I love my PB&J!

So the question is...Why did we choose to start a class about Fraternal Change with a service project, and what did you learn about yourself and your peers as a result of our shared experiences today?


Well...I think we started off our class by doing a service project because of the important, life changing concept we started talking about with Pay It Forward. I think that it is really easy for people to hear a concept, understand it...and then do nothing about it. Even if it is such a great idea, many people lack the motivation to participate in something new and shy away from their normal routine. So, I think it makes perfect sense as to why we made 300 PBJs to donate to the Holy Family Soup Kitchen. We heard of a great concept and ran with it! To be honest, I love the movie Pay It Forward, but I probably wouldn't get up and go do something right away for someone else. I'm glad that while making the sandwiches, we had the basic movie concepts fresh in our minds and were actually able to service others. I know that with how crazy everyone's schedules are, it can be hard to do things for other people. This was a great refresher of how good it feels to forget about how much I have on my to-do list and realize that no matter how much I stress out, there is always someone out there with more significant problems than me that I can actually help them with.

I think another reason for starting off our class with a service project is to get us thinking about how we CAN contribute more as a community. A lot of people mentioned during our class that we have so many resources available to help others, yet we as a community, we seem to be doing a minimal job. If we want the rest of the Greek community to live up to our values of service more effectively and have this recognized by the rest of the non Greek population, it has to start with the leaders of the Greek organizations. We have to practice what we preach in order to change the way people think about fraternities and sororities.

What did I learn about everyone? Well first off, everyone was very generous about sharing their peanut butter... and we have a new talent if changing the world doesn't work out how we planned. But really, I think that I am starting to realize that with such a strong group of leaders, we really can start to make a difference if we all work together. We made 300 sandwiches in about 30 min...we could do a lot in 52 weeks. I learned that we all seem to be on board with this Pay It Forward concept and that we seem to collectively agree that it starts with us. I'm not really sure exactly what I learned about myself this week, but part of the reason I wanted to be part of PHA was to learn more about myself and my abilities/weaknesses. I know I have a lot to discover in these next 52 weeks in myself and in everyone else!