Did you know the phrase “between a rock and a hard place” is an allusion to a scene in The Odyssey (the book, not this website) that doesn’t actually exist? Or that “balls to the wall” was actually a phrase to describe flying a plane really fast or something, which is not as dirty as I thought it was? Considering the source of this information is a Buzzfeed article, I wouldn’t go around assuming this information is accurate (like I am doing and will continue to do); but true or not, it’s always fun to be pretentious share these facts with your friends, which was how I started wondering about the origin of a certain well-used phrase.
Before I continue, I know what you’re thinking: “Brenna, why are you referencing Buzzfeed articles and not the Oxford English Dictionary? Are you an idiot?” Well, friend, first of all: yes, but thanks for acting like that was still a question. Secondly, it’s because I don’t own the Oxford English Dictionary, which is just one more reason I resent Rory Gilmore with every fiber of my being.
Rory Gilmore was surprised to find that when she looked up "the worst" in her mint condition OED, there was just a picture of her.
“It’s not four years, it’s for life” is a phrase utilized in various forms by essentially every single sorority in the United States. This saying is the great unifier: in an environment where each sorority has individual mottos, symbols, and rituals, (many of them secret), this phrase has been universally representational. The reasoning behind this is complicated, but can be summed up by the fact that it symbolizes an amalgamation of values that every sorority has in common. In short, it succinctly presents the message that the relationships you make in a sorority have a quality that will make them last for life - that the devotion you show to this organization will not only occupy your time, like any other club, but will change you indefinitely.
Whoever came up with it deserves whatever the equivalent of a Nobel Prize is for forging Panhellenic unity, especially considering the unfortunate level of competition that often plagues inter-sorority relationships. Additionally remarkable: from a purely rhetorical analysis, the phrase cleverly utilizes the device of homophonic paronomasia, which as you know is the cutest kind of rhetorical device.
The list goes: homophonic paronomasia, anaphora, epizeuxis, antimetabole... and at the end it's Rory Gilmore who is admittedly cute but not on the same level.
Unfortunately, despite fifteen difficult minutes of research, I could not find the answer to my question. I did, however, find the individuals who first used this phrase on various social media platforms. And while these people did not originate the phrase, they deserve a mention for entering and facilitating a dialogue that shaped future usages of the saying. If there was an OED entry for the phrase, it would be as followed:
1. 2014 (YouTube)
The first (public) YouTube video was posted on April 27, 2014, and it is truly a joy to watch. Personally, I was shocked at the realization that it currently has only 12 views. “Jenny’s Senior Night” was clearly lit and deserves more celebration.
I’d also really recommend this one, which was posted a bit later in the timeline but really defined the future portrayal of the phrase. The director had the vision of including “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth, which gives it a morbid quality that is in complete dissonance with the visuals. Bold choice - really captures the aspect of mortality that is often overlooked.
Gee, you know what this video needs? Paul Walker’s death song.
2. 2013 (Instagram)
On March 1 2013, the first Instagram photo tagged with #ItsNotFourYearsItsForLife surfaced. It was posted by user agdzetapi to celebrate their chapter’s Bid Day. Bid Day, if you didn’t know, is the day that individuals receive their official invitation to join the chapter. Every person who goes through a formal recruitment experiences this seriously hyped day, no matter the chapter, so it’s only natural that these two unifying concepts converge in this one photo. Unlike YouTube, where there are only a few videos with this phrase in the title, the hashtag has been attached to hundreds of pictures since then. Thanks for setting the precedent, agdzetapi. As user tiannajacqlyn put it, “you’ve set the standard in your celebration of close female friendships and inclusivity.”
3. 2012 (Blog Post)
This is it: the earliest known appearance of the phrase online. On Thursday, September 6, 2012, then-president of the Gamma Pi chapter of Alpha Phi Kelcy Valletta made history, writing the first recorded usage of “it’s not four years, it’s for life” in a blog post on ASU’s website.
I’m like 80% sure, at least. Don’t fact check me. If I have to be brought down, I want it to be by the infuriated smiting of my sorority’s patron goddess, Themis, who is the Greek goddess of law and citing your sources and to whom I am a constant disappointment.
In this post, Valletta talks about the importance of recruitment and finding your place - and yeah, if I have to be sincere for one second, finding your place is what being in a sorority is all about. Your people, whoever they are, might be out there wearing any manner of letters, in any particular order. They might even be different from yours. It’s not a question of whether they exist or not; it’s a question of how you find each other. Sororities, for all their flaws, can help you find your people. Not sporadic, occasional friends - “for life” friends.
But as for who originated the phrase, it seems we’ll never know. I guess it doesn’t really matter, which is a stupid thing to say after you finish a research paper, but perfectly acceptable when you put in as little effort as me. For a lot of words and phrases, it helps to trace back the origin of their inception, to figure out what context they was first used and how meaning has evolved over time. Words are like people, in that you might not truly understand them until you know their history. For this one, though? I think I know what it means.
