Life After Lumpkin
Written by Talia Locarnini, a member of Alpha Chi Omega.
This past May, after attempting to pack my entire life neatly into boxes but eventually just dumping all of my belongings into the backseat of my car, I drove out of the Alpha Chi Omega parking lot for the last time as an in-house girl. It was a very bittersweet moment: my entire sophomore year was shaped by living in the house with my pledge class. I had a year-long sleepover with my best friends, grew close with girls I might not have talked to otherwise, and never had to wear clothes from my own closet. I knew it was time to let someone else have that experience, and I was so excited to live in my own house and to “adult” on my own. But I didn’t want to lose touch with the house that had been such a huge part of my life for so long.
Life after Lumpkin is different: I buy my own groceries now, have a bathroom to myself, and only have three closets to pick from instead of over 60. But luckily, even though I do not live in the house anymore, going to the Alpha Chi Omega house is still a part of my daily routine. I look forward to my class breaks when I can head over to the house and eat a delicious lunch (that I did not have to make myself) with friends that I wouldn’t see very often if we didn’t meet up at the house together. I became very close with my Big last year because she would come to the house for lunch almost every day, and so we were able to spend lots of time together just hanging out, eating snacks, and doing homework. This year, I have become that older girl that shows up to the house all the time, and it has been such a fun way to stay in touch with girls that are both younger than me and older than me.
Every Monday, I look forward to having dinner with my pledge class in the house again and catching up with everyone before and after chapter. Socials and date nights have become even more special as we try to make the most of our time together that is slowly becoming less and less. Being an upperclassman in a sorority is very different from being a freshman or sophomore in some ways: it is easier to lose touch and feel removed. But the moments we have together as friends, as a pledge class, and as a sorority now are more meaningful, memorable, and impactful than ever before. College doesn’t last forever, but every day I am more and more confident that these irreplaceable friends and connections will be ones we cherish for the rest of our lives.
