"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins (which I cannot wait to see with my mama in February at The Orpheum) is not my favorite Zeta Tau Alpha chant, but one I have enjoyed singing over the last four years. I remember the first time I heard it, when ZTA won Homecoming 2008 with Alpha Gamma Rho. My older sister was yelling it loud and proud in Neyland Stadium. I heard it again during recruitment my freshman year and have since taught it to fellow Gamma Chis as the Zeta roll call cheer. It can be a doozie and you will be out of breath, but I promise you will smile and be a proud Z-T-A the entire time you cheer!
My pledge class had our final pledge class cabin retreat earlier this month. It was a night spent with 26 genuine friends. Really, it is the definition of a slumber party! We spent the night catching up, talking about future plans, & the new him in our lives. We laid around with messy hair, yoga pants, and sweatshirts eating pizza and watching two Zeta Tau Alphas compete in to becoming Miss America in a movie theater style room. We could not have asked for a better way to begin our final semester as a pledge class. We have not always been the best of friends, but somehow we have prevailed.
We performed a recruitment retreat tradition of the senior pledge class candlelight. As the candle past around a roughly formed circle, memories and laughter tried to be shared as the tears began running! Some stories I forgot, others I will never forget, and some sisters' sentiments shocked me. As we ended the candlelight, we made one final promise to each other and the flame was blown out. The cabin living room was pitch black and it truly felt like a chapter in our lives was having the final sentence written while another page was being turned!
Zeta gave me a foundation to really "... steer yourself any direction you choose" according to Dr. Seuss. We are told that #ZetaisForever, but I know at 18-years old I did not think much past the next date party or swap. After our retreat, it has officially hit me. Zeta chapter will always be a huge part of my life, but does not make up my life; what makes up my life are the attributes of Zeta which I hope to display in my thoughts and actions. It's back to a presentation I heard last year ... turning 'Rituals' (like white dresses, no make-up, last forever) into rituals (like wake-up, eat breakfast, get ready, brush teeth, grab backpack, and walk to class). You think it's impossible, but it's not. It takes time and constant thought.
No matter the path my life travels, there is a room full of ladies that will always be a phone call away. So thank-you pledge class oh-nine for the support, laughter, pranks, and love. I cannot wait to see the remarkable women we become, and I cannot wait to brag and call you my Zeta pledge sister.
'09 ain't got the swine,
Good Golly
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