I'm a Legend!

Okay, okay maybe not really a legend, but I just discovered that I was an integral part in creating a service sorority on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus. No really.

So here's the story as I remember it:

While at SFA I had a friend named Lindsey and I would often drive her home when I would go home for a visit. On one of these visits to the DFW area we started wondering what would happen if we started a sorority. We didn't mean that we would start a chapter of an existing one. We didn't want to have to answer to the Greek council because, I'll be honest, there were very few social sorority gals we were impressed with especially on a campus already known for its social activities. Plus we didn't want to have to dedicate every waking hour and every single penny to our sorority. It would be something girls could be a part of without extra pressure to participate. The more we talked about it, the more we seriously thought we just might be able to begin a service sorority that would actually take hold and become big at SFA.

After throwing around mascot and color ideas (because that's the most important part of establishing any type of club), we landed on Gamma Kappa Omega because it sounded cool and three of the letters were in GECKO. Name for the sorority-check. Mascot-check. Colors...we were going to go with red and black when considering a ladybug as the mascot, but that didn't really define who we wanted to be as a service sorority. I don't quite remember how, but we eventually landed on lime green and aquamarine/turquoise/blue (trust me-it looks good together).  As soon as we returned to SFA, after our enlightening weekend, we filled out the necessary paperwork and started looking for recruits.

We had a small group of gal pals that eagerly joined up and became the first set of officers/members. Even though we wanted to be dedicated to serving the community, we still adopted a few social traditions and made them our own. Of course this meant we had big and little sis activities once we convinced a few more girls to sign-up.

So what happened? I definitely don't mention my sisterhood status to anyone. Here's that story:

A co-founder turned out to be a little unbalanced and things between the two of us did not end well (I'm not the only one she abused-I believe she left a barbie hanging by its neck in the closet of a girl who had her dorm room after her-all she did to me was say unforgivable things about other people behind their backs then tell them I said it which ostracized me in a very special kind of way). So GKO started to be the one time I actually had to deal with her. Then I got a little nervous when our "service" sorority started to have a few more social events than it probably should. Therefore, it was becoming what I felt was a "wannabe" Greek sorority. Even though a couple of other officers picked up things and really set it on the right track by steering things back to volunteering and building a sisterhood through that, I had already started to separate myself from the organization because of my unpleasant experiences (my little sis kind of slacked off on the gifts thing-petty I know but I really worked hard on everything I got her). I kind of felt like an outsider since everyone else lived off campus, my little sis wasn't really into it, and Co-founder Crazy had soured the experience a bit. To top it all off, the original zest of founding something great started to fizzle and I figured it wouldn't last because those of us who started the group were just a bunch of friends who liked to volunteer and hang out. Once we all graduated I couldn't imagine anyone picking up where we left off.

BOY WAS I WRONG

A few weeks ago my friend, and co-founder (not the crazy one), sent me an e-mail regarding a GKO reunion. That's correct. A reunion for all the members since the organization's inception in 2000. This service sorority has been going strong for 11 years! They have a website and feel free to notice my name listed first as a founder under "Our History." My friend did attend the reunion. I did not. Since my affiliation with the Geckos waned, I didn't feel right showing up to a reunion. It turns out that my friend was like a celebrity since she is a founding officer. Apparently part of a pledge's job is to memorize the complete history of the organization and who all the founding members are. That means I too am a "celebrity." Had I gone, it seems my uninvolvement would be a forgivable offense.

After looking at what the Geckos have been up to, I'm quite proud to have been a co-founder of Gamma Kappa Omega. These girls are really making a difference while continuing to build a strong sisterhood. So I decided I'm going to be proud of my sorority status. I'm going to pull out my shirts and the next time we have a college shirt day, I will wear one. I've already e-mailed the current officers and told them I want to be involved somehow. We'll see how it goes.