To my sisters who have graduated or are graduating,
First of all, let me say congratulations. Our chapter and I are so proud of you. It’s been an honor to watch you grow through our organization, and it will be an honor to watch you continue to grow. You’ve become amazing, brilliant women, and I trust that you’ll go out into the world and do great things. I’ve grown to love each and every one of you, whether we knew each other well or not. You are everything that our organization was made to be. You are independent, strong, amazing ladies who are kind, classy, and tougher than nails, and you’re going to give them hell out there.
But we’re going to miss you. You taught me how to stand tall, how to be confident in the face of adversity. You showed me how to position my hands to perfectly “throw what I know” at any given time. You taught me the meaning of friendship and of sisterhood. You taught me to push myself further than I ever thought I could go. You taught me to laugh at myself, to let go every once in a while and just have some fun. You taught me to walk in heels, to dress better than I ever thought I could, and to smile at people who try to bring me down. You taught me that it’s okay to paint yourself gold for Halloween and ask people to chase you, because on Halloween, nothing is over the top. You taught me that there’s no such thing as being overly involved on campus. You taught me that boys can be assholes, but you can’t give up on them all because of one. You taught me the meaning of the symbols of our sisterhood, and you showed me how to live by our creed every day. Watching you showed me what it means to be a good sister, because you were the best. Most importantly, you taught me to believe in myself, because you never stopped believing in me.
You’re one of the reasons that I came to our organization. Looking at you that night, flawlessly standing before me in your black dresses, I knew that I wanted to be one of you. I wanted to float effortlessly around a room, with everyone’s eyes on me. You were the center of everyone’s attention. You were the brave women who changed the fate of our chapter. You were beautiful, you were intelligent, charming, and kind. And the amazing thing was, you chose me. If it wasn’t for you ladies taking a chance on an awkward, small girl who had no idea what she was doing, I wouldn’t be who I am today. In giving me that bid, you changed my life. You gave me the confidence to be who I am. There aren’t enough kind words in any language to thank you for that.
You are going to kick ass out there in the real world. We all know it. We’re all watching and waiting to see what you’ll do next. Some of you will go into business and probably become killer CEOs who take over the corporate world. Some of you will become fashion designers (and if you ever need anyone to sample your products, I’ll gladly volunteer as tribute) and some of you will go on to teach children, including girls who could grow up to be our newest sisters. Some of you will help people, and some of you will continue your education. Some of you are married or are getting married, and some of you are already having children and becoming amazing mothers. But each and every one of you will move mountains, each and every one of you is a force to be reckoned with. Each and every one of you is a woman who our organization is proud to have as an alumna. Each and every one of you is a woman who I am so proud, so blessed, and so honored to call my sister..