Uhlenkott-unit5-final

A group of 20 girls in a sorority formed strong bonds and created lasting memories over the course of four years. They experienced joy, laughter, tears, and love together. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, they connected instantly and formed friendships that lasted. The sorority house became a place filled with laughter, singing, and dancing. They shared funny and meaningful moments, including a trip to the Salmon River and a heartfelt gathering after the passing of a sister. They celebrated their love and friendship by taking a photo, capturing their happiness and closeness. The narrator reflects on the importance of cherishing these memories and appreciating the growth and development of their friendship over time. They feel grateful for choosing this sorority and consider it their home. Pictures are often taken to capture the joy of those in an image and to show the beauty of a moment. A perfectly taken photo can make the viewer feel something when they look at it. With just a quick glance at my photo you might not see much, possibly just 20 girls grinning from ear to ear in filled pajamas. Upon further observation, you might imagine so much more of their story. You can picture the four years of laughter, tears, chaos, and endless love that came from that group of girls. At the beginning of 2020, life was uncertain for most people. It was a weird feeling to try and revert to a semi-normal lifestyle when school started back up in the fall. One scorching hot day in August of 2020, a group of strangers rushed towards their future. Little did 28 girls know they'd be running home to a soon-to-be constant in their lives. Socializing was limited after COVID started, yet with our interactions, you wouldn't know we'd barely met new people for months. We all began connecting instantly with all members of the sorority. Every girl was hugging one another and jumping from excitement of their new chapter of life. There was singing, dancing, and high-energy conversations all around. Friendships were forming in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, this type of excitement doesn't just last for a bit day. This wonderful chaos grows as the friendships do, too. That gigantic white house at the end of Elm Street constantly has new memories made inside of it, all of which are small portions of the story that are observed from my photo. Like riding our mattresses down the stairs freshman year, our spontaneous trip at 5 a.m. to go float the Salmon River, my PC secret trip to Donnelly on April Fool's sophomore year, even the countless times we all slipped on ice going up the steps are funny to think about now. I know none of us will ever forget the heavy sobs and how tightly we embraced one another as Dean Eccles spoke to us about our sister's passing last November. So much has happened over the years, but certain memories will stick more than others, both good and bad. This past November, we created a happier memory at one of our sorority senior events. It was so cold outside, but my PC still wore our breezy silk outfits we'd agreed upon. Games were played, jokes were told, and deep breaths of new aspects of our lives were given. Not surprisingly, the laughing, singing, and dancing continued as well. After about an hour of us running around, we decided to go outside and take a photo. Taking a photo of 20 people can be difficult when everyone has a bunch of energy. We were all talking over one another and laughing too much to pay attention to the photographer. It took us about five minutes and over 100 photos before just getting a few that turned out. The biggest smiles can be seen on all of our faces, and you can barely tell that we were all shedding tears of joy after going over our memories just a short while earlier. The photo shows we were busy celebrating our love for one another as if no one else was around. Coming into college, you expect to make a few friends. Most don't imagine they'll end up with a group of over 70 people. When I came to the university, I knew exactly what large group of friends I wanted to join. I didn't know why I was so sure that these were my people, but I was. I know moments my little family will have together as a group are sure to become infrequent over time, which is saddening but also reminds me of how important it is to cherish our memories made together. When I look at photos from first meeting my friends to now, they're visibly different. Older photos, you can see a happy group that still has so much to learn about one another. But with our newer photos, you can clearly see the closeness. All gaps between us have been filled with shared secrets and memories. It's a blessing to have many pictures to see our development as friends. I look at this new photo and others just like it and get reassured that I made the right choice in my family four years ago. Alpha Phi is and forever will be my home.