Lambda Delta Sigma

Lambda Delta Sigma is an organization that will always be close to my heart. It is something that I was a big part of for four years of my life. It is something that gave me a safe place to go and a place to meet some of the greatest people I have ever met. And it is now a place that I must say goodbye to.

I joined Lambda Delta Sigma my first year of college. It is an LDS sorority that had 18 different chapters. There was also a LDS fraternity called Sigma Gamma Chi that had many chapters as well. Each chapter had a different name such as Xi, Delta, Nu, Phi, Beta, etc. I was in the greatest chapter ever, Omega.

I will never forget the night my mom told me to go and join a sorority at the U. She had told before about being in one when she was in college and part of me thought she was crazy. Why in the world would I want to join a sorority? She talked me into it though telling me all about the fun she had and the friends that she made. So, that is how I found myself walking into the U of U Institute on a Tuesday night in August of 2005, which also happened to be my second day of college. I remember walking in and being a bit nervous. After all, I was by myself, I had no idea what to expect, and I still didn't really know what I was getting myself into.

After filling out a name-tag and receiving a packet of papers I walked into the gym and the ciaos began. Imagine, if you will, a gym full of girls. Lots of girls. Then add to that 18 different backdrops, tables, and groups of people. Throw in a bunch of other girls you have no idea what they are doing and you get what I just walked into. But instead of it making me nervous or scared, it made me excited.

That night I walked around a gym and talked to a bunch of girls. After meeting with each chapter and getting some information on them I went to the chapel and filled out my preference card. I was sitting with some people I met and was debating between two sororities to put as my number one. I finally put down my choices and left the building. I knew that I would have to come back the next night to see where I would be placed. Upon returning on Wednesday night I reentered the gym. After waiting for what seemed like forever I was finally able to see what chapter I would be in. Then I was lead down the hall and walked into my new sorority room filled with girls that I would now join. I found some of the people I meet the night before and quickly joined their side. That is the night that I became a member of a sisterhood. That is night that I became a member of OMEGA.

For the next four years I was involved in weekly activities, firesides, date nights, battle of the chapters, football games, movie nights, slip n' slides, jello nights, carnivals, soup fests, dances and meetings. But most of all I was involved in something so much bigger. Something that included laughter, fun, growth, friendships, joy, belonging, and most of all LOVE. Sorority was something that changed my life and changed me for the better. From being a part of it and being an officer in it, it helped make me into the person I am today. It gave me a place to be involved. A place to go that was safe. A place to go to finally belong.

And now, after all of the years of laughter and memories, it is time to say goodbye. The church announced recently that they are going to end the program. In fact, it is already official and all members have been released. This news saddened me. Not because I will no longer get to be a part of it, because I really have not been for the last year or so, but more for the fact that the organization itself will no longer exist. I feel sad for the people who were never able to be involved and for the people who will now never get to experience it. The organization was such a great place of sisterhood and brotherhood among young single adults. It was a place to grow and learn and come unto Christ. It was a place to make friends and belong to a group of people who would stand by you. And now it no longer is and that is what makes me sad.

I will forever be grateful though. Grateful that I was a part of it. Grateful to my mom for making me join. Grateful that I was able to meet so many amazing people and have the privilege of calling them my friends. Friends that I still have today and will have long into the future. I will forever have memories of jello slip n' slides, ninja turtles, blackout football games, barn dances, clue date nights, winter formals, Richard Simmonds aerobics, exchanges with the Frats, Omega Man Pageants, Rush weeks, officer meetings, swallowing goldfish, Powder puff football games, and so much more. But most of all I will have memories of being with friends. Memories that are filled with laughter, joy, and love for each other and life that I will never forget. So goodbye Omega. Goodbye to Lambda Delta Sigma and Sigma Gamma Chi. You will always be remembered.

Omega Born
Omega Bred
Omega till the day I'm Dead