7 Years Ago......

            On the morning of February 7, 2004 my life changed forever.  I was in Gatlinburg at a fraternity formal when I got the call a little after 8.  Phi Mu state day was that day, and the chapter was headed to Louisville when one of the cars full of girls hit a patch of black ice, and had an accident.  There were five girls in the car, and three didn't make it.  Rachel Cate, Katie Jeter, and Rachel Blevins were only Freshmen in college when their lives were cut short.  I had never experienced the death of a young person, and it was the hardest thing I have been through in my life.  While attending the funerals it didn't take us long to realize how many lives these women impacted by the amount of people who came out to pay their respects. 
          If something good could ever come from a horrible situation like that, it did.  We all formed a bond that continues to go deeper than most sisterhoods.  Going through this experience together we all gained a new love and respect for each other.  We learned that people grieve differently and how to help each other through this horrible situation.  I know for me personally I learned to look at life completely different.  I realized just how precious life is and to never take it for granted.  There is rarely a day that goes by that I don't think about these women and the experience that changed my life in both positive and negative ways.  I am thinking about all of my Phi Mu sisters today, but I can be happy about the fact that we all still share this special bond that keeps us close, and in each others lives.

Love In Our Bond