Lucky.

I’ve struggled for a while to write this post – when it comes to the subject of luck, my brain is pretty scrambled. Is there such a thing as luck? Is it just coincidence, right place at the right time? Is that considered luck?

I definitely believe in Karma. When I’m about to do something questionable, like look at my friend’s text messages or let the Crest employee believe he rang up my O Magazine, I think about the Karma factor. What would happen to me if I acted on selfishness?

Case and point – the other day I was standing in line at Target behind  a mom with a basket full of groceries and a handful of kids. She looked distraught and tired, and when her purchases already took forever to scan, she pulled out a stack of coupons. I sighed heavily and proceeded to send out a gripe to the Twitter-world. I then finally got to the register to pay for my nail polish and realized I had left my wallet at home. If that’s not Karma, then I don’t know what is.

But Luck? I’m not sure. When I was thinking about writing this post, I thought of all the luck that has been bestowed on me throghout my life. I was lucky to have an amazing college experience. I was lucky to have a great job throughout my college career and have it transfer into my first full-time job.

I was lucky to even become a Sigma Kappa. “What?” you proclaim. “Weren’t you on the top of the bid list for every house?”

Yeah, I guess we can go there.

When I decided to rush a sorority at the University of Central Oklahoma, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I came from a small group of friends in high school, and we were all obsessed with competitive drama. Sororities, college parties and campus life were the farthest from our mind when we graduated. We were all sad to leave each other and go off to different colleges.

I remember shopping for recruitment clothes and thinking that khakis and a white t-shirt were ok to wear for Open Day, when the dress was… not that. I wore jeans and a blouse for Theme Night and fake eyelashes for Pref Night.

I thought Date Parties were a “cool,” interesting version of Speed Dating. Homecoming? Greek Week? I had no idea what they were.

But my interesting choice of dress wasn’t the reason that I was lucky to become a Sigma Kappa. Obviously the house focuses on more than just casual dress, and they look past women to see their true personalities. But, when I went through Recruitment, I didn’t have my sights set on being an SK. I loved the girls in one of the other houses on campus. I knew some girls already in the house, and I was almost guaranteed a spot. So when it came to cut one of the four houses, I confidently cut Sigma Kappa.

“WHAT?!” I can hear you proclaiming now. Just wait.

When I came in to get my schedule for the third day of Recruitment, I realized that I had gotten invited back to three houses, but the house I really loved wasn’t on the list. But Sigma Kappa was. I asked my Rho Gamma, “What happened? I cut one of these houses and now they are on my list? Where’s the house that I really wanted?”

She gently explained to me that the Recruitment Team wanted every girl to have a full schedule. So even if they had cut a certain house, girls were invited back to all of the houses that wanted them back. Since I had cut Sigma Kappa, they wanted me to come back to Theme Night and since I had an open spot on my schedule (The house I thought I had loved hadn’t really loved me back) I was going to Sigma Kappa theme night.

The rest is as they say, history.

Was it truly luck that brought me to Sigma Kappa? Or Karma? Or some greater plan than all of us can realize? Sigma Kappa has brought me lots of gifts. My job, my friends, the women that inspire me to be the best that I am capable of being. Can we chalk that up to luck?

I guess we’ll never know,

Mal xoxo