Why DPhiL?

Hello everyone! Thank you for taking your time to come read about me. It means a lot :,)

Today I’m going to talk about how it feels to be a new member of DPhiL and also why I joined in the first place. As a new member I am overwhelmed with many different emotions: nervous, excited, but most importantly, happy. Being in my junior year I have limited time to be an active sister and because of that reason I want to give back to the sorority especially because of everything it has done for me. As a neo it is scary to take on exec/chair positions but I always want to live my life by constantly learning which can be learning new materials or even learning from my own mistakes.

Can you guess which one is me? Haha.

The main reason I decided to join DPhiL was to feel proud of and embrace my identity as an Asian-American woman. I grew up in a very small town in Iowa where I was the only Asian person growing up. The only people who looked like me were my family members and because of that people were quick to point out the differences in appearance I had with my classmates. As a result I felt insecure about how I looked because I knew no matter what I did, I would never be the standard of beauty that was set for me in my environment. Speaking my native language was something that I felt embarrassed of growing up because others around me mocked me for how it sounded to their ears. For this reason I shut out my culture and tried to fit in with others around me.

My best glow-up was surrounding myself with those proud of their culture.

Going into my first year of college I was exposed to a diversity of people, many of whom shared my culture with me. I never reached out because I felt that I wasn’t “Asian enough” to be able to fit in. I was stuck in limbo with my identity and didn’t know how to address it. After a lot of hesitation and thought I decided to reach out and go to recruitment week. I met all the sisters who were proud of who they are and where they come from, which is what I wanted for myself. I also learned that DPhiL advocates for Asian awareness and gives back to their communities. I felt that my values aligned with the sorority and I went through the education process which helped me learn more about myself as a person and made me proud to be the Vietnamese-American woman I am today.

With love,

Ann “IINFERNO” Luong

Written by Ann "IINFERNO" Luong