How many times have you heard people talk about New Year’s resolutions? Resolutions for the upcoming year to continue on a desired path, to accomplish goals, to change certain behaviors. A new focus to help guide you. Maybe you’ve even made a few resolutions for yourself.
This year, OPhiA is taking a different approach to resolutions. We recognize the value in a guiding beacon to follow for the new year, and we have decided to focus on a WORD to encompass 2023 rather than a resolution.
For 2023, our word is RESPONSIBILITY.
One thing that all members of OPhiA have in common is a sense of responsibility, which is evident in the commitment we made when we joined this sorority. Our responsibility to that commitment is “to assemble its members in the fellowship of Omega Phi Alpha, to develop friendship, leadership and cooperation by promoting service to the university community, to the community at-large, to the members of the sorority, and to the nations of the world.”
So what does that commitment make us responsible for in our daily lives?
As members of Omega Phi Alpha, we have responsibility for:
- Living our purpose and core values
- Honoring our cardinal principles
- Serving our communities
- Leading our fellow members
- Building genuine friendships
- Championing mental health
- Fighting for human rights
- Promoting a culture of acceptance and belonging
Members who become officers within their chapter agree to take on additional leadership responsibility, to manage and help guide their chapter. This includes a responsibility to communicate with the national organization and submit required forms and paperwork, to help ensure that all members meet the minimum requirements, to organize activities and events around our core values, and to ensure all fellow leaders are upholding the commitment to their position. This leadership responsibility is what keeps our chapters running.
For members who take on national roles on our Operational Leadership Team, responsibility takes many forms. These members exemplify a life-long commitment to service by being responsible for supporting chapters, supporting the national organization, and promoting sisterhood. These leaders are accountable to the members of the sorority and commit themselves to helping us all live out our core values. As a volunteer-led organization, we rely on our alumni who assume responsibility for leading Omega Phi Alpha, and their leadership responsibility keeps our national organization functioning.
All-in-all, as human beings, we have a responsibility to be true to ourselves, to uphold commitments, and to take care of ourselves.