S.A.A.S. Conference attendee discusses experiences
Growing up in a household with two brothers, sisterhood has always been something I wanted. I’m my mom’s only girl, so I’ve wanted to have a strong bond with someone I could call “sister.” Sisterhood is important, whether blood related or not. Meeting and bonding with other females who are just like you and connecting on a personal level is very mind-leveling.
It is great to know that you have a fellow female who feels and experiences things just like you and to have someone that can relate to you about family relationships, personal relationships, friendships and more. So to define sisterhood, I’d say it is unity, togetherness, trustworthiness, respect and honesty. In order to be true sisters, we must all have those important traits.
Coming to Vincennes University, I joined a sorority expecting that sisterly bond, wanting to trust and build bonds that would last for a lifetime. But in so many ways I felt as if I didn’t belong, and that didn’t work out for me personally. There were several reasons, one being that I didn’t really connect to the women around me.
So I distanced myself hoping to find a organization that would provide me with the opportunity to gain the bond I’d been longing for. During the beginning of the Fall 2018 semester, I had it made up in my mind that I would personally start an organization based on African American women and unity.
However, I didn’t have to start anything. It was already in place right before my eyes. On Oct. 19, I joined S.A.A.S. (Student African American Sisterhood). Since I’ve been apart of S.A.A.S., I’ve felt like I belonged there. I enjoy the company of my sisters, the bond that we already have and the fun times we have shared.
On Oct. 25, we had the chance to participate in a leadership and personal growth conference in Indianapolis. During the conference we were all placed in rooms, four to a room. Seeing, communicating and being around my sisters daily allowed me to grow a love for them.
We also had the chance to meet our other sisters from all over the country. We were learning dances that we had never seen done before, laughing, joking and also empowering each other in the process. At the conference, you would have thought we had known each other our entire lives.
Sharing so many personal stories and experiences also opened up the door for unity, as we each shared a painful experience and we had a sister right beside us that also felt some sort of pain. We were all able to comfort each other and to ensure one another that we wouldn’t let those experiences dictate our future.
