Who Is a Legacy?
 

This piece was just printed in The Key, Kappa Kappa Gamma's magazine. It is by Liz Runkle, a Kappa alum from our Alpha chapter at Monmouth, and it's a really beautiful sentiment on legacies that applies to any sorority. With recruitment just around the corner, I thought this would be a great reminder for all of us with legacies of our own!

Who Is a Legacy?
Liz Runkle

I do not ask you to pledge my daughter... I do not ask her to pledge Kappa. I would not want her to become a part of your chapter if you and she were not comfortable together. I do ask you to get to know her, to try to pick her out among the crowd of eager, polished, hopeful young faces. I ask that you take an extra moment to see beyond her shyness and her tension, and to look into her heart.

I believe in Kappa and all that it stands for. I have lived my life with its ideals as a guiding star. I have tried to teach my daughter to find beauty and goodness. Those are seeds sown within her soul... they are there ready to blossom.

Did I recruit my own daughter? If singing a Kappa song softly, like a lullaby, is recruiting, then yes, I did. If answering her small girl questions, "Mommy, can I be a Kappa, too?" with a heartfelt, "Yes, child, I hope so" is recruiting, then yes, I did. If living and loving Kappa every day for more than 20 years is recruiting, then yes, I did. I will sit by my telephone and wait for her call. I pray that I will hear a voice, happy and excited, saying, "Mom, I pledged Kappa!"

I will rejoice with her whichever sorority she pledges, and I will also always love Kappa, and yes, I hope that she will have the opportunity to love Kappa too. The decision rests with her and with you. Please make it with care.

Who is a legacy? She is the daughter I held in my arms... and she is the daughter whom you may someday hold in your arms too.

http://digital.watkinsprinting.com/publication/?i=19231

Wow ! This is beautiful and yes it speaks to each of the 26 Panhellenic groups.

This was really beautiful:)

well, i laughed (i sang zeta songs as lullabies to my daughter and son) and i cried . what a lovely letter and one that i wish each npc sorority would ask permission to print in their own magazine!

thanks littleowl, for sharing this with us all.

I am not in Kappa, and I'm not even close to having a child, yet this letter still made me all warm and fuzzy :o

This is just lovely and exactly how I feel about my children.:)

That totally made me tear up! Especially thinking about all those nights rocking my lovey to sleep singing "Dream Girl" and "Do I See An Anchor In Your Eye?" to her. Even though she's only 2 and a half, I know she'll be 18 in the blink of an eye! I concur with whoever said this should be reprinted in all NPC orgs' literature. Awesome letter.

Wow. How amazingly sweet and beautiful. I definitely teared up. The relationship between sisters and being able to share that with a daughter seems very special. I hope to have something as meaningful to share with my children one day.

That was beautiful! It definately speaks true to all the sororities

Awww I got all tingly feeling and totally teared up. I wish my sister or cousin (not technically a legacy, I know) would pledge Kappa some day, but I don't know if that'll happen. I can only hope!

Thanks for sharing this! What a beautiful piece. Every young woman needs to read this. Often the 19-22 year olds don't understand the legacy bond. Not saying they should pledge all legacies, but it may help them understand the feelings they will feel when they are mothers.