The night before Initiation, I was ready. My suit was laid out, my final exam was complete, I went to bed early, and my alarm was set...or so I thought. I planned on waking up about 4:30am to shower before we met at 5:15 sharp. The next morning my alarm went off, I got out of bed and immediately hit snooze (out of habit). Well, I found out at 5:23 that I must've missed the snooze button because Andrew Kolupski was calling my cell phone wondering where I was. I shot out of bed and was freaking out. Here it was, the morning of Initiation, and I had overslept.
I threw some pants and a shirt on, stuffed some clothes and snacks in a bag, grabbed my wallet and suit and I was out the door. I don't know what exactly was rushing through my head as I sprinted to the parking lot where the rest of the guys were waiting...something to the effect of "I can't believe this is happening...I hope Andy has some gum because I didn't brush my teeth." I ran out to the back parking lot to see cars pulling out and my car of the Andrews - Kolupski, Vogel, and Lane, all standing outside of it waving me down. I made it to the car breathing heavily and still in my morning daze. It wasn't until about an hour into the trip that I realized I had forgotten my final exam. Nonchalantly, I told Andy that I didn't have it. He decided to ask Jurell (our member educator) if it was a big deal. Jurell didn't answer and I was left to stew. With about 45 minutes left in the trip, Andy received a text from Jurell saying that he wasn't sure if the Hall of Chapters would let me be initiated. Great. Here I was 45 minutes from Oxford, psyched to get initiated but because I couldn't get out of bed on time I was going to have to miss out on the experience. I got out of the car slowly, calculating who would be the best person to talk to. I look up to see Andy and Jurell smiling and laughing in my direction. I ran up to them and called them on their bluff, but they did have me going! Thankfully I was able to be initiated even though I almost missed my ride and forgot to bring my exam.
It was a whirlwind experience for me. Apart from not being on my A-game in the morning, the rest of Initiation went smoothly. I felt privileged and honored to be informed of the secrets of our Fraternity, and what Beta truly stands for. One specific memory I'll have is when the ceremony was over and we were welcomed with cheers and congratulations from all the other actives. There was happiness, joy, friendship, and brotherhood in that room - something the founding fathers of the Fraternity I'm sure would be happy about. Overall it was a wonderful day. Thank you to Skivs and Poz for organizing everything, and a big thanks to all of the actives who made the trip down to Oxford to support the Delta Class. It meant a lot to have all of the brothers there! What a great start to my Beta years.
Reflection by John N. Jackson '13
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