About a week ago, I became a grand-big. Yes, you read that right, I’m a grand-big now which means I’m starting to be one of the old ones in the good ol sorority fam. While I watched my little embark on taking on her own little during big-little reveal, it had me thinking about the big-little relationship and the importance of it.

As I’m reflecting on what it means to be a good big, I automatically think about my big. Let me tell you a little about how my big and I came to be. When I was just a scared freshie in college, I decided to go through sorority recruitment. I ended up in the house I was meant to be in, and eventually it was time to figure out who I wanted to be my big. I knew the instant that I wanted my big to be mine when we both realized that our moms used to sing “You Are My Sunshine” to us when we were children. I know it sounds a little cheesy, but we will always have that song to connect us.

When I found out the girl I connected with about “You Are My Sunshine” became my big at big-little reveal, I was ecstatic. If I were to think of one person that knows how to be a good big, it would be my big. I don’t even consider her “just my big” anymore, I consider her one of my best-friends that I have an inseparable bond with that I can’t find with anyone else.

When I was a sophomore and it was time to find my little, my goal was to live up to the amazingness of my big and how she treats me. I think the most important thing to do when you are a big is just to simply be there for your little. I consider my sorority family like my own family, and “family means nobody gets left behind.” So, when my little needs me, I am there in a heartbeat.

Being a good big means loving your little unconditionally for every part of them. There really is nothing like the bond between a big and little. Even if you leave college and lose contact for a period of time, that bond will still be there. It’s kind of odd how something as nonofficial as big and little can give that type of bond, but it is there, and it is real.

Being a good big means feeling the pain and joys of your little. They are essentially like your child and so you want what’s best for them. A good big fights their fight and helps them win the battles of life. And even if you cannot be physically there for your little when they need you, just an occasional text to help them through a bad day or encourage them when they are going in for an interview are the greatest things you can do as a big.

I will never take for granted the relationships I have made with my big and my little. They are truly a blessing to give thanks for.