Of course I am a Sorority Girl

I recently received a Facebook friend request from Daun. We were close friends during college, sorority sisters who sat next to each other during Monday night meetings for three years, plebes who went through initiation together. We lived within blocks of each other in San Francisco after college and after a few years she moved back to the Midwest, where life was less complex and where her roots were.

I accepted her friend request without a second thought, happy to hear from her. And then I looked to see who else she was friends with. There they all were. The Wisconsin Thetas. I felt elated and then nauseous. During the years I spent as an active sorority member these gals were my best friends and sometimes, my worst nightmare. As long as I live I will not forget my torturous last semester of college, victim of The Queen Bee.

Why hadn't I kept in touch with most of them? The only sister in my inner circle is Lynn, who lives in Milwaukee. The picture above is of Lynn, Dave, me and Daun at our wedding. Was our drift apart due to the fact that I moved 2,500 miles away to warmer climes and to the state in which my boyfriend of two years lived? Was it because I was crystal clear on what I wanted to do post-graduation and ready to get on with it? Was it because I confronted one about her anorexia, with the hope of getting help for her? I don't know.

By the time I got married Daun was living in Chicago. She came back to California for our wedding. A few years later I flew to Chicago to attend hers. From her Facebook profile I've ascertained that she's pregnant. I'm happy for her.

Sorority life was a great thing for me. It gave me a family when mine was 5,000 miles away. I spent my senior year living in the sorority house, a lakeside mansion with maids and waiters. See that deck up top? I spent many a Spring afternoon sunbathing there and watching the sailing teams on Lake Mendota.

Theta celebrated its 100th year on the campus a few years after I graduated. Lynn and I went back for the festivities. It was a good time and I was glad to have gone. But then that chapter of my life went into dormancy except for the occasional holiday card or visit with one or another during business travel.

Within 24 hours of re-befriending Daun I've received six invites to befriend other Thetas. I guess they didn't forget about me, the Jewish Alaskan Journalism Major.

Will my life be any more meaningful knowing how my sisters have spent the last 20 years? Will it be any less meaningful? Many more of them are just a few keystrokes away. Stay tuned.