As the events of 2020 continue to unfold, there is no question that this year will go down in history as being one of the most confusing times of our lives. Little did any of us know that our spring break “see you in a week!” exclamations would quickly turn into “I still can’t believe that this is actually happening.” As the world has undergone a tough battle with the infamous COVID-19, people all across the world have been adapting to new realities, and they have been finding new ways to communicate with loved ones.
As college students, there is nothing we value more than friendship. Furthermore, as Alpha Delta Pi members, there is nothing we value more than sisterhood. Without question, our sisters are our very best friends. They are our biggest supports, our right-hand women, and the people who get us through each and every day. Knowing that we would be apart from each other for so long was heartbreaking. Summer break itself is long enough, but with an added 2 months extra, it was hard to believe that we would ever make it through.
With women living all across the state of Ohio, in over 15 different states, and even in an entirely different country, the ladies of Xi chapter had an extraordinary task finding a way to connect with one another. It was difficult at first, but with the helping hand of technology, the barriers didn’t take long to overcome at all. Before we knew it, Zoom gatherings and FaceTime dates became frequent. Phone calls and texts are shared on a daily basis to catch up, “spill the tea,” doing Tik Tok dances together, or discussing how next semester we will never take sharing even the smallest moments together for granted. We even found a way to participate in a chapter sisterhood through a Netflix Watch party. Sending ridiculous tweets and hyping each other up on Instagram photos, of course, have also been a popular way of letting each other know that we miss and are thinking about one another. In addition, the marketing team of Xi chapter has done a magnificent job with social media, expanding our presence to VSCO, Facebook, Twitter, and beyond. There is a seemingly endless variety of channels available for us to connect through.
While this time has been extremely hard on all of us, there have been so many positives to come out of it. In the past few months, I have personally become so much closer with many of my sisters. I have talked to them more frequently and learned more about what family and home life means to them. I have gained a magnificent and overwhelming sense of appreciation for the people that I care about, and I understand now more than ever just how important friendships are in maintaining personal happiness and success. This time has taught me how to make light even in the darkest moments and value the sisterhood of ADPi more than I could have ever imagined myself doing. At the end of the day, there really is nothing that can stop us from being with each other, even if “hanging out” just means chatting with each other through a laptop screen.
“True friends are never apart. Maybe in distance, but never at heart.”