Living Our Symphony
Sis•ter•hood By Lillie Holman, Illinois ’11
The relationship between sisters. The feeling of kinship with and closeness to a group of women. The term “sisterhood” became a part of my life long before I knew of Alpha Xi Delta. My family has always been close. Since the day of her birth, my cousin Lisa and I have been sisters and soul mates. It wasn’t until I came to the University of Illinois and joined the Kappa Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta that I really began to cherish the sisterhood I had with Lisa and the amazing women that have joined my life since. On January 9, 2011, Lisa was diagnosed with stage-five brain cancer. With only a year separating us in age, it was my immediate response to be by her side as much as possible. To keep her spirits up, we talked about the silly things all girls in college want to talk about. One of the main topics we always loved to discuss was my involvement in my new sorority. Through my stories, she felt as if she was living a normal life. She was more than happy to accompany me to my semi-formal as my date, and she instantly fell in love with the women of my chapter. How could she not? As time went on and things progressed for the worse, she never stopped shining her light and trying to live through the stories I brought home of our beloved chapter. These strange women that she had met only on a few occasions became the highlighted topic of our conversations.
53 The Quill of Alpha Xi Delta
Summer 2013
On December 26, 2012, after almost two years of fighting, my beloved Lisa unfortunately lost her battle with cancer. Though not all of the girls knew her as I did, they all gave my family and me such amazing support and love. More than I could have ever asked for. When you stand in a room of women who love you like no one can explain, the weight of your grief lightens as everyone tries to help hold up your world. My Kappa Chapter Sisters brought conversation and laughter to Lisa’s life when cancer was trying to take it over. And these amazing ladies will continue to help me with this loss for the rest of my life. Lisa taught me about Sisterhood and how to love another, not just as a friend but as a true soul mate. Alpha Xi Delta will help me carry out what Lisa has taught me and will help guide me in such a dark time. I am forever grateful to, not only these women, but to every woman in our Fraternity. A good story with a good laugh can change a life more than anyone could really imagine. This story has certainly changed the lives of the women I know, and maybe this can help us all remember the importance of Sisterhood and the ties it makes with people who possibly don't know our rituals or our songs. Lisa didn't know them, but yet she loved these women like she was in on some kind of secret, a secret only we really knew about. Maybe she was the one who taught, not only me, but my chapter about true friendship and laughter. July 26 marks the six-month anniversary of my dear Lisa’s passing. The only people I can think to have by my side are my Kappa Chapter Sisters. To remember Lisa, we will reminisce, eat some of her favorite food and check in on how our lives have changed, but most of all, we will laugh. We will laugh to remember - remember who Lisa truly was and what she loved most in this world.