Why "I"Joined PYT
This may not be something that resonates with everyone. My reasons may not be enough for you. However, I just thought this would be a place to share my personal story.
I am an only child originally born in the Carolinas. I always loved being around peers but I was always considered the weird kid. In spite of being a weirdo, my support system of family, friends, and teachers that understood me helped me through a time would have felt socially lonely. I am grateful for those people that cared. I didn't need to be apart of anything because I had my own team of people that had my back. Even when I looked into colleges, I decided to venture away from traditional college, sororities, and social clubs. These things felt so much like high school and I didn't feel the need to be apart of anything too social. My caveats were Phi Beta Lambda and the International Student Organization. I enjoyed those two organizations and what they did for my social life in college. Life will always go on.
I eventually went completely left on my career journey and joined the most interesting organization of all. I joined the Army and happened upon some amazing friends. The same "weirdo" shenanigans happened but I had someone that God paired me with that seemed to be going everywhere I was going and doing the same job. It was like our career paths were exactly the same and then we were eventually started living together as roommates at our permanent duty station. We were different in so many ways but when it came to the basic necessities of having each other's back, we were the same. We shared our small crew of friends. We all shared our secrets and navigated "all things of life" without judgement. It was like growing in a 2nd childhood. We had to learn this new world together. Her and the rest of our crew ended up staying in Active Duty a little longer than me, but our relationship became a lifetime commitment. So no matter how many days went by or what happened, we decided to always be friends.
Now that you know my life story ( lol), I can get into why I joined Rho Upsilon Tau Military Sorority, Incorporated. I was totally not looking for this, but my battle buddy I spoke of previously was excited about getting a new organization started. She talks to me with excitement about many things, but the situation became different. When she explained it to me, I understood her passion about PYT. She asked for my help and wanted me to be apart of something that supported our community, created a supportive sisterhood for veterans, and was grounded in building a legacy. I was all in, but I had my own reservations of how I could fit into this sort of thing. This was not something that I saw myself joining and I honestly didn't join this for me. I joined this because I had already committed to being a sister to someone who was with me at a very critical part of my life. We had a very textured relationship and if joining her vision meant me being a part of a legacy and extending mine, I was down. I was also down to be apart of a place where women are working to create positive changes in this world, make a difference, and connect by through their personal experiences. I felt like I needed to be here. It felt like this was something unique. So I joined.
I had many conversations about this venture and what I saw for it. I once went home and talked to a community leader in my hometown. I told her all about PYT and what it meant to me. She gave me some good advice about organizational pros and cons. Two things I learned from her:
1. An organization consists of many different people and you have to be open to those different personalities and carry thick skin.
2. As organizations grow, you will win people and you will lose people. However, you must keep forward with your goals.
I understood her sentiments and took her advice. As things change and as I take on my new ideas to participate in my duties with PYT, I realize that this road to success is not easy. It takes time, effort, and faith that things are going to work out. I sometimes get discouraged when things don't seem to be moving our way, but my belief in my sisterhood and the people within it keeps me motivated
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Thank you for reading this!
With Love,
Eccentric RHOyalty