So yeah, you can stop reading now. Because that's what you wanted to know, right? Which society I'm in, or whether I'm even in one to begin with?
Secret societies you either love 'em or hate 'em. Or could care less about 'em. Yes, that's an option too. What irks me the most, though, is the hypocrisy surrounding them. We talk about societies in hushed tones to friends in other societies, regaling each other with Monday night revelries and tapping stories, and flaunt our membership to others when it can boost our own image on campus as being somebody of note.
But you know what? It makes me sick. It makes my blood boil that we let something like secret societies consume so much of our lives. "Who's in one? Which one? Was she a single or a multi-tap?" So, I'm going to be honest with you and not leave you guessing as to what society I'm in, or if I'm in a society at all. And I'm also going to be honest with you about how I initially reacted to being tapped, which is not something I'm particularly proud of. The point of me telling you all this is not to inflate the importance of secret societies, but rather to put them into perspective.
I was a single tap. I had been off all of junior year except for junior Spring. And as many of you juniors are probably now realizing, junior Spring is a doozy. There are just so many things going on programs to apply for, internships to secure, really difficult classes to take and of course the age-old question of whether "to write a thesis or not to write a thesis." It's rather overwhelming and incredibly defeating if things don't go your way. So when I got the mysterious email from an unknown source that said secrecy was key, I was excited. A little too excited.
I didn't know much about societies. They weren't really on my radar, but I did "know" enough to think that it meant you were cool if you were tapped for a society. Because I mean, societies are selective. Only one-fourth of each class is tapped for one, or something like that. So needless to say, I thought I was a pretty big deal. I cringe now when I think back on how I let being tapped inflate my ego so much. I was not considerate of my friends who had not been tapped. I was self-absorbed. Looking back, I wish I had been more mature about it all.
Because it really wasn't until the person who tapped me revealed herself that it finally dawned on me what it meant to be tapped. And I have to say, I've never walked away from an experience feeling more humbled. She had been waiting for me in Rauner with breakfast and Cobra's mission statement, and then she talked to me about what the society was like, what it had meant to her and why she thought I should be in Cobra. I was floored that she had picked me. I had thought it had been a group of seniors deciding I was cool, when I could not have been more wrong.
It was because of one person and my relationship with that one person that I am in Cobra. It's not because I'm cool. But you probably already knew that.
The best advice I've ever heard about societies is that you should think of them as a gift. Societies allow you to become closer to people you might not have otherwise, and in my case, they let me reconnect with someone I had always thought highly of. There was nothing I did to deserve being tapped for Cobra. And I think it was in realizing this that I saw how societies can be more than just status symbols and Monday night drinking clubs. Societies can be places to form real friendships.
So if you're in a society, treat it like a gift. You are no more entitled to be in a society than anybody else on this campus. You're just lucky that somebody older than you thought you were special. So act accordingly. If you're not in a society please know it's not that big of a deal. It may sound trite, especially coming from me, but know it is true.
As hurtful as it may be to watch your other friends take part in something in which you can never feel included, don't let something silly like not being in a society deter you for one second. Societies do not have the power to dictate who you are on this campus. Only you can do that. So keep on doing what you do, because at the end of the day we're not remembered by the organizations we belong to on campus, but rather the things we do while we are here.
