Monthly Archives: August 2011

A barbarian, still.

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One of my new friends from school, Safa, a very promising freshie, toyed with the question of “to frat or not to frat?” on Facebook, to which I immediately fired off a reply “Join us barbarians, instead. We’re a rare specie in law school. Haha.”

Somehow, it made me remember something I wrote in my old blog as a law school freshman (or sophomore, I forgot because it was way back, haha), which I’m posting for old time’s sake. Although I never had to ask myself “to frat or not to frat?” because after four years in law school, I am and will be for the remaining year a barbarian still.

a barbarian…

I just found out is a law student without a fraternity in law school. and i’m proud to say i’m one of the uncouth, uncivilized, uncultured because i do not belong to the exclusive elite of law school fraternities. lol.

although i prefer the term nonfrat because it rhymes well with nonfat. and nonfat, nonfrat is my default answer to law students who continue to ask me if i belong to a frat. sounds cheesy but it makes the serious topic of law school fraternity affiliation a bit lighter whenever i kid them about it. they laugh and move on to another topic. haha.

but while i’m saved by humor from having to elaborate to those students why, i get no immunity from invitations to these greek orgs. last year, i got invited to one of the fraternities and just the other evening, a friend from another one of two of the quite popular fraternities in school, handed me an invitation. their glorious house was opening its doors for admission after due deliberation, rigid selection and screening process after keeping tab on my academic performance and leadership potential based on my past semester performance. i couldn’t help but cringe. haha. i guess i was slightly allergic to the fancy, scented and shiny paper they printed their letter on. and the envelope was also scented and pink! yeech.

it just amuses me, wondering what academic performance they were really basing on since the registrar doesn’t have all my grades yet. in fact, only 1 out of 6 profs turned in last semester’s grades. but that was just some thought i was keeping myself entertained with as i listened to their orientation program yesterday afternoon.

even if my friends from both frats know me well enough to know there’s no way i’m joining, still out of respect and courtesy to their invitation and their house, i’d show up at the orientation program to hear about and get to know their org. i call this my own due process because they have a right to be heard too. lol. so even if i remain a stubborn barbarian, i also remain in good terms with these people.

they say not everyone gets invited and that being considered to be a member of a fraternity is a privilege in itself, but i think there’s a bigger and better privilege in being a free and independent barbarian. besides, i’ve got my own “sorority” of soul sisters slash bffs anyway – my kiamsies. haha! and best girlfriends ashie and lyne who are law students too are also barbarians.

i could enumerate all my reasons for remaining a hardcore barbarian (or pwede amazon nalang since i’m a lady. haha!) but it’s too much brainwork discussing all that hazing and pride, values and exclusivity and the brotherhood and sisterhood of life to death.

it all boils down to this anyway – instead of going grΣΣk, i’d rather go gΣΣk.:D

Being a barbarian has made me enjoy and appreciate my friends from school more. It gives me that flexibility to hang out with different friends from different organizations. Like last Friday, after our Testimonial Dinner, classmates from one org invited my other nonfrat classmate and I for some after-party coffee where we ended up having fun over drinks and videoke instead.  What’s heartwarming is how friends don’t let organizations get in the way of friendship, especially F and S, who never fail to wait with me to be picked up from school every night even when they have after-class dinner or hangout plans with their brods and sis. They’d always let their brods and sis go ahead and they’d just catch up after my ride has arrived. Sometimes, they let other brods and sis wait with them, then we’d be one noisy bunch waiting for one girl’s sundo. Haha. Even if I tell F and S to go ahead, they stay behind like I’m one little girl who shouldn’t be left alone. Haha! During those “taxi days” when dear father cannot pick me up at school, they’d also walk with me to the taxi stop, wait for a cab and make sure that I’m settled in my seat before going on with their dinner plans/dates. Yes, dates. They’re that thoughtful because even F’s boyf (and brod) is dragged into the whole waiting routine!

So a nonfrat student in law school does not equal lonely or lost. My other nonfrat classmate and I used to get a kick out of calling each other “sister” and it has stuck now. There’s still a fun sense of belongingness in law school even when you don’t belong to any organization. Thanks to my amazing friends and classmates in school, that is what I’m enjoying now. 🙂