When I went to college, I spent 2 years at our community college – then known as Charles County Community College….or Chuck County U. It’s come a long way since then and is now the College of Southern Maryland. Anyway, I spent 2 years there, then transferred to Salisbury State University (now just Salisbury University).
On that first day at SSU, I ran into some friends from high school and got invited to a party. So, my roommate (Debi) and I went. It was a Pi Lamda Phi party. I had no intention of going Greek when I was preparing to leave for SSU --- it isn’t a big Greek campus. But, I met several girls at that party that convinced me that I should Rush & try to get invited to pledge Alpha Sigma Tau.
During Rush week, I met many people that became very good friends. Jen, Shannon & I were all invited to pledge AST. Shannon lived on campus in a different building. Jen lived off campus in a townhouse community (Cynthia Place). We pledged – along with about 15 other girls. It was the biggest pledge class ever, if my memory is right. In fact, the following semester, we couldn’t participate in Rush because the size of our sorority had reached the maximum allowed.
We spent lots of time being afraid of the sisters….waiting for them to come grab us in the middle of the night (I can’t give specifics unless I kill you after)….having to remember all of their names and greet them with “Good Afternoon Sister (Name)” whenever we saw them. With twins (Cathy & Carolyn) in the sorority, this made things pretty difficult!
After 1 semester on campus, Shannon & I moved in with Jen at Cynthia Place. It was awesome! J-D, Mike (a.k.a. Lude), and Ray lived next door. (They were from Pi Lam.) At some point some other AST sisters moved into some of the other houses and most of the community was filled with college students. We had several “Around the World” parties where each townhouse had a shot or shooter & the last one hosted the party with a keg. Good times, I tell you!
At some point….Jen had bought a cat while we were on break and we weren’t supposed to have pets. The land lord found out & we either had to get rid of the cat or move. Shannon & I couldn’t bear to get rid of our beloved Toonces. (Yes, the same dear kitty that I had until he died a few years ago.) So, we moved into another house in Cynthia Place. I can’t remember who we had as a 3rd roommate at first. But, eventually, Christy moved in. She pledged a year after we did, so we knew her through sorority.
When I graduated, I stayed in touch with my good friends pretty well. It was hard because most of them were still in college for a few years after me, while I was hit hard with the real world.
Christy, Shannon & I (and Jen at times) try to get together for lunch 1-2 times a year. Shannon now has a 2 year old and Christy has a 7 month old.
Then….along came Facebook. And, I was in touch with numerous other friends from college – some Greek, some not. One of our sisters decided to organize a weekend away for all of us to reconnect. We had it in Ocean City just a couple of weekends ago. Most of us are fairly local, so it worked well. But, 2 of the girls came from much farther….one from Florida and one from California.
Most of the girls went up on Friday, but Christy, Shannon, Shelly & I waited until Saturday since we had some Mommy Guilt. (Shelly pledged the year that Christy did, I think.) For the 3 hour drive, we probably spent 2 hours and 45 minutes talking about our kids! We tried several times to get onto a different subject, but it always came back to that.
We were on the beach by 1:00 p.m. Things change….I had on a very high SPF and my mantra was “Pale is the new Tan!”. However, 15 years ago, I would have had as little SPF as possible that would keep me from burning, but tan that skin!
On that first day at SSU, I ran into some friends from high school and got invited to a party. So, my roommate (Debi) and I went. It was a Pi Lamda Phi party. I had no intention of going Greek when I was preparing to leave for SSU --- it isn’t a big Greek campus. But, I met several girls at that party that convinced me that I should Rush & try to get invited to pledge Alpha Sigma Tau.
During Rush week, I met many people that became very good friends. Jen, Shannon & I were all invited to pledge AST. Shannon lived on campus in a different building. Jen lived off campus in a townhouse community (Cynthia Place). We pledged – along with about 15 other girls. It was the biggest pledge class ever, if my memory is right. In fact, the following semester, we couldn’t participate in Rush because the size of our sorority had reached the maximum allowed.
We spent lots of time being afraid of the sisters….waiting for them to come grab us in the middle of the night (I can’t give specifics unless I kill you after)….having to remember all of their names and greet them with “Good Afternoon Sister (Name)” whenever we saw them. With twins (Cathy & Carolyn) in the sorority, this made things pretty difficult!
After 1 semester on campus, Shannon & I moved in with Jen at Cynthia Place. It was awesome! J-D, Mike (a.k.a. Lude), and Ray lived next door. (They were from Pi Lam.) At some point some other AST sisters moved into some of the other houses and most of the community was filled with college students. We had several “Around the World” parties where each townhouse had a shot or shooter & the last one hosted the party with a keg. Good times, I tell you!
At some point….Jen had bought a cat while we were on break and we weren’t supposed to have pets. The land lord found out & we either had to get rid of the cat or move. Shannon & I couldn’t bear to get rid of our beloved Toonces. (Yes, the same dear kitty that I had until he died a few years ago.) So, we moved into another house in Cynthia Place. I can’t remember who we had as a 3rd roommate at first. But, eventually, Christy moved in. She pledged a year after we did, so we knew her through sorority.
When I graduated, I stayed in touch with my good friends pretty well. It was hard because most of them were still in college for a few years after me, while I was hit hard with the real world.
Christy, Shannon & I (and Jen at times) try to get together for lunch 1-2 times a year. Shannon now has a 2 year old and Christy has a 7 month old.
Then….along came Facebook. And, I was in touch with numerous other friends from college – some Greek, some not. One of our sisters decided to organize a weekend away for all of us to reconnect. We had it in Ocean City just a couple of weekends ago. Most of us are fairly local, so it worked well. But, 2 of the girls came from much farther….one from Florida and one from California.
Most of the girls went up on Friday, but Christy, Shannon, Shelly & I waited until Saturday since we had some Mommy Guilt. (Shelly pledged the year that Christy did, I think.) For the 3 hour drive, we probably spent 2 hours and 45 minutes talking about our kids! We tried several times to get onto a different subject, but it always came back to that.
We were on the beach by 1:00 p.m. Things change….I had on a very high SPF and my mantra was “Pale is the new Tan!”. However, 15 years ago, I would have had as little SPF as possible that would keep me from burning, but tan that skin!
After dinner, we went to Seacrets…which I could have done without. It’s a club and not the best place to have conversations. Christy was the first to leave….probably around 10:00 or 10:30. With a 7 month old, she was looking forward to a really good night of sleep. Shannon, Shelly & I left not long after her and we were all happily in bed around midnight.
We all (20 or so of us) had breakfast at the hotel on Sunday before hitting the road. My little group stopped at the outlets for a little shopping before heading home. Of course, I ended up buying several things for the girls at Gymboree and a big fat NOTHING for me. The life of a mom.
It was awesome, though! There is talk of making this an annual thing.
So, Facebook may be an addiction and time-waster in some ways. But, it’s so great to reconnect with people. I love being able to see what is going on in the lives of old friends.
We all (20 or so of us) had breakfast at the hotel on Sunday before hitting the road. My little group stopped at the outlets for a little shopping before heading home. Of course, I ended up buying several things for the girls at Gymboree and a big fat NOTHING for me. The life of a mom.
It was awesome, though! There is talk of making this an annual thing.
So, Facebook may be an addiction and time-waster in some ways. But, it’s so great to reconnect with people. I love being able to see what is going on in the lives of old friends.
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