn't turn in until 3 am)

When is a good time to pledge??? (Undergrad)

I receive a lot of questions of when is a good time to pledge, so I decided to dedicate a blog to it.   Some feel they should pledge their freshmen year to experience four years of being Greek.  Others think you should wait until your senior year right before you graduate from college. (This is especially the case if you are on the five-year plan because if you are, then you will still have one full year left)

If you want my opinion, I think to join during our Sophomore and Junior year are the BEST years to enter any Greek Letter Organization, and I let me tell you why.

Freshmen Year- You just left the nest. Your parents are not your wakeup call anymore to get ready for school, pick up after you, remind you about your homework, etc. You are on your own. That means, YOU cook your dinners (or order the pizza), YOU do your laundry, YOU are responsible for...yeah, you guessed it, YOU!

GPA is also VITAL in your freshman year! I don't know how many times I can say this. Look at this way, when you first start school, you have a ZERO GPA. A clean slate, so since you are starting from scratch, it is imperative, that you strive to get at least a 3.0 GPA. That means As and Bs!  I am not saying that you can't have fun, but let's face it you are in school to get a degree. Starting strong in college is so important. You may not realize that now, but TRUST you will! There are so many prospects who email me and ask what can they do to bring their GPAs up. They didn't take school seriously their freshman/sophomore year. So if you are a senior in high school, OR a freshman going into your sophomore year, FOCUS on your grades.

Now just because I feel you shouldn't pledge your freshmen year DOES NOT MEAN you can't support the organization of your choice. (Side note: Some Greek organizations and colleges and universities will not allow you to pledge your freshmen year).

Freshmen year is also a GREAT TIME for you to check out ALL Greek Letter Organizations. Trust me there are tons of events (parties, community service opportunities, balls, forums, etc.) that you can support and attend in the meantime. This is a perfect opportunity for you to get to know them, and more importantly for them to get to know you as well. This is also a great way to see THEY are a perfect fit for you.

Sophomore Year- You finally was able to "figure out" the whole college thing. You realized that it is indeed a "Different World!"                                                                            

You were able to figure out your study schedule, work schedule (if you are working during school), some "me time," etc. You are probably still in the "prereq" stage, and by that, I mean taking English 102, Math 101, Science, Speech 101, you know the basic courses you MUST complete before starting your major. This is why I feel Sophomore year is a WONDERFUL time to consider pledging. Your classes are not that hard,  and for MOST majors you don't start until second semester sophomore year or your senior year. (Not mine, however, since I was a music major I started taking music classes my freshmen yr)

 The classes may not be as hard, and you can fit the MIP (Membership Intake Process)  into your schedule.  You scoped out all of the fraternities/sororities your freshmen year, and you know which one you want to join. Last year, you attended the events, supported them in every way that you could, and allowed them to get to know you.

This is why I feel Sophomore year is the PERFECT year to pledge. You will have TWO (or three if you are once again on the five-year plan) to be active in the organization as an undergraduate member. Your school work will not suffer because you don't have to worry about your Senior Thesis, harder classes, or essential classes that are in your major.  Pledging sophomore year, you get the best of ALL WORLDS!

Junior Year - So if you were not able to pledge Sophomore year because either:
A: You tried and were not picked
B: They did not have intake your Sophomore year
C: You just woke up and realized you want to be a member of XYZ
D: They were kicked off the yard, and they JUST came back

Then junior year is also not a bad year for you to try to join either. Look I get it, there are certain things in life we cannot control, particularity A, B, C, and D! But don't allow that to stop you from fulfilling your dreams.

By this year, you should have this whole "college thing" all figured out. You should know how much time you need to set aside for studying, socializing, your work schedule, etc. It is vital that you have wonderful time management skills because going through MIP for any organization is no joke, and VERY time-consuming. You should have a little "change" saved up. (shoot who am I kidding, pledging any Greek letter organization is EXPENSIVE AS HECK)

You still have a year left to enjoy being Greek "On the yard," and you can learn a lot of the business side of things as far as being GREEK after you join.

Senior Year- So if A, B, C, or D applies to you THIS time, then I STILL SAY GO FOR IT, but proceed with caution. Just remember that there is always an alumnae/alumni chapter.  WHY am I partially (not entirely) against this?  Ummmm well for ONE it's your last year! Not only should you be focused on graduating, but there are a lot of things you need to get into order before marching across that stage
I just strongly feel you should be focused on graduating, finding a job, oops I mean CAREER, OR studying to apply for any exams you may need to take to get into a graduate program if that is the route you choose to go. (LSAT, MCAT, GRE, etc.). At this stage in your life pledging should be the LAST thing on your mind.

 There are a few sorors, sistergreeks, and fraternity members that I know that have indeed pledged their senior year. They all had their reasons for waiting to pledge, but MOST of them still say the same thing...They wish they could have joined sooner.

I hope this helps, and good luck to you! No matter WHEN you decide to join I hope you keep your eyes on the prize and GRADUATE!

Ciao for now!

And the Countdown Begins.....

This has been a busy week for me and just came back from his National Convention in Austin Texas. My National President was there, and was given the highest award by Alpha. As always my president represented Delta quite well, so charismatic, witty, and funny! Austin was HOT and HUMID, and I can't believe in less than EIGHT days I will be joining 50K sorors in DC. (Actually it just might be more than that).

I am EXCITED and NERVOUS at the same time. My loving husband will be joining me on this occasion. Originally I was going to go solo, until I realized it was during our Wedding Anniversary. Since we have been married, we have NEVER been separated on our special day, and I couldn't imagine not being with him. I was with him when he celebrated his Centennial with Alpha, and I would LOVE for him to be with me.

I already decided to pack someone light since I know I will spend a ton of money on Delta Paraphernalia, and Other Greek items for my friends.  Some feel that this is vacation for them, but not me. I am going to not only celebrate our 100th, BUT more importantly I am going to take care of Delta Business! I am also happy to report that I will be singing in the centennial choir. What an honor to share my voice with other sorors.

Some of you have emailed me and I promised to get back to you as soon as time allows. This summer has been an extreemly busy summer for me. I was named "Teacher of the Year" at my school, I was the Summer School Principal, Alpha Convention, Choral Director's Conference, Kappa Delta Pi Convention, Educational Leadership Conference, AND I had to plan a birthday Celebration for my Mom in Chicago a few weeks ago. (Which was a HUGE success and she was SO grateful how me and my siblings pulled it off).

So I will go back to the regular schedule program AFTER our national convention but in the meantime, I will TRY my best to post nightly about convention since some of you have asked. (That is if I am not TOO exhausted)

Many Blessings,

Ciao,

V

Celebrating 100 Years of Sisterhood, Scholarship, and Service

COUNTDOWN CLOCK WIDGETS

I can't believe it's ALMOST here! I can't contain my happiness, geekness, thrillness and everything else "ness" (Okay yes I am college educated and trust me, I know I just made up those words) but I am beyond happy about celebrating with my sorors this wonderful milestone.

I dreamed about this day after I crossed, ,,,,,,,,I prayed that I would be alive to see this day and God willing I will be. I can't wait to reconnect with my shippies (line sisters) my chapter (undergrad AND grad chapter) and connect with thousands, and thousands of sorors nation wise to celebrate this joyous occasion. I haven't felt this excited since I crossed Delta Land over a decade ago. At first I thought about pulling out old paraphernalia that I have stashed away, but then thought to myself, this is a PERFECT opportunity to shop and buy NEW things! So now I am on the hunt of buying a brand new suitcase, to fill with new goodies when we hit DC.

Our Centennial falls on me and my loving husband's anniversary, and as excited I am about attending, I REFUSE to spend our wedding anniversary without him. We made a vow we would NEVER spend two important holidays apart,,,,Christmas, and our Wedding Anniversary. Although he tried his best to convince me to just go and spend time with my sorors, I told him, NO, we made a vow and I am sticking to it. I love Delta, but it's no where near on the level of how much I love him. He didn't want me to feel guilty about attending all the Delta events, and leaving him behind, which is why he suggested that he stayed home. But I refused!  So this will be a wonderful vacation for us both. Although I think its sweet that he stated, we can spend our anniversary together, on the other 6 days that we are there, I can just spend with my sorors/ships and he will be just fine. (Oh how I love that man) With this being our 100th, I am sure there will be plenty of other greeks (especially HIS fraternity brothers, (Alpha) to keep him busy.

I have been planning for this financially for THREE years!  Yup Three years! (opened up a Delta Centennial Savings Account)  So glad I did because with the cost of registration, staying at the convention hotel, flight, and purchasing subscription event tickets such as the gala, stepshow, gospel fest, and social action, I would be broke, LOL!

The countdown is on, so for the next few posts, I will just be posting about my feelings, and my time in DC. After July we will return to the normal programming schedule and I will post about Greek Life in general but for the next month of so it will be ALL.ABOUT.DELTA!

Cia for now!

Do you Know What Today is?????

In a few hours it will be....My Deltaversary!!!!! Well maybe a little LONGER than a few hours! I was born into Delta Land with 8 other beautiful ladies on April 20th! A day (or should I say night,,,,wait no it was daytime, heheheh) I will never forget! I remember it being a LONG night, and I was tired! TRULY TIRED! I haven't truly slept in what seemed like years, I was cranky, and I although I never EVER curse, I dropped an "expletive" a few nights before.  Yup, the Christian girl said an "expletive" word. My number nine looked at me like I had 3 heads. "Pyramid Hemmingway, you NEVER, EVER curse"...Then they all started laughing hysterically. I felt bad, but no other word could describe what I was feeling like at the very moment. I had to repent which I did, I NEVER EVER use profanity and couldn't believe such language was coming out of my mouth.

Ship A: Yup, Pyramid Hemmingway is cursing, so I know we must be crossing soon"

Ship B: Girl you sound funny even saying that word, like a White girl trying to act Black, I can tell cursing is not your forte" (Well I guess that's a good thing huh)?

I was tired, frustrated, HUNGRY, anxious, and just ready to get my life back. Little did I know in less than 48 hrs, my wish would be granted.

We crossed on a stormy night, I mean it was thunderstorm like I have never heard before. But it was beautiful and sunny when we had our coming out show." (some call it probate, but in all honesty a TRUE probate happens,,,,uhh...nevermind. I am sure if you were made prior to 1990, you are just as frustrated as I am when you hear the term, even though I was made AFTER 1990, go figure).  But yeah NO ONE had TRUE probate AFTER 1990.

Came home, called my boo to do a LONG HARD Oo-oop on the phone. Next called my now SOROR who wrote my letter of rec. to serenade her with our beloved call as well. That night, I don't think I ever slept so good. I was SO tired, I ditched school the next day to stay in bed. My ship called me later the next day and was like HEY SHIP! It sounded soooo good! We were NO LONGER line sisters, because we were NO LONGER on-line! It was a beautiful thing. Since we haven't came out as Deltas to the school, we had to keep it on the low low! So we left college campus far away to celebrate with my shippies and my prophytes!

I remember after we crossed how I went to get my hair did (Yes I did say Hair DID) mani pedi, and if I could afford it, I would have gotten a message. Lawd knows I needed one, but being a college student, one can't afford such luxuries.

Years later, we are older, wiser, prettier, with husbands, kids, and careers! I am so proud of all of my shippies accomplishments.

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary a few years ago in Vegas! HAD SO MUCH FUN! Didn't get to bed each night until 5 each morning. Up late talking about old times, laughing about our experiences, our mistakes, and even went through our Big Sister Greetings!  We had SO MUCH FUN!

If I had the chance would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat. Although at my young age not at THIS AGE no siree bob! One of my ships was older than the rest of us, in her 30's and I admire her SO MUCH now! Could not have been me! I would have just waited until I graduated and did alumnae chapter, but she was a straight soldier!

So Happy DELTAVERSARY SHIPPIES! I love my:

1 Captain Miss Gibraltar
3 V.I.P.
4 Deep Cover
5. Mid-Ship C.R.U.C.I.A.L.
6. Ricochet
7. VIPER
8. E.R.U.P.T.I.O.N.
9. Anchor Bullet-Proof.

And then there is little old me.... Deuce of the line, The Navigator of the line,  Da' Assassin.

DKN- Deltas Known As" D.S. 9mm, (M.I.L.L.I.M.E.T.E.R.)

Thanks to my prophytes for bringing us in,  D.S. Crimson C.H.A.O.S.,  D.S. M.A.F.I.A, and D.S. TimeBomb

I love you guys and can't wait to celebrate our year in Washington D.C. this summer at our 100th Convention.

It's that time of year again!!!!

CONGRATS! CONGRATS! CONGRATS!!!!!!

I have received TONS of emails from my viewers telling me that they crossed into DeltaLand, AKALand, AlphaLand, SigmaLand, and ZetaLand.

I promise I will respond to your emails individually, but I wanted to dedicate a post to ALL of those who crossed into GREEKLAND! To all my sorors, sistergreek friends, and greekfriends who are Fall '12, Spring '13, YOU.DID.IT! Take it all end, and enjoy this moment! I relive this moment every year on April 20th, and even though I do, nothing compares to the day I crossed! Nothing compares to the Week, that  I crossed, the MONTH, the YEAR! It was an experience I will never forget and neither should you.

Also for some of you, be prepared for your life to change. You are not just representing yourself, but the organization. Hold them letters up PROUD! Many would LOVE to be in your shoes. Also and more importantly NEVER EVER forget how it felt to be on the "outside looking in." I know so many people that forget that once upon a time they were a prospect wishing, hoping, praying and as SOON as they get those three letters across their chest, they change.

DON'T change, stay true to who YOU ARE! Do not let the letters MAKE YOU!

I promise to respond to all of your exciting emails this weekend, personally welcoming you to GREEK LAND! Have fun for now, but be prepared to work!

Enjoy being a Neo; it was one of the best time in my life when I became Greek.

If First You Don't Succeed........

Brush yourself off and try again, you can dust it off and try again, try again!!!

When me and my ships came out on the GLORIOUS BEAUTIFUL day April 21st, This was the song we came out to. It was BLAZING real loud at the commons, a hang out college hot spot! Filled with a lot of people that was interested in who was "online"for Delta. Why did we choose this song? Many reasons! For one there were several of my shippies (line sisters) who tried again and again to make the Delta Line and they finally did. There were also some who tried submitted their application for Delta for MY line did not make it, and later was rocking pink and green from head to toe! There were some who didn't make my line but still wanted to be a Delta. So we felt this song was perfect in letting the yard know that if you first you don't succeed to just dry and try again.  For those of you that have never heard of this hot song made my Aaliyah, check it out below.

This week has been quite interesting! In the Greek World, BGLO Greeks and non-Greeks have been talking about the lawsuit against Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. From what is all over net, Two Young Ladies, Laurin Compton and Lauren Cofield is suing Howard University and Alpha Kappa Alpha because they felt their quite "Human Rights" were violated when they were not chosen for membership because they are legacies!  Now I have spoken about legacies before,  and how a lot of legacies feel "entitled" to become a member simply because their mom, stepmom, aunt, grandmother, etc are members.  I can't believe the mom wanted Alpha Chapter to "hold up" the pledge process until a decision was made, and her daughter was on the line. REALLY??? So you want to stall it out for the other 65 ladies who made line, so your ONE daughter can make line? Talk about selfish! Yeah I said it, just plain SELFISH!  Thankfully the chapter is still going thru their process, and in a few weeks, there will 65 brand new members of Alpha Kappa Alpha on the yard at Howard University.

Thankfully Delta Sigma Theta does not have "such a clause." In this case I can't figure out if it's the daughters who feel entitled or the mom. I say this after an interview with one of the moms and daughter discussed this in an interview this past weekend. Check it out for yourself. 


DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

A lot of people have been weighing in on this topic. My take on it? Why can't these young ladies just wait until AFTER they graduate from Howard and pledge Alpha Kappa Alpha Alumnae Chapter?  I can understand that they are both seniors in college, but membership in these organizations are a lifetime commitment, so why not just wait and try again then? I get it, it's ALPHA CHAPTER, the chapter of ALL CHAPTERS, but still, your AKA is not going to be any bigger or smaller if you join an Alumnae chapter right?

My husband and I and a couple of friends of ours had this debate this past weekend. As I have stated before my hubby is an Alpha, his friend is ALSO and Alpha, my friends wife is an AKA. We all pledged undergrad chapters in orgs. We had another couple join in, one who is a Zeta from an Alumnae Chapter and her husband is interested in becoming Greek as well. We all shared our thoughts on this pending lawsuit and how ridiculous it is. I mean suing because you didn't get picked? REALLY?????  Our Zeta friend stated that although she doesn't agree with the lawsuit, she can understand the anger that these ladies have. She wanted desperately to join an undergraduate chapter she wasn't able to because of some "issues" she was having in the chapter. So I asked her if she felt any "different" because she pledge Grad/Alumni Chapter and she said she has. she doesn't feel the "Love" when she goes back to his school, and she tries to connect with them, and they won't allow it. After probing a bit more, I found out that she tried to be apart of the undergraduate process when they were having membership intake. HUH??? Now What Now? All of us just looked at her like she was crazy. So I told her, that maybe because it's not her chapter, and it could be possible that they felt she was trying to be a wannabe. I then said be PROUD of your process, and stop trying to create something that isn't there. Her response was she got it, and her husband broke it down for her on how that is NOT COOL! 

But I nevertheless, I understood her point which  was at the undergraduate level at college campus, you have "chapter traditions," and get to know the chapter members more since you are all on campus together, you get to bond more with the members, etc. He went on to say, with his process, it was more learning the info, and her and her LS's have lives, jobs, family, and other more important obligations other than spending the night at the club house to go over information.  So they only got together during sessions and that's it. She went on to say, it's not just pledging at the undergraduate level, but these ladies were trying to join ALPHA chapter. Their parents joined Alpha Chapter.

While I was listening to her, I understood her point. If my daughter tried to join MY chapter and got turned down, I would a little upset. (Especially since I am VERY active in my undergrad chapter till THIS day) however I would NEVER EVER, EVER EVER EVER EVER (In my Chris Rock voice) Sue Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. What does accomplish??? Absolutely nothing, AND it can hurt her chances of ever becoming a member in the future.

So to all of my followers, if you don't make it TRY AGAIN! And to you legacies??? Don't get sue the organization because you didn't get picked! That's just plain ridiculous and you will ALWAYS and FOREVER be known as THAT GIRL! I am sure Lauren, and Laurin are really going through a lot right now on the campus at Howard University. Thankfully they are both Seniors in College, and this will all be over for them in May after waking across that stage!

After watching this video from the Huffinton post, which I will post below I think these gentlemen (A representative from Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, and Omega Psi Phi) and this young lady (Alpha Kappa Alpha) got it right! It's just plain ridiculous!

It will be quite interesting how this all plays out!