"Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson

Well first things first, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Harding's club week let me fill you in.

STEP 1: Mixers Over the course of 3-4 weeks at the beginning of the fall semester, all of the Social Clubs (Church of Christ's version of fraternities and sororities) hold mixers inviting non-members to meet the active members with the intent of joining that particular club. The real key to this portion of the process is to meet as many members of the club as possible.

STEP 2: Visitation The following week or 2 is visitation. If you reach this point of the process you have obviously known enough people to survive the first voting session. At this stage you go around to the various member's Dorms/Apartments and get to know them better. The real key to this process is to really get to know the members and to let them get to know you, so don't just pop in and say hi. Remember that they have found you acceptable thus far in the process, so be yourself.

STEP 3: Club Week This is the home stretch of the Club process. It begins on a Sunday(known as Bid day) and runs until the following weekend, usually a Friday (known as Rough Day due to the longer hours and tougher tasks). By this point the club has approved you. This is important to remember, because it means that they want you in their club. This week is an entirely different ball game. Every club runs theirs differently, but there are a few SOPs. You are issued a notebook, which is really almost the centerpiece of the week. Within the bindings of the book are various assignments including (but not limited to) member signatures, mini & major dates, coloring assignments, tasks to appease the Queens, essays to right, etc. Many clubs require some sort of dress code to be followed the entire week (dress clothes, all inductees match, etc.) Past all of this are the other tasks, which vary between interclub games, service projects, exercises marches, and other things that will get you filthy and tired. But like Coach Boone said in Remember the Titans, "If you survive the camp you will be on the team...If you survive."

I say all this to say that it has been my task all week to sit and watch my friends go through this process (having not gotten the bid to my club). At first I was incredibly bitter and all I could think about was how unfair it was that I didn't even have a shot to try again until next year. However, as the week as progressed I've found myself with fewer and fewer negative feelings toward those pledging Gamma Sigma Phi. I never felt any distaste for them mind you; I was just envious of them. I have done everything I can to be supportive of them and all of my friends. Whenever I feel those negative feelings building I just remember what one of the GSP members (Jacob Hawk) told me, "All of this club stuff their doing is just for the jersey." Several of the members knew I was feeling down about not being inducted this year, and had taken me aside, but that statement really softened my heart and made helping those that were pledging easier.

I'm still not exactly ecstatic about not getting to join until next year, but some of the pledges, in particular my friends Braden and Matt, have already told me that they consider me their unofficial pledge brother. I'm using this year to get to know the members, and hopefully I will get a chance to pledge next year.

The song of the day is "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson. Because this song is all about taking it slow and pretending that its the weekend which I wish I could do.

-matt