Greek Life in the Summer

During the summer months it can be easy to forget about a lot of the things that are very important to you during the school year.  For the most part this is a good thing, since you aren’t preoccupied with waking up before noon to go to class or writing a 15 page paper that you put off to the last minute.  There is however one thing that you should continue to occupy yourself with, and that is your fraternal bonds and obligations. 

While it is great to see your friends from home again and spend sorely needed time with them, you should also make it a point to see your brothers or sisters whenever you can.  Take a road trip to meet up with a few brothers for an afternoon of cornhole, grilling, and USA chants.  Head into a nearby city to see a ballgame with your pledge class, or head to someone’s beach house for a weekend.  While these activities may seem superficial, they can have extraordinary results.  When you and your brothers or sisters are together in a group, you will inevitably have a conversation about your organization.  You may talk about recruitment strategies you were mulling over for the fall, or an idea for a new philanthropy.  New ideas can’t make their way in unless people are having conversations about them, and the summer is a less stressful time when people can speak more freely or put more thought into their ideas.

Enjoy your summer.  Read books that aren’t assigned to you and spend 16 hours sleeping.  Hang out with your friends from home and do plenty of things with them, but be sure to think about your organization every once in a while.  Fraternity is not just for the fall and spring semesters for four years, it’s for life.