What do you mean I have to WORK???????

Joining any organization (Greek or Non-Greek) requires dedication, commitment, and HARD WORK! I say this because some people join due to the org being popular on campus, winning step shows, gaining new friendships, and an extra line on their resume, and many other reasons. I am a member of several organizations, and I managing them all takes a lot of hard work. Attending meetings, programs, being on several committees, and performing service for them takes a lot of time, but I love it! There are so many people out there that join Greek Organizations for the WRONG REASONS. Before committing to join ANY organization, stop and think about your reasons. Are you willing to dedicate your time to join a committee? Attend community service events early in the morning? Attend monthly meetings? Fight for a cause? Save money for dues?

As I stated in a previous post, membership in BLGOs takes a lot of time, commitment, and MONEY!
It's mind-blowing when prospective members are willing to save money to join these prestigious organizations but will complain in a heartbeat when it's time to pay your annual membership dues. Now I understand that times are hard,  and, of course, you need to pay for your necessary needs (rent/mortgage, food, tuition, etc.) However, I have seen many of my sorority sisters, make sacrifices to save money to pay for their membership dues.

This time of year is exciting for most people because Rush/Information flyers are going up and prospective members are hoping to receive an invitation to join. So before you sign your name on the dotted line.....THINK.....What are your real motives of becoming a member?

I'm BACK!!!!!

It's been a long time since I last blogged about Black Greek Life. So many things have changed in my life. I have a new job, broke my focused on school, (I am working on a Doctorate in Education with emphasis on Leadership), and I just became active in TWO other organizations that I pledged in college: Sigma Alpha Iota, and Alpha Phi Omega. I am also the Corresponding Secretary for my Delta Chapter. Now that things have settled down a bit, I can blog a little more. (Oh, and also for those that know me personally, I am also a little bit of a fashionista, so I am starting a fashion blog  if you are interested in following me on that, leave me a comment below). I LOVE shoes, and I have shoes GALORE, (more I stopped counting after 125.

So it's fall semester, and for those who are interested in pledging, this is the PERFECT opportunity for you to get your face AND name out there. (via on campus or within your community). As I stated in the past, the best way to do this is by attending ALL Greek events if possible and becoming involved in other organizations. (Student Government, Black Student Union, Gospel Choir, etc.) When people find out you are interested in joining an organization, they will sometimes scrutinize your every move. How do you act on campus? Are you one of those females who like to get "turned up" at parties? Are you messy? How do you dance at Union Parties or parties off campus?  This will be taking into consideration when you are applying for membership. You want to treat applying for membership as if you are applying for a job.

When I pledged Delta, over 14 years ago, we didn't have a myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. so I never had to worry about my postings, or tagged pictures coming back to haunt me. Case in point, you want to make sure you are aware of what post on social media, or else it very well could come back to haunt you. This isn't just for pledging, but for your future as well. I have several social media accounts, and I would NEVER post my business out there for the world to see. I think it's best that you don't either.


For those of you that are going through membership intake right now, CONGRATS, and I can't wait to see you on the other side. For those of you that are hoping to become Greek soon, GOOD LUCK TO YOU! I hope to post more on this blog now that my life has slowed down a bit. I love the fact that we are on fall break right now, so this week I will blog a little more while working on school work.

What Does THAT mean????

Fridays at the school I teach at is considered "Casual Friday" for all teachers. On this particular day I decided to wear some Greek Paraphernalia. During my 3rd period class, three students were inquiring about the letters on my chest.

Student A: What does that mean Mrs. Love?

Me: I belong to a Greek Letter Organization

Student B: You're Greek? I thought you were Black

Student A: No dummy, she said an organization, my mom is one of those thingys

Me: Really?? Do you know which one?

Student A: The one that wears that ugly pink and yellow.

Me: You mean Pink and Greek??? (Laughing on the inside)

Student A: Yeah that's the one. Her and her sisters be screeching really loud!

Student C: Yeah my daddy is a DAWG, (starts hopping)

Student A: Well I'mma tell my moma I wanna be a member of YOUR organization Mrs. Love. I don't like my Mom's organization. They are so stuck up and snotty.

Me: Snotty? Don't you mean the word "snooty"

Student A: Yes, snooty.

Me: Well not ALL members are snooty Student A, so don't judge it just on that okay?

Student A: I don't care what you say, I wanna be one of ya'll. Ya'll cool and down to earth.

Me: Okay settle down class, let's get started on our concert, take out.............

Lesson For the Day : Children are always watching!

Food in Seoul Korea/DST Sisterhood Conference

The Food in Korea was SO delicious, I decided to create a blog post JUST about the food. I can't wait to go back to Next Year.

We slept ALL day, so my girl was nice enough to run out to grab us some McDonalds. Now Grant it i will say that it taste NO WHERE NEAR the McDonalds that we are use to in the US, however it was good enough to eat since we didn't eat anything all day.

South Korean Money

CHEETOS SNACK

This place was SO good we went back TWICE

Seoul Korea/DST Farwest Sisterhood Conference

I had an amazing time with my beautiful sorors at the farwest region International Sisterhood Conference. I wasn't even considering going until my principal (also my soror) insisted that I go. So glad that she did. We had a great time connecting with sorors from all over. We wanted to make the best of our trip, so we decided to fly in a few days early. This was a great way to shop, and connect with the Natives for South Korea. Oh did I mention where it was???? My bad, we went to South Korea.

When we first arrived, we stayed in this quaint little establishment where you need a code to gain access. We had bunk beds which was different for the both of us. The last time I slept in a bunk bed was when I was in college. Nevertheless, we got in late, but we were still on US time so it seemed like morning to us. We dropped off our luggage, took a quick shower and headed out for a night of fun.

I felt as if I was back in College again,,,,but considering we would only be there to lay our heads, I was fine with it. Also, we would only be there for three nights. When the sisterhood conference starts, we would then  stay on the military base. We just decided to go a few days prior to the conference so we could have some "us time, and shopping time." Just like College, I took the top bunk.

We walked down the street and found this CUTE little restaurant. We took off our shoes at the door, and sat at this cute little tables to order food. There were other natives there, and they were so friendly they came by to join us. It was funny because we barely knew how to speak Korean, and they were testing out their broken English on us. They came over to break bread with us...and we had a ton of fun!

This meal was DEE-LISH!!!!!!!





Letter of Recommendation: Who Should I ASK?????

So I know it's that time of year where a lot of prospective members are scrambling trying to get everything for them to pledge XYZ Sorority/Fraternity. As I stated before, each organization has its own process/procedure when applying for membership. Most orgs will ask you for a letter of recommendation from an active and financial member. Here are a few tips I can give you regarding this matter.

1. Ask someone you KNOW! This is SO important! They need to know who they are writing a letter. Do you know them personally? More importantly, do they know YOU personally? You want them to "brag" about you, and how can they brag if they can't tell you?

2. Are they active and more importantly FINANCIAL with the organizations? I am assuming if you are asking them then you have seen them participate in chapter events such as community service events, fundraising events, etc. Why is this important? Well, several organizations require that their prospective members get a letter of recommendation from a "dues paying" member. Are you trying to ask someone who hasn't been active for a while? Chances are if they have not been active with a chapter, they are not financial. This will deem your application of being invalid.

3. Always have an A, B, AND C plan as to someone writing your LOR. (Letter of Recommendation). I say this because you want to make sure you can get in touch with the person, prepare yourself for possibly getting a "no," or you may find out that the ONLY person you relied on is not financial. When I joined what feels like many moons ago, I had ONE person in mind — my ex-boyfriend's sister. I spoke to her on the phone a couple of times, and when the time came, she wasn't able to write me a letter of recommendation.  Then I met and grew close to another member at my job while we both were working as sales associates at Marshall Fields. It was funny because I ended up transferring to the school she pledged. Two years later when I asked for a LOR, I found out she was inactive. DANG! So disappointed, but THANKFULLY I had a C plan. And this Soror was more than willing to write me a letter of recommendation. I found out many years later that she NEVERS write a letter of recommendation for ANYONE, so the fact that she wrote me one tells me that I made quite an impression on her.

As for me???? I have been asked well over 25 times to write a LOR, and how many have I written? 1….YUP, JUST ONE! I am very picky about who I choose to write a letter to. I have to know you to write you a letter, and I just don't write letters all willy nilly.

3. The moment you find out you want to join XYZ organization, find out who you would like to write your letter of recommendation. This is important and will allow you figure out if they fit number 2 and if not, hopefully, you can talk to them openly about any suggestions that they may have as to who could write you a letter.

4. GIVE the recommender plenty of time to write your letter. Asking at the last min might result in delays of the chapter receiving your letter, or the person saying they don't have the time or just a point-blank NO!

These are the top FOUR I would suggest you follow when asking for a LOR.

I wish ALL the prospects for Spring 2014 all the best!

HAPPY 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to ALL of you who crossed over into Greek Land Fall Semester. I have received emails from followers who are now my sorors, Zetas, AKAs, Iotas, Kappas, and Alphas.

It's 2014, which means a HUGE celebration for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. As I stated in my first post "Journey to Greekland" I have a ton of relatives in the "Blue and White" family.  I am truly excited for them, and I can't wait to see my Facebook "blow up" with a ton of posts from my family and friends of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.  It just seems like on yesterday when my sorors and I were blowing up everyone's newsfeed on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with posts about us turning 100.

I have received a ton of requests from neos if I can create a few posts about the "Life of Being a Neo" If you want to see more posts about this,,,, please replied to this post. Also, let me know what you would like to know.