So often in this world of pretenses it’s hard to interact with others on a meaningful level.  In the corporate workplace, educational system, and in social circles, people are many times afraid or unwilling to openly say how they feel to one another.  This distance creates a barrier to real communication.  One of the things I value most about our brotherhood is its honesty.  With us there are no pretenses and there are no expectations.  We all come into the process equal as pledges and complete the process equal as brothers.  We bring all that we have as people to the table and are evaluated as people.  It’s certainly possible to lie that you got into Harvard, that you know somebody who knows Angelina Jolie, or that you once had a six-pack.  It is not, however, possible to lie about who you are, what kind of values back your actions, what kind of heart pumps life to your body.  That is what the Brothers of Sigma Beta Rho look for—beyond the talk, straight to the actions.

To abandon all fronts and interact not as a walking resume or cartoonish stereotype, but as a person is one of man’s most fulfilling personal experiences.  Regardless of the fact that one’s roommate might get better grades, one’s best friend might get better girls, one’s sibling might have a better job—we gain something unique that nobody else has when we pledge this fraternity: a battleground.  We bring no weapons; no grades, girls, or jobs, all we bring is ourselves; our strengths and our weaknesses.  What better battleground could one choose to fight their inner demons?  The chance to prove oneself as a man in front of one’s brothers- there can be nothing more honorable.

Although we all pledge as a line, the elements that we need to battle during pledging are only the things we collectively bring with us as individuals.  Our brothers mentor us and guide us along the way, but the battle is always internal.  For this reason, I am proud to say that I battled my demons and I won.  I saw two roads diverge and I took the harder path and emerged victorious at the end.  This much I could have predicted while in the process, but what I could not have understood, nor can I explain now that I have experienced it, are the emotions I have towards my fellow brothers.

Every brother in this fraternity made the same conscious choice to become a SigRho Soldier and went through the same process that I did.  Because of this, although we may have never met before, I immediately feel a bond with my brothers.  It is because through our mutual sacrifice, we make that rare honest connection as people.  We have proven our worth to ourselves and because of that we need not prove our worth to any of our brothers.  They already know.  For this reason we take each other in with all the love and compassion befitting of blood brothers.  It is for this reason that I am proud to wear my letters.

Author: Ravi Kudesia | Brother Waterfall