Who am I? Good question. Sometimes I struggle to answer this question myself, but each time I think about it, I always form the same general idea; I am a Quintero, a Buckeye, and a FIJI. Specifically, I'm a kid from a small town just west of Cleveland currently attending The Ohio State University and a proud Brother of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.
Though I never really put the thought into words as I do now, I find myself realizing that part one and two of this question are actually interconnected in the fact that, well, in many ways I joined FIJI to find out who I was. I could take up hours and pages explaining why I joined FIJI, but instead I will just highlight a couple key aspects - brotherhood and leadership
Throughout all processes of becoming and now being a Phi Gam, I have always had a great appreciation and admiration for the brotherhood and leadership displayed by all FIJIs. The Greek community and FIJI in particular does a great job of building future leaders while instilling a great sense of pride and passion in your Fraternity and your brothers. This inexplicable connection to other people has not only created invaluable friendships, but has pushed me more than I could have ever imagined to achieve my goals, and specifically, be a leader in the classroom, the Greek community, the University and the world.
After reading this blogabus, I cannot wait to dive into the material in the course! It will be exciting to read and discuss issues that relate to so many different areas of my life - my academics, my Fraternity, and the personal quality I continuously strive to improve, leadership. And after reading "The Origin and Evolution of College Fraternities and Sororities," I am motivated to disprove any current misunderstandings and stereotypes regarding Greek Life.
I never really thought of it that way but it is true that the greek community is building leaders. I think that some people who join fraternities or sororities have never reached their full potential as a student, member, or leader until they get involved with their chapter. I'm currently one of those people who is looking to build character and leadership skills within myself. Good explanation Alex (you not me. I would never compliment myself haha)
ReplyDeleteI like what you said about joining FIJI to find out who you are. Part of me feels that way completely, and part of me feels that some of who you are is deciding who you want to be. With respect to that, I decided to be a FIJI because I saw the things that other FIJIs were doing - the excellence they brought to anything they did, and I decided I wanted to be like that.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the Greek community is constantly building leaders. Sometimes, I just think the wrong type of leaders are built though. There are definitely some chapters that have strayed a bit away from their core values and this is influencing their members to act hypocritically. I like what you said about how our chapter tries to build good leaders with a great sense of pride and passion. This is something that has pushed me to achieve my goals too.
ReplyDeleteA different perspective than others' and I really admire that. I'm glad to hear that FIJI is helping you to find who you are. I think that so often, as a fraternity, we say we want men who know who they are and where they're going, but isn't part of the Fraternity to help us find that through the relationships we form with brothers?
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