When I registered for primary recruitment in July, I truly had no idea what I was signing up for. I'm the first in my family to even think about being a part of Greek life, and the only sibling in my family to even go to college, so to say I was nervous is an understatement. The thoughts of “what if I don't fit in anywhere?” and “what if I end up in the wrong chapter?” plagued my mind through the weeks leading up to Open House rounds. I remember laying in my bed the night before my first Gamma Chi meeting, wondering if being in a sorority was even something I was truly meant for. That all changed the minute I walked into the baby blue doors of 476 Rose Street, and ADPi continues to prove to me every single day that I am where I am truly meant to be. 

The Alpha experience is something that is impossible to describe with words. It's a new member's very first step in becoming an Alpha Delta PI. The feeling of welcoming and unconditional love of 300 strangers-turned-sisters is overwhelming in the best way possible. I used to laugh at how they called bid day “running home,” but then I opened my bid to ADPi, and I couldn't get home fast enough. Running into the arms of my bid day buddy, who's now my big, surrounded by girls who I had no idea would become the best friends I've ever had after just a month, was the start of a dream I don’t have to wake up from.

Fast forward a few weeks to the long awaited big/little diamond sister reveal. We got our costumes the night before at our Alpha meeting. Anyone who knows me can attest that I am big on signs. I feel like there are always little things from the universe there to let you know that things are gonna be okay, things are gonna work out. Well, when I got home that night and pulled out my Mowgli costume from the Jungle Book, it felt like a sign. My dad's favorite movie is the Jungle Book, and growing up we would always watch it together. Knowing that my diamond family was going to be dressed up as the Jungle Book felt like the universe telling me that these girls would truly be my family after all.

It's not even just the days like bid day or big/little diamond sister that make this experience of being an Alpha so special. It's every day. It's walking with girls from my AC to and from Alpha meetings. It's Reagan being the best Alpha mom. It's being serenaded by frat boys, and hearing the sweet words of mom Kitty every Monday night. It's the feeling I get during every single conversation I have with a sister, or about ADPi, that makes me want to take on the world. During the past month of being an Alpha, I've felt motivated to be better. A better student, a better friend, a better daughter, a better sister, a better person. I have felt the undeniable energy of what it means to be a part of the first and the finest, and I can't wait to continue to feel and fight for it for the rest of my life.