Life Lessons From A Little Black Book

The digital world we live in today allows us to capture and recall so many moments in our lives more quickly and efficiently than ever before, but nothing brings them flooding back quite like a memento from our past. 

There's something about an actual physical object that you can touch that has special meaning.  You know a memory is important to you when you've had to pack and move it a ton of times.  You're acknowledging that it's a significant enough piece of your past that you will always find room for it in your future.   The things we choose to keep close to us are part of who we are and what defines us as a human beings.

This Kappa Kappa Psi pledge book is one of my mementos.

Kappa Kappa Psi is a National Honorary Band Fraternity.  Like most Greek societies, you earn membership through a process known as pledging. 

My pledge class

I pledged the spring semester of my freshman year of college, and it was one of the happiest and most challenging times in my life.  I learned life lessons through the process that I carry with me today.  I am a better person for having served this organization and my fellow brothers. 

Now before you get worried I spent half of my freshman year drunk, standing on tables and reciting slogans, it wasn't like that.  KKY is a co-ed service organization, not a social one, so my pledge period consisted of things like helping clean the marching band uniform room, selling coffee and donuts in the music building to raise money for chapter projects and breaking my back loading tubas and drums into the band truck after daily practices.  I will admit we did have fun too...but those stories...well, some of those stories aren't actually blog material!

What life lessons did I learn from my experience pledging?

• Responsibility.  I had to carry my pledge book with me at all times, or I was in big trouble with my big brother. 

My Big was a senior when I was a freshman, so I got to see him graduate!  Proud Little Brother over here!

• The value of hard work.  All those back-breaking band truck loading sessions earned me points in my little book.  So did getting up early to get the donuts.  Points were good, and nothing good comes easy.
• Time management.  I had to have visits with all the active members of the chapter so we could get to know each other.  That meant juggling my class schedule and theirs PLUS band commitments, and we had a limited amount of time to do it.
• Valuing differences.  Some brothers gave lots of points pretty easily.  Some were really tough and asked a lot of you before they gave you any credit.  Easy or tough, they were all valued friends that were there for the organization in their own way, and we needed each and every one of them to be successful.
• Appreciating your history.  I had to learn the names of the founding members of our chapter (some of whom I'm proud to say are friends to this day), as well as the history of the organization.  Without the contributions of all those people, I would never have been fortunate to enjoy the experience I did as a member.
• Brotherhood.  If any of my brothers needed me today, I would find a way to help them.   When my father died, my mother was astounded at the number of my brothers that sent flowers in his honor.  The bond we all shared is stronger than any test of time, and it will always be that way.

So why did I have occasion to pull out my pledge book today?  My chapter is celebrating it's 30th anniversary, and MY Little Brother texted me for some information about our family tree. 

I love my Little Bro!

And wouldn't you know, the answers to everything were right in my little black book, just like always.