Blog #3: Time & Change

"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself" - Andy Warhol.

This quote is extremely inspirational to me. No-- I do not just love this quote because Andy is a Pittsburgh native -- I love it because it exposes us to something that most people typically don't think about. A lot of people often like to assume or fall back on the safety of the idea that time is our most powerful healing agent. I have been guilty of such an action-- I often assume that in time things will get better, but in reality often times it is more so the action of what you do rather than the length of the waiting period for something to happen.

I feel that Andy’s quote contributes to community change in the sense that he is enabling people to be active. We cannot sit around and assume that nature will take its course and “things will work out the way that they should”. This quote to me expresses the idea that if we do this, we will be settling for a life that is mediocre. If we want to do something extraordinary and create change that is worthwhile and admirable, we have to get up and DO SOMETHING.
This type of active change to me seems more of a second-order type of change. To motivate others to actually change things, you could sit around and write up laws and rules for a lifetime, but it won’t mean anything or do anything unless you ACT upon it. Thus, actually changing things requires the motivation of a person under second order change where we are shaping people’s outlooks and attitudes on the things that we want to change.

I know that this example doesn’t quite relate to leadership in the Greek system, but this came to mind to me when I first read this quote. I thought of relationships and how people often say “time heals all” when you’re going through a break-up. Although I do agree with this statement to some degree, I feel that the best way to truly get through something like this is when you are actively doing things like spending time with friends or focusing on school etc. This example can be applied through the Greek community or in any organization in the sense that if something goes wrong, we should not just sit around and wait for the issue to “cool over” and become obsolete; we should instead tackle the issue head on with active plans and actions to not only resolve the issue but also prevent future occurrences.

In conclusion, I agree that time changes things, but if you want to do something GREAT, you have to actually act upon it.

Blog #2: The Social Change Model in Action

After attending Something of Value, I feel more motivated than ever to do some CP blog work. :) This event was the third time that the presidents of PHA chapters were all together to discuss community wide issues and to work toward solutions and new ideas for positive change. By now, we are all so close that it feels like we've known eachother for years. From this, we are able to have more indepth and personal conversations to truly get to the root of each issue at hand. During our break out session, we mostly voiced concern over the fact that we need to get all of our chapters on the same page; we all meet atleast three times a month and have been able to grasp the same concepts together, but our next obstacle is to bring those views and values home to the chapter. A part of "social change" that I feel has beenr taking place is the simple fact that we all get along so well-- I feel as though in the past chapters weren't as open and interactive with one another as we all are. A part of social change is working together for one major goal, and by coming together and bonding we have taken the first step of moving toward a more unified community. With this unity that we share, we can now work to promote positive relationships among all chapters by using our collective relationships with one another as an example. We, as 16 united PHA presidents, are promoting social change through our action of positive interaction with one another. We plan to bring this to our chapters and want to do this by traveling around to other chapter houses to lead some discussions about things that our members may not recognize as an issue for other chapters too. From my experience working with all of the chapter presidents, I have learned that we are all much more alike than we are different, and together we can truly make a difference. We, as leaders in this community, have worked to bring the communtiy together by starting with ourselves and then branching out to others. I have always believed in community unity and constantly express to my chapter the importance of collaboration with other houses and organizations on campus. I feel that through persistent education and exposure to members to branch out into the community, we can reach our goal of ultimate unity. Once we are all on the same page, we can use our friendships to do some big things in our community!

Blog #1: Let the Journey Begin!

In the past two months as Chapter President,I have felt completely overwhelmed. I have let the experience take over me in the sense that I have been doing exactly what we learned at CPLI that we should avoid: managing more so than leading. The discussion that we had at CPLI always creeps into my mind every once and awhile when I am reflecting upon what I have completed that week; usually just a bunch of e-mails, reports, and other requirements to fulfill just to get through the week. After our class on Wednesday, I have found a new source of motivation. I realized that if I ever really want to do something AMAZING in my time as president, I need to quit following the same old routine and find a way to emerge from all of the paper work and be a true leader.

Social change in the sense of community collaboration is something that I have always believed in. I want to lead not only my chapter but also the whole community in the direction of social change so that we are all one strong unit working together toward the betterment of our society here at Ohio State. I never really saw this sense of unity termed as "social change", but now when I look at the term I think of it as something that requires extremely active participation in order for it to truly succeed. In my mind, my version of "social change" used to be that we all were civil and got along. After attending BGLI last year and CPLI and GO! this year, I have come to the realization that being "civilized" is not a way to make us a community. It takes an active effort-- something that I see as a defining factor of social change. My current approach to social change is different now because I see it as actually working TOGETHER to make a difference. It requires more than just a friendly hello-- it requires a helping hand.

I am really excited to dig deeper into this topic and for further conversation to take place in our class. I really enjoy having my thoughts provoked and to be constantly thinking. I feel that a topic like this really requires major discussion and numerous opinions to really get a strong feel for what it truly means for each of us. See you all on Wednesday!! :)