A La Jamaica Kincaid
Before:
I may not have my chapter letters yet, but I'm wearing a pan pipe pin above my heart. You ask why I'm wearing a pin and I say that I'm a member in training for a fraternity and you crinkle your eyebrows at the same time that your eyes widen and you break eye contact and start to fidget with the buttons on your shirt, or tug on the hem. You're judging me, I know it. Let me say who I am. I'm Nicole. Music is one of the most important things in my life; it's my escape and my passion. It's where I fit in. I also love to help people.
MUSIC MAKES PEOPLE FEEL GOOD.
SAI is an international music fraternity for women. Initiation is in 2 weeks.
After (1):
I don't have my letters yet but I can already feel you judging me. I have this pin pinned above my heart every day and you've noticed it. You've noticed that around this time of year, a lot of college students start wearing pins. You know that I'm in college, that I have freedoms that I didn't have when I lived at home. There are more *ahem* opportunities in college. What is going to happen when I get my letters - something that I'm incredibly excited about - what then?
You see me standing with an emblem across my body- not just across my body, but as a woman, a prominent part of my sex. You think of what society has taught you about people like me. Think of Legally Blonde, think of Animal House. You associate those ideals and practices with me even though you haven't even asked me what the letters stand for, what I stand for. You probably don't know that I've seen Legally Blonde the musical and that Elle's sisters are her best friends and her support group through thick and thin. They're like-minded women who strive to do the best for themselves. In many scenes, the sisters are the motivation for Elle to follow her dream. But you look at me and see a house of girls, all with an inclination to drink heavily and dress scantily. You don't give me a chance to say that Sigma Alpha Iota doesn't have a house. You don't let me explain that the fraternity that I've pledged is an international music service fraternity for women. Or that I'm 19 and I don't drink, nor do I have an overwhelming desire to do so. You're putting me in a box and making assumptions about my character and you haven't even come up to me yet. You're still just standing there staring at the Greek letters on my chest, trying to avoid eye contact.
After (2):
Tonight I was initiated into the Lambda Phi chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota at UMass Amherst with 10 of my, now, good friends. I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful organization which dedicates itself to peace and harmony, music, and music service. I have my chapter letters and I'm proud of them. I can't wait to show them off! :)

















