I am no member of any sorority and never in my wildest dreams did I expect to end up with someone who is a member of a fraternity. Blame it on the negative publicity fraternities (or sororities) get every time someone gets hurt (or worse, dies :C) in an initiation. My parents, especially my Papa,was, as expected, were against these groups as well.
When I transferred to UP Diliman from UP Manila, I was a bit weary of these groups.I knew students in the Diliman campus were much more involved with these groups as compared to the students in UP Manila. But hey, my best friend was member of a sorority as well, so I didn't let my opinion regarding these groups affect my academics. Then I met Alvin. When I first found out that he was a fratman, I asked him tactlessly, "Ha? Fratman ka?" haha well, I guess I had this notion of what a fratman looks like. During our getting-to-know me stage, he would usually share stories of the things they do in the group, the practices, the traditions--like the Maskipaps every December...the projects of the group, stories about Prof and the alumni... (don't worry brods, if there is something that should have not been shared, I assure you, up until now, I am clueless about it hehe). He shares it with much gusto. Still, I was not convinced to become a fan.
When we became a couple, I had a hard time telling my parents that Alvin was part of a fraternity, afraid of how my parents will react (especially my Papa!). It took around 3-6 months for me to finally tell my Papa that everytime we went out with Alvin's "friends from UP", we were actually out with his brods (and their gf's as well).
After being with Alvin for the last 10 years, I can say that I became more familiar with the group. My hubby's best buds are his brods, and the circle of friends is becoming bigger now that they are having families of their own. We spent out of town trips together as well. Relocating here in Sydney, we suddenly found ourselves part of the Australia chapter of Alvin's fraternity and my admiration of how their "brotherhood" works increases everytime we have a get-together. I get to know more and more the quality of the brods (which I find amusing since regardless of age, they seem to practice the same kalokohans and their humor is similar as well).Same wave-length? Probably. They are responsible, committed and intelligent men. They are family-oriented. There must be really something in this group that makes them committed even after they have finished college! With all the stories that Alvin has shared, truly, the group really had a big infuence in the making them the kind of men they are now. I am lucky to see the other side of these groups. It really is not all violence. Well, I just hope that the same kind of brotherhood exists in other fraternities. I am proud and happy that my husband was able to join one group which creates men of character and quality. Real gentlemen.
So have I changed my mind about these groups? Maybe. But will I allow Liam to join one in the future? That is another story ;)
