“People live in each other’s shelter.”
This is one of my most favorite quotes of all time, mostly because of the striking truth that it contains. What does it mean to be a person’s shelter? What does it mean to be sheltered by another person? I am so glad you asked.
For the past four years, I have lived in the shelter of a particular group of others, a group that has changed the course of my life forever. You see, during my freshman year of college my roommate encouraged me to go through the CPC Greek Life recruitment process. She told me how much I could benefit from finding a group of strong women to surround myself with. Boy, was she right!
There is not a day that has gone by in the past four years that I have not been pushed and encouraged by this special group of women, these Chi Omega ladies. But not only pushed and encouraged, but sheltered as well. Those are very different things. Anybody can tell someone else that this bad day is going to get better and give them encouragement. To shelter someone requires maximum effort. It means stopping what you’re doing to be the one person in someone else’s life that gives undivided attention. To allow someone else to live off your happiness and your strength for a little while. To offer protection from a storm brewing outside.
I chose Chi Omega four years ago for many reasons. I chose a group of strong women who represented the ideals that I believe in. I chose an organization who 120 years ago were thinking of the future of women in society and who continue to cultivate the spirit of women everywhere. Yet, I did not realize that I was also choosing a group to shelter me. Choosing Chi Omega four years ago was easy for me and every day since, it has been easy to choose to love Chi Omega. People live in each other's shelter and I am eternally grateful for the shelter I have found in Chi Omega.
XOXO,
Kellie Herrington
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