Be-YOU-tiful

Everyone has something that they may not be confident about or some fear that keeps us up late at night. We are an imperfect people and there are always going to be things that we are self-conscious about. It could be that stutter that you get when you are nervous, the size of your feet, the inability to get in front of a crowd and speak with purpose. We are all imperfect, but that imperfection is humanizing.

Sometimes, we allow our fears and emotions to prevent us from seizing opportunities because we are lacking in confidence. We may be afraid to stand up and take charge in a situation because we are afraid of being talked about. We become complacent because we lack confidence.

It is important to remember that there are haters everywhere. You are never going to be able to please everyone. You may not have the perfect body, you may not have the perfect voice, you may not have the best athletic ability, but you are YOU and there is nothing that you can do about that.

You must take some stock in who you are. Whether you are quiet, nerdy, loud, funny, sarcastic, introverted, extroverted, or anywhere in between, OWN who you are. Be that person and be that person on a DAILY BASIS.

Recently, I got the opportunity to hear Erin Fischer speak at Panhellenic Academy. She was one of the opening speakers and she spoke on the topic of confidence. She shared with us some of her habits that she developed on her journey to being a more confident person. Here are some tips from the brave Ms. Fisher:

#1- Limit your limiting beliefs- Don’t let the fact that someone has told you that you are not good at something keep you from doing it. If you let go of those limits, you can change your behaviors.

#2-Build your reserve of resiliency-Failure is inevitable. You are going to fail, but the failure is not what it is important. What is important is that you have the strength and the courage to keep going even after you fail. Accept your failure, own in, and learn from it.

#3-Get real- Do not be afraid to ask for help. You are not a perfect person and you are going to need help at some point. Be real with yourself and realize when you need that assistance you can JUST ASK!

#4-Help others on their confidence journey- Sharing your talent not only benefits the person that you are helping, but you are going to find joy in sharing your talents.

#5-Identify your fears so you can increase your self-awareness- By knowing your fears and being aware of then, you can work on getting over those fears and gaining confidence in the face of those fears.

#6- You can learn a lot from the confidence of rock stars- Rock stars DO NOT CARE about the people who did not buy their tickets. They are only worried about the people who are bought their tickets and come to hear them play. Do not worry or lose sleep over the people who do not buy YOUR ticket. There are people who are in your corner. You should appreciate and “play” for the patrons that are behind you.

So, dance like no one is watching, sing your heart out in the shower, tell that corny joke, don’t let them put Baby in a corner! Be who you are and be as genuine as you can be and go into the world and BE CONFIDENT!

Post Written by Guest Blogger, Sarah Ann Keeter; Edited by UNA Panhellenic

Sorority Is...Not Perfect

I think part of our disappointment in Greek life stems from a lack of satisfaction which in turn leads to a lack of retention. I realize how pessimistic this comes across, but let me get a little wordy for a moment.

Satisfaction—or rather, dissatisfaction, is the result of a lack of performance in relation to the height of expectation. In other words, when we sell the sorority package and advertise "no more bad hair days, dates galore, perfect friends forever, and the secret to suddenly becoming morning people," we are setting ourselves up to disappoint a woman or two! Amirite??

My point to all this is that being an involved sorority woman has given me so much—but it's required of me equally, if not more. The package I bought when I joined my three-lettered organization with colors, philanthropy, and sentimental creed relating back to all the core values I've ever hoped to embody in this life was NOT a cookie cutter, pre-made, no-assembly-required type of buy-in. But rather, this organization required me as a member to deeply invest my time, energy, talent, and love into a collection of amazingly flawed, beautiful people. 

The nights I struggled most with my organized assembly of souls were the nights I was dissatisfied with the imperfection that comes with the humanity of our organizations.

When I sat in recruitment 4 years ago, all I could think about were all the perfect people surrounding me. I saw all the beautiful girls with their hair, every strand in place, every move in sync, every word said with poise and grace. I was consumed with this idea of perfectionism. I remember running through my resume before attending the various nights, making sure to note at some point in the conversation some of my proudest activities and honors and making sure I had only the best profile pictures on social media in the event they saw me. If I was going to join perfect, I in turn had to become perfect. 

As bid day came and went, I was so excited to be a part of such a wonderfully perfect group. I wanted all the shirts with letters, pinned all the perfectly "sorority quotes" on Pinterest, and quickly made sure my car and every social profile I had displayed my letters across them. What I didn’t understand at that time but quickly realized was that the recruitment room filled with perfect girls was in all reality a room filled with passionately flawed, imperfect women.


I joined a group of outstanding people, don’t get me wrong. But the more time I invested in their hearts, the more I began to see all of our many flaws. Some of us come from messes that would only sound real in movies. Others struggle with body image or grades. All of us have had absurdly embarrassing moments, and we have all spent a night discussing the petrifying realities of the future and how we have no idea what we’re going to be doing in the next five years. We’ve wasted lots of mascara crying over things that don’t matter, and we’ve obsessed over the opinions of those who don’t deserve the attention. These are the people who surround me. Not perfect people but rather people with pasts and messes and bright bold futures. They’re forces to be reckoned with, souls on fire, with all the life, gifts, and talents ready to share with the world.

These women are strong. They know strength because they’ve struggled and because they’ve had someone to bare their burdens with. 

I am strong because I have a back bone made of a hundred sisters in Christ who pray for me and with me when I need it most and help me buck up when they know I can achieve greater. 

These women who surround me, they are not perfect by any means. They are hard-working, money managing, time crunched, stressed out, wonderful messes who are great with a curling iron and lip stick. And they are my family. They help me figure it out every day. I thank God that he did not bless me with perfect friends but perfectly imperfect sisters who love me and all my imperfections too.

So when examining "what sorority is:", I suggest not starting with what it is but with what it is not. 

•It is not perfect—and that is ok! Who can handle perfection? Who can keep up with that mentality? How do we forgive and be forgiven in a realm that scorns imperfection?

•It is not an excuse to be exclusive—the misconception that we can only foster friendships within our own organizations is the exact opposite of what our founders had envisioned. I can only think that I was given the opportunity to grow and cope with life with a group of like-minded individuals so that I might be a better communicator with the world around me and be able to initiate new ties and friendships because of the confidence I found in having my own support system.

•It is not the ultimate goal—the beauty of having an established community is that these organizations are meant to help you discover yourself and support you in pursuit of all your aspirations. We are not here to say, "you're in XYZ, congratulations, you've made it!".   Instead, we've taken a pledge that says, "you've joined XYZ, now I pledge to help you realize your dreams, support you when it gets tough, and just love you anyway."

In summation, sorority is not just Greek letters, t-shirts, socials, and car decals. It's so, so much more. I would proudly say that I am a part of a phenomenal chapter, but if you're looking for perfection, we're just not your girls.



Post Written by Guest Blogger, Lauren Copeland; Edited by UNA Panhellenic