The reality is that we all came from different social groups. Anne, Rachel, Dina, and Elese were the most vivid examples, but I would argue we all did. For example, I was the only Brooklyn girl with no close friends in our pledge class. Although we all came from different walks of life, we all are now able to proudly identify with the AEPhi emblem on our shirts, and that is just one of the threads that holds us together -- forever.

For the entire first semester Anne was entrapped in a world surrounded solely by the Asian culture. All of her social activities and friendships were direct results of her new association into this group. She began going to Church with her friends, going to all Asian parties, and even attended various cultural meetings on campus. Strangely, she wasn't happy; she felt isolated and sought diversity. With the advice of her two older sisters who had experienced Greek life, they encouraged her to participate in "formal rush" to broaden her friendship base. The percentage of Asian Americans involved in Cornell Greek life is rather slim. When she explained her plans to her friends she was met with much opposition; they couldn't understand why she was willing to betray their friendship in search of "white girls". In truth, Anne didn't know why either, but she followed through with her plans.

ultures were distinctively different.

Lastly, Elese explains the perfect example of how her religious identity was almost challenged. She told me a story about Ash Wednesday. She came to the house for dinner with a black mark on her forehead. As she walked throughout the house she got awkward glances, confused stares, and numerous questions. It was then that she realized the differences she had with the others -- religious differences. However, she also realized that these differences were not inherently negative, as she explained the marks to her interested new friends. She realized that the confused looks were not out of disapproval, but rather interest. She remembers one of the older girls telling her at rush, "In our house individuality and uniqueness is praised"; she was now able to understand the truth in these words.

Pledging is finally over, and I, along with all of the pledges, would admit that we have meshed into one social unit sharing a deep social bond. For these past ten weeks we have been forced to learn, accept, and socialize with every single girl in our house. There have been so many crucial events through which we have formed and sustained the social bonds that distinguish us as a group. Our sleepovers, candle-passing talks, the wearing of our common pledge shirts, our pin, sister bowling nights, having dinner together, and teaching each other initiation rituals have all enforced the bond we share with each other. The candle-passing ritual brought everyone closer after the first few weeks. During this activity the entire pledge class sat in one big dark circle and shared their deepest secrets. There was warmth and love in our circle. It was on this night that the boundaries of our membership were drawn. We laughed, we cried, and then we hugged for hours. From that point on nothing was the same; we gained a new respect for one another. We had formed one unit, separate from all "outsiders" who were not present i

Some common words found in the essay are:
Lastly Elese, Ironically Anne, Kathleen Hall, Dominican Republic, Cornell Asian, Cornell Greek, Elese Protestant, York City, Dina Elese, Chinese American, pledge class, greek life, girls pledge class, ironically anne, specific sorority, asian culture, identity formation, world surrounded, various cultural, girls sorority, formed sustained,
Approximate Word count = 2208
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)