FROM THE DESK
OF THE EDITOR...
Cleopatra Kellman
About 5 years ago I met this woman in SL. At the time of our introduction I knew her as Wise Woman Deeva Allen. She was the current mentor of the SL Sorority that I was pledging. One thing that was evident about Wise Woman Deeva was that she was stern but fair; her personality was always warm, welcoming and genuine. Her presence set the tone of the environment and although she was charming and spoke with an elegant English tongue you knew she meant business ~ especially when her English accent transformed into her native West Indies brogue.
A few months passed and Wise Woman Deeva became Mentor Deeva. I have to say she grew on me. Like a true mentor she observed, we talked more and argued less and grew to understand
each other ~ then Mentor Deeva become my friend. Over the years her advice or lack of
became something that I treasured and
valued. We would spend hours talking and
laughing ~ you see, at this point Deeva, in
our virtual lives became my “Sis”.
For some people when you form a
“likeness” with another your thoughts and
aspirations tend to intertwine – distance
isn’t an obstacle as long as respect and
understanding is involved. I believe this is
one of the reasons why she was vital to
the creation of Sigma Upsilon Nu, SL
Sorority ~ to the founders she was more
than a mentor ~ Deeva was more of an
inspiration. She allowed us to make our
path and she guided that path to one that
was best for all not just the founders and
then she held firm to her vow as a mentor.
During the end of this stage in our
relationship, my “sis” then became my Soror.
Throughout my 4 years of being blessed with
this friendship she never complained of her
swollen fingers, the real reason why she hated to type – we thought she just loved to hear her voice. My Soror was up 3 AM in UK just to attend the crossing of a new soror, a party or a meeting and never complaining of the fatigue that she was accustomed. I never knew that daily she took at least 20 pills per day hoping that this regiment would ease some of her everyday symptoms. You see, my dearest and trusted friend has lupus – to this day she suffers from episodes of sickness cause by Lupus more frequently some more painful and more draining than others.
Thus as some would close their eyes and pick a name out of a hat their chosen “charity for the month” appears magically, WE celebrate, we educate and we are aware of Lupus every day, every moment, every second of our lives because our Soror, our Mentor, our dearest and trusted friend hurts from Lupus.
As we end the month of Lupus Awareness please understand that someone dear to your heart may be suffering in silence and simply understanding just a bit of what they are going through can help.
As you turn the pages of this edition of Our Voice, The Staff hopes that this issue is educational, thought provoking and moving as it was a delight gathering this information for you, our readers. As always, we welcome your comments.
BE AWARE, BE EDUCATED, BE SUPPORTIVE.
We’ll meet you at that favorite hangout spot.
Cleopatra Kellman
Our Voice Editor In Chief
E-Mail the Editor
2 Our Voice / May 2014