Workshop builds unity among female students

Prairie View A&M University celebrated Women's History Month through various events around the campus. On March 26 in the Alvin I. Thomas Building, young women joined together to evaluate their friendships in the workshop, "Healthy Relationships with My Sisters."

Facilitating the event was First Lady of The Church Without Walls Sheretta West. As the women's leader at her church, West often hosts similar events for others. West said her passion is women and their being empowered. The workshop opened as women, young and old, reminisced on sitcom theme songs about friendships.

"Everyone singing the theme song to Girlfriends and Golden Girls was pretty cool. It was a good way for everyone to relax," said sophomore Lorell Williams.

West pointed out that the objective of the workshop is to evaluate the importance of friendship and that there's a necessity for developing nurturing and wholesome sister relationships.

"It's important to have relationships with sisters," said senior Brandolyn Pope. "I learned about people and what they bring to the table. It's about accepting who they are and not judging them."

One important quote by Aristotle that West emphasized was "A friend is a single soul dwelling in two bodies." The two must be connected mentally to have a long lasting and successful relationship. West said that both must set aside judgment and personal issues and be entirely open with each other.

"When we close ourselves to people, we build a wall. Not only do we keep people out but we also close ourselves in," said West.

West also pointed out that men and women have friendships for different reasons. Men need them simply for conversation and so that they can have a buddy to fish with or whatever. Women on the other hand, according to West, like to share and communicate. They like to have friends that are good listeners.

The workshop opened the eyes of many of the women in the audience to who their true friends are, and what type of friend they themselves were.

"I really enjoyed the workshop. It was good for me to stop and actually be honest with myself about my friendships. I might need to evaluate some of them," said Williams.