What is Brotherhood?
At the Alumni Night rush event that I had attended, I believed that my definition of brotherhood was quite solid: being able to hang out and spend time with people that share similar interests and characteristics. After speaking with a few Brothers who could passionately describe their pledge class’s Brotherhood meanings and experiences, I was inspired and wanted to experience a personal meaning and development of brotherhood with a future pledge class that I could possibly join.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, brotherhood is defined as “An association or community of people linked by a common interest, religion, or trade.” It wasn’t until I had began the pledging process that I realized that Brotherhood could appear in so many different forms that it could sometimes be indescribable.
Over the past 7.5 weeks, our pledge class has shared moments and experiences that has determined our definition of Brotherhood: a foundation of unwavering trust, loyalty and transparency so that every struggle is endured together in order to provide support and encouragement in the face of adversity. We have to trust each other to tell the complete truth so that each and every one of us can develop into a more well-rounded individual, we are loyal to each member of our pledge class because of the friendships that we share, and we are transparent so that our relationships will be stronger and our team building skills are more efficient. Events such as our Goals and Brotherhood presentations have allowed for us to collaborate on a professional level, but all of the late nights have helped us get to know one another in depth. In addition, our brotherhood event such as the bonfire has been a highlight of the pledging process because it was a time to relax with one another and be ourselves. A defining moment of brotherhood within the Alpha Gamma Pledge Class was when we were revealing truths about ourselves around the bonfire, and every Alpha Gamma Ray was completely accepting of all the experiences that we had endured. Through times of trial and tribulation, our pledge class has developed an unbreakable bond that has made us stronger individuals as we continue this journey together.
As I reflect on the past two months, I realize how my previous definition of brotherhood remained on such a surface level. After being able to spend countless late nights, pledge meetings, and brotherhood events with twelve amazingly intelligent and hilarious individuals, my improved definition of brotherhood is now the ability to trust a community whose goal is to establish and maintain strong bonds to provide support for the wellbeing of an individual. My personal defining moments of brotherhood over the past 7.5 weeks were first when each and every one of the Alpha Gamma Rays were there to comfort me on my darkest days, such as the anniversary of my grandmother’s death and times where I wanted to withdraw from the pledging process. Each time, I was sad or felt incompetent, my pledge class sat me down and reminded me that I had the ability to finish and would not let me quit. I felt blessed to know that I could rely on my pledge brothers for the support that I needed. Secondly, as we spent more time together as the pledging process progressed, I noticed how the little things reinforced and strengthened our brotherhood. For example, being able to catch how we now have adopted each other’s vocabulary, mannerisms and values makes me smile because I am reminded of how close we are. Lastly, having the opportunity to host a brotherhood event where we went bowling at Round One gave me a chance to see that we really value the time that we spend together.
I am grateful that Alpha Kappa Psi has allowed me to have a unique experience of Brotherhood with my pledge class. The memories that have been created and the new bonds that I share with my pledge brothers is something that I will cherish for a lifetime.
