So I sit here thinking about what to write and it's hard for me to think of just one thing that is most likely going on in Chapters right now. Being an alumni makes me realize all the things about Chapter that I took for granted and didn't fully respect until now.
Chapter meetings: Yes I said it. I miss Chapter. I know sometimes we just want it to be over or for people to stop bickering but think of it as making time to better your chapter. I know not everyone sits there hoping for it to end, I know I didn't most of the time, but there were times that I wished things would get a move on. And you know how to help those things? Make sure you're following some form of Roberts Rules of Order (RRoO), or what ever helps you get things done. If the same people keep talking or are talking in circles, there's a RRoO for that!
Service Projects: Yep another one! I was asked by a Psi prospective what my favorite one was, and I honestly couldn't pick one. Realizing how much I had done for the bands with my chapter is something that I miss, it seemed like such a small thing at the time, but looking back (yes I realize it's only been a few months) I realize how much I did. When I look at the high school marching bands, I realize how much we were able help the bands out. I see bands that have harnesses that are falling apart and the kids can barely march or play in them, and I though about how we helped out our percussion studio at BG by buying them a new cart, yes I know a cart is different than harnesses, but still, a HUGE cost and expense for schools.
Outreaches: Speaking of high schools, I totally miss outreaches. Getting to see the looks on the high schoolers faces when they see a group of college students who have a passion for helping out the bands was amazing. Sadly while at BG I was only able to attend a couple of them, and someone ended up with a broken nose, that's another story for another day though.
Sisterhood: Yes, as simple as it seems, I miss the atmosphere of being with a group of people that shared a common interest with me, yes I know I am still a part of it, but not being with sisters all the time really stinks. I've lived with sisters for the past 2 basically 3 years of my life, and going from living with and seeing them everyday to never seeing them stinks. Spending time with sisters weekly at meetings, plus having sisterhood dates and going to the student union and seeing half of the chapter was what I looked forward to. I knew that I had (and still have) this wonderful group of people who no matter what mood I was in, would help me out and would point out the positive in things when I would have a hard time finding it.
There are so many other things that I miss dearly but that means I would be writing a novel and not everyone would want to read it. Anyways, the moral of this post it not to take things that happen while you are active for granted. One day you will graduate and realize that TBS held a bigger part of your daily life than you realize. When you are in chapter and that one person is annoying you, just find the humor in it, realize that in a couple of years, or months, you will be sitting around thinking about how much you wish you were there again. As I finish typing this it is on a Wednesday during the time when Alpha Xi has chapter, and every week I think about what would be happening, how much would need to be discussed, and in general just wondering how the chapter is doing.
Before I start crying, I'm ending this thing. Have a great week and please be safe this Halloween and Halloween weekend!!
MLITB,
Jane
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Hierarchy of Importance
Hello NCD!
Without a whole lot going on in the VPSP world, I thought I'd write my blog post this week in an attempt to gauge how everyone is doing. This seems to be the time of year when everyone is freaking out about midterms, projects, and essays, not to mention the countless other things we all have going on. With all that stress and added weight on your shoulders, sometimes you can feel like it's tough to even breathe. I'm here to tell you today that you NEED to breathe, it's for your own safety!
Think back to the 8 and 5: "cultivation and maintenance of your emotional poise under all conditions". What I take that to mean is that even under the hardest and busiest times of the year, there has to be a way for you to grind it out and get through it; and you will get through it, I promise! Don't even give up on yourself, that's the first step to failure. A very wise correspondent of mine, who also happens to be our District Counselor, has told me many times of the "hierarchy of importance" when it comes to anything in life. At the moment, it looks as follows:
Yourself
Your Family
School/Work
Band/Extracurriculars
Tau Beta Sigma
You'll notice a few things in this hierarchy. First of all, you are at the top, as you should be. This isn't some egotistical ploy and it isn't selfish either, it's the realization that this is your life and you are the only one who can live it; therefore, you have to put yourself first. If you aren't able to think about yourself and what's best for you in a given scenario, you may find it difficult to give all that you can to those organizations below you on the hierarchy, such as your family, your school, and your sorority. I've often found that I try and put some of these things before my own well-being, and while the thought and effort is appreciated, what's most important is making sure we are all ok before we expend our services to those deserving of it.
You'll also notice that Tau Beta Sigma is last on this list, and that is on purpose too. Many of us, even district officers and counselors, will tell you that no matter how involved we are with the sorority, it is still just a small portion of what we have going on each and every day. This of course doesn't mean that TBS is somehow unimportant or should be left out on the side, it is a reminder that your family, your classwork, and the band you are serving need your attention as well. We all would much rather have you not fail all of your classes, even if it's because you were doing a service project for the sorority!
Take some time over this difficult stretch in the semester and think about your own personal hierarchy of importance, and see if it matches the one I have. It certainly doesn't have to, but it is interesting to think about where you're working the hardest and what in your life is important enough to deserve your service. You are all wonderful people, and frankly I want to see each of us succeed at our best. In order to do that, make sure you are in your best shape physically, mentally, and emotionally each and every day. Be a better version of you than you were yesterday!
I wish everyone the BEST of luck with their schoolwork, marching season, and recruitment!
ITB,
Zach
Without a whole lot going on in the VPSP world, I thought I'd write my blog post this week in an attempt to gauge how everyone is doing. This seems to be the time of year when everyone is freaking out about midterms, projects, and essays, not to mention the countless other things we all have going on. With all that stress and added weight on your shoulders, sometimes you can feel like it's tough to even breathe. I'm here to tell you today that you NEED to breathe, it's for your own safety!
Think back to the 8 and 5: "cultivation and maintenance of your emotional poise under all conditions". What I take that to mean is that even under the hardest and busiest times of the year, there has to be a way for you to grind it out and get through it; and you will get through it, I promise! Don't even give up on yourself, that's the first step to failure. A very wise correspondent of mine, who also happens to be our District Counselor, has told me many times of the "hierarchy of importance" when it comes to anything in life. At the moment, it looks as follows:
Yourself
Your Family
School/Work
Band/Extracurriculars
Tau Beta Sigma
You'll notice a few things in this hierarchy. First of all, you are at the top, as you should be. This isn't some egotistical ploy and it isn't selfish either, it's the realization that this is your life and you are the only one who can live it; therefore, you have to put yourself first. If you aren't able to think about yourself and what's best for you in a given scenario, you may find it difficult to give all that you can to those organizations below you on the hierarchy, such as your family, your school, and your sorority. I've often found that I try and put some of these things before my own well-being, and while the thought and effort is appreciated, what's most important is making sure we are all ok before we expend our services to those deserving of it.
You'll also notice that Tau Beta Sigma is last on this list, and that is on purpose too. Many of us, even district officers and counselors, will tell you that no matter how involved we are with the sorority, it is still just a small portion of what we have going on each and every day. This of course doesn't mean that TBS is somehow unimportant or should be left out on the side, it is a reminder that your family, your classwork, and the band you are serving need your attention as well. We all would much rather have you not fail all of your classes, even if it's because you were doing a service project for the sorority!
Take some time over this difficult stretch in the semester and think about your own personal hierarchy of importance, and see if it matches the one I have. It certainly doesn't have to, but it is interesting to think about where you're working the hardest and what in your life is important enough to deserve your service. You are all wonderful people, and frankly I want to see each of us succeed at our best. In order to do that, make sure you are in your best shape physically, mentally, and emotionally each and every day. Be a better version of you than you were yesterday!
I wish everyone the BEST of luck with their schoolwork, marching season, and recruitment!
ITB,
Zach
Friday, October 11, 2013
Success!
Sisters! It pleases me to inform you that MER was a great
success! I want to take this moment to quickly thank all of our presenters and
Gamma Rho for being wonderful hosts!
There were 31 Active Members with 5 Chapters represented at
Eastern Michigan. This is more than what we have had in the recent past and I
am very pleased that we are gaining numbers at District events and all of the
participation that took place.
I will be posting the presentations to the website in the
next few days, once I collect them all. I hope that you are able to share some
of the valuable information with the rest of your chapters and also with
Sisters from other chapters.
In closing, you all may be wondering, what does the VPM do now
that MEPs have been collected and MER is done. Well, I am going to start on my
project for the year to try and assess some of the VPM documents that are being
used, which include the MEP rubric and the creation of a recruitment tool.
I am always here for answering questions and I hope that you
ask! Remember, no question is a dumb question!
DALLAS
Monday, October 7, 2013
Reflections of a Traveler
This past weekend I did a lot of traveling. My cousin was getting married in Pennsylvania, and my family was kind enough to come retrieve me in Central Illinois before they started the trek. It is about a twelve hour drive from Illinois State to York, PA, so naturally I had a lot of time to reflect and think about life... Of course, I alternated this with watching movies and listening/singing my favorite songs.
One such time of "reflection" came as I was looking at Facebook on my phone. I saw status after status of Sisters talking about their own travels and how they were on their way to celebrate the life of a beloved Brother, Sister, and friend. Many people made the journey to the epicenter of the Sorority and the Fraternity so that they might join together in the bond.
I was overcome with emotion when I read this! It continually amazes me that as Sisters and Brothers we have a system that provides unconditional love, support, and an endless supply of shoulders to lean on. In my three years of being an active Sister (and yes it does seem much longer than that), I have felt numerous times that I was a part of something much bigger than myself, a sensationally strong bond.
I know that in TBS we throw around the word "bond" all the time, but do we truly know what it means? Do we truly understand what the "bond" is?
Well, being an English major, I looked up the definition... I know I'm a nerd. The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'bond' as "a force or feeling that unites people; a common emotion or interest" (oxforddictionaries.com).
As Sisters we are bonded by our mutual love for bands and our need to continually serve them. "A mutual interest in the Art of Music, in its performance, and in the aesthetic qualities it can project to others." It provides us with that "common tie" that brings us together.
What would we be without our ability to serve the bands? In essence, we would not have a bond. At least it would not be the same. Our Sorority was designed to provide "excellent service to collegiate bands." Therefore, it can be said that our bond is created and honed through our service, our love of service to collegiate bands. Too often are people focused on improving either service or sisterhood, when one stems from the other! Our dutiful service is what inspires the bond within us. It is that "common interest" that brings us together.
I will leave you with this. As Sisters we have an unbelievable system of continual love and support, but it is up to us how much of that we see and understand. Our organization, the Sisterhood, is only as strong as the service we put into it. It is up to us to ignite a passion in others, so that there is continual support for our band programs even after we are gone.
One such time of "reflection" came as I was looking at Facebook on my phone. I saw status after status of Sisters talking about their own travels and how they were on their way to celebrate the life of a beloved Brother, Sister, and friend. Many people made the journey to the epicenter of the Sorority and the Fraternity so that they might join together in the bond.
I was overcome with emotion when I read this! It continually amazes me that as Sisters and Brothers we have a system that provides unconditional love, support, and an endless supply of shoulders to lean on. In my three years of being an active Sister (and yes it does seem much longer than that), I have felt numerous times that I was a part of something much bigger than myself, a sensationally strong bond.
I know that in TBS we throw around the word "bond" all the time, but do we truly know what it means? Do we truly understand what the "bond" is?
Well, being an English major, I looked up the definition... I know I'm a nerd. The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'bond' as "a force or feeling that unites people; a common emotion or interest" (oxforddictionaries.com).
As Sisters we are bonded by our mutual love for bands and our need to continually serve them. "A mutual interest in the Art of Music, in its performance, and in the aesthetic qualities it can project to others." It provides us with that "common tie" that brings us together.
What would we be without our ability to serve the bands? In essence, we would not have a bond. At least it would not be the same. Our Sorority was designed to provide "excellent service to collegiate bands." Therefore, it can be said that our bond is created and honed through our service, our love of service to collegiate bands. Too often are people focused on improving either service or sisterhood, when one stems from the other! Our dutiful service is what inspires the bond within us. It is that "common interest" that brings us together.
I will leave you with this. As Sisters we have an unbelievable system of continual love and support, but it is up to us how much of that we see and understand. Our organization, the Sisterhood, is only as strong as the service we put into it. It is up to us to ignite a passion in others, so that there is continual support for our band programs even after we are gone.
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