Man, MTV's "The Real World" didn't prepare me for shit...


so yea, I have been living with roupes for almost a month now. It is really weird to have all of my buddies going back to school and heading back to the day-to-day operations of being a college student and I don't have to go back anymore. It is a huge relief though, I won't lie. I definitely am not going to miss the cram sessions for midterms and papers...all nighters were fun for the hang outs...but that was about it. I do enjoy getting 8-9 hours of sleep a night now.

the hardest part for me has been deciding what to do with my life. There are so many things that I want to do, yet I feel as if I am limited to what I am able to do. I know this isn't really true as my kindergarten teachers used to tell me that I can do "anything" and my options are "unlimited"!!!!! Sometimes I wish those kindergarten teachers would ram that "You can do anything!" bull shit right up their fucking asses. That's crap. You can't do anything, you can only do some things. Wanna know why? You dont have enough time to do anything!!! Haha.

between working fulltime, paying bills, getting married, procreating, buying a house, getting a second mortgage, raising kids, sending those little bastards off to college, retiring, and then dying...you really don't have much time to do much else.

My girlfriend always says that she wishes you could live life backwards. Like be born at 100 years old and know little, and as you get younger you do the processes that you would normally do regularly. That way when you were 40, you will have worked for the better part of 40 years and have a nice house, a nice car, and you would be able to enjoy it! I mean seriously, how pathetic is it to see a 70 year old man doing 35 in a 65 and he has a fucking corvette? Or a Porsche?

I hope I am wealthy enough soon that I can buy those things and actually be young enough to enjoy them.

Going Greek: Part II


I got a few responses in regards to my last post about "Going Greek". I also got a few instant messages from some other readers. One in particular from a girl who is in a sorority at Dickinson College. She reminded me that the biggest problem with greek organizations, as well as any organization really, is that a few people give the entire organization a bad name, which ultimately leads to the words "fraternity", "sorority", and "greek" giving off negative impressions immediately. Another thing that she reminded me of is how some people have aspirations to join other clubs and do other activities, but for some reason once they go greek they sometimes opt out from not participating in much else on campus. The problem with this is that these people are just members of a fraternity or a sorority and nothing else. The Administration and independent students tend to develop an attitude towards these members. Especially when there are several independent students who write for the newspaper, are on student senate, work in the library, play intramural sports, attend diversity seminars, and still manage to keep a solid GPA. I am not going to lie, I can understand why they feel the way they do. They do all of these activities and they look at those greeks who don't do anything but stumble to class hungover, raise hell on the weekends (and rarely get caught), and do moderately well academically.

It is sad that few people give such a large number a bad name, but that is how a lot of things are in the world. You are guilty by association.

Going Greek


When I first went to college I had been looking at all of the possibilities for extra curricular activities. I thought about writing for the college newspaper, as I had done in high school, and I also considered joining the student government. However, going greek had never really crossed my mind as a definite for my choices. Sure, before going to Dickinson I had researched all of the greek organizations, looked at their websites, and even talked with a few of their members before leaving for college. I really had the stereotypical perception that fraternities were just beer chugging meat heads who had oodles of money. To a point, I suppose that aspect of greek life is a plausible one, but after hanging out with members of greek organizations I soon realized that they had something that was incredibly appealing to me. I had suffered a series of injuries that left me unable to play contact sports anymore, so playing football and lacrosse at Dickinson quickly faded and I was left with a feeling of emptiness and aloneness. I had always been a part of a "team" and not being able to be a part of something really bothered me. It wasn't that I felt like I needed to blend into the crowd, but I really have always been part of a group and been a leader in a group. Then I decided to bite the bullit and rush. I rushed during the spring of 2002 and I accepted a bid from Delta Sigma Phi.

After pledging and being initiated into the fraternity, I quickly realized that there was so much more to being greek than just the social aspect. We did philanthropies, many community service events, and of course we did the social events. A lot of people think that most greeks only do philanthropy events and community service events because we have to. To those people, I highly suggest you take a closer look. I am proud to say that during my tenure as an active member of Delta Sigma Phi we raised over $5,000 for the March of Dimes Foundation - March of Dimes helps premature babies - and to know that a prematurely born child is being helped because I, along with my brothers, spent an evening making pancakes for students.

A lot of people ask me why I went greek and what is so great about being in a "frat". Well, everything.

Not only did I make bonds with guys who have become my best friends, but I joined an organization composed of a group of guys from all walks of life. We accepted the traditions and carried the torch during our time and passed it off to the members who we selected and trained in the ways of our fraternity. The biggest reason I joined a fraternity is because being in a greek organization is to be part of something that expands much further than your immediate social surroundings. To be part of a greek organization means to be part of and have a unique bond with every member before us, every member after us, and every member in every other chapter of my fraternity across the entire United States of America. I can go to any other campus with a chapter of my fraternity and be accepted with open arms, without question, solely based on the fact that I am one of them because I am a Delta Sigma Phi. That to me is more cherishable and honorable than any other aspect of greek life. Sure, we drink, we party, we do stupid stuff, but the greatest part of it all is that I am a Delta Sigma Phi until the day I die. That is the greatest part of joining a greek organization.

So, to those who think that being greek means you drink inordinate amounts of alcohol and pay for your friends, I calmly say that you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and it is best not to judge before knowing. A white man cannot know what it feels like to be a black man. A man cannot know what it is to be a woman. So, how can anyone who isn't greek know what it means to be greek? They can't. If you really want to know what it means to be greek, just ask. Don't judge, don't assume. Just ask.

I made the move


Well, I am no longer going to be a Maryland resident. At least not for quite some time. I moved to Hamilton, New Jersey. A good friend of mine, and fraternity brother (Roupes) already had a place up here so I moved in here with him for a few months and then we are going to move across the river into PA...where things are MUCH more affordable.

Not having a job kinda blows...I could collect unemployment, but then I would basically have to shoot myself in the face because people who collect unemployment are pathetic and should kill themselves.

I'll post something better in the near future now that I am actually able to have internet that works well.

PEACE.

Happy New Years.