Growing up and throughout high school, I had no interest in joining sorority life as I had this preconceived notion that it was just a certain type of girl that would be accepted, and I knew I wasn’t “that” girl. However, after coming to Linfield my freshman year, I quickly realized that a small liberal arts greek life system was not the same as I first imagined.
During that week of recruitment, I felt included and seen by all the sororities here, but after meeting my soon-to-be big (unknown to her or me), I knew Alpha Phi was where my heart belonged.
The sense of sisterhood is very strong in our chapter, and when I met my big and all the other ladies here, I knew how seriously Alpha Phi took that sisterhood value.
When I first joined, I was with four of my closest friends, and it felt like we could take on the world! It was probably my favorite memory, just seeing them across the room and knowing we all got into the same sorority and running to hug each other first. We then were surrounded by our new sisters welcoming us to the chapter. I had personally not felt that kind of genuine excitement and love from that many women in one room before; it’s a surreal feeling.
The most amazing thing when joining a sisterhood is the ability to grow within it. Alpha Phi has pushed me to grow in confidence and independence while having a supportive group of women behind me. I’ve been able to wear many “hats” in the chapter, including; being a little, running the social media, representing Alpha Phi as the Panhellenic Delegate, becoming a big, and now becoming a g-big! Each role I’ve held has taught me how to be confident in myself as an individual and that I don’t have to conform to fit in any box to find my people.
Being on our executive board during COVID-19 was probably the toughest challenge of my life.
It taught me that mistakes happen and that learning and growing with them is okay. It taught me to have empathy even when I was angry at others for lashing out. It taught me covid is a scary time, and I think many people forgot for a while that we were all experiencing the uncertainty and ugliness of it altogether for the first time. It’s easy to find targets to blame for something, but it’s hard to have empathy for others, especially when you’re hurt. Still, that experience gave me a new outlook on myself and helped me understand those around me and appreciate my chapter for what it is, sisters.
Now that I’m entering my senior year, it’s bittersweet looking back on my time at Linfield and in the chapter as it went by way too fast. I may not be as close with those four girls I walked into Alpha Phi with, but seeing how they’ve grown into who they are with the help of the chapter has been an absolute pleasure.
Sisterhood, man, can I talk about this for ages! This chapter has brought so many wonderful people into my life that have helped shape me into who I am today, big or small. I am grateful for every interaction I’ve had with these women. These are ladies I see at my wedding; they are women who will help pick me up when I’m down, my past and future roommates, people who make me feel the most comfortable, and I can be the most genuine version of myself around them. Some of these women I met on the cheer team, in class, during orientation our first year, or through the chapter.
There’s always someone I know somewhere on campus. This always made me feel more at ease.
I’m not from Oregon so being on campus in a new state, knowing no one to then knowing at least one person wherever I went, had a huge impact on my experience here. I have so many memories with girls in this chapter that I don’t think I can fit them in this post, but a small memory involves my big and my little. All three of our schedules were nothing short of a whirlwind. We each had an extracurricular activity along with the chapter that kept us busy enough that we didn’t see each other outside of chapter meetings once a week.
I decided that since I was going to leave at the end of the semester for a study abroad program, we needed at least one night together, so we decided instead of going out to a restaurant for dinner, we would stay in and make it. Nothing crazy happened, but it was such a wholesome and happy night with my “Phi Pham” that it’s a fond memory I will keep with me forever.
As I begin my final chapter here at Linfield, I know I won’t be leaving here alone. I know I’ll have these connections with so many women from this sorority with me after we graduate. I look forward to living with two of my sisters in a house this year and continuing to finish my education with my sisters in and out of both my majors. So if you ever decide to join a sorority, know to follow your heart, and your sisters will find you.
AOE,
Emma Libby
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