My Soror, My Sister

 

By Soror Ngozi Nyoki

Tonight was a usual night…after a long day of work at my second job, I return home to my first job: mother to my four children (three of whom are still at home, and one occasionally returns home from college).  At the end of an evening of cooking, cleaning and consoling, I take refuge to my room and escape to the world of SL.

There waiting for me, are a host of folks, good music, and entertaining games. But the real source of joy for me is seeing one of the beautiful women I call my Sorors also online enjoying the SL refuge.

I send up an IM to one, inquire about her day and swap stories on the latest in RL (the day at work, kids, and family).  Then just as smoothly, we transition into the latest information on one of our upcoming events (seems there’s always something in the hopper with SuN), swap LMs on the latest hair and fashion finds, and join each other on a virtual shopping spree as we hop the grid like leapfrogs.

At the same time we may both receive a shared greeting via our group chat, “Sigma LIFE!….Love to my Sorors!”, that beckons us into a room of our own where all of our online Sorors are there to greet one another and share love, a moment of laughter, poke fun at each other’s Avi-anatomy, or vent about our latest frustration in SL.  We ooh and ahh, coo and console, and just plain support one another with a genuine ear of concern.

Each of us has come to SuN with a desire to be a part of a network of women who are supportive and uplifting.  We desire to be challenged in a way that strengthens our muscles around skills and talents that we may not necessarily have the opportunity to express in RL.  In some instances we are the sounding board for one another, and the impetus for making the commitment to move our RL goals forward manifesting the destiny of our own greatness.  To me, this is the greatest of all the things we do for one another.

True to the definition of sisterhood, we love each other, despite our faults and frailties.  We warm and heal one another with words, where distance makes our arms too far to reach.  We pray for one another, and take deep dives into spiritual journeys that most would not imagine or expect.  My Sorors and I defy the norm of what the SL experience can bring by taking the leap of faith and crossing into RL, bringing a very real connection and LOVE that honors the spirit in each of us.