Zeta is...
 

After pref night this year, after bid session, when we were all at wits' end and ready to strangle each other after weeks of Rush practice, our chapter advisor, Lynn, read this to us. I don't think there was a single one of us that didn't have tears in our eyes. I just wanted to share this with y'all.

\^^^/ \^^^/ \^^^/ \^^^/ \^^^/


Zeta Tau Alpha is not entirely
a white violet
a national convention
a crested honor ring
a song to Themis
a five pointed crown
a long silver chain
or
a pin in the shape of a shield.

And it's not entirely
an institution
a Creed
a legacy
an obligation
or
a "Model for Life"

If we must insist that it's something,
Maybe Zeta Tau Alpha is
moving in for the first time and slowly
learning that all the beautiful people
have cellulite and use mouthwash, too.
Or
Maybe it's just long, tired eternities
of stuffing greenery into lattice
of drinking coffee
and eating junk food during exams
when you still can't remember the Renaissance architects
or the bone structure of some creature.
Perhaps it's borrowing a skirt from Laura
and a shirt from Rachel
and shoes from Kelli
and passing it all off as your own.

And sometimes..
It's just sitting and listening
in utter helplessness
because one of your Zeta sisters is lost.
and she's lonely.
and it seems the whole world
just fell into little pieces.

And it's
Coming in late one night, and closing the door
to tell a special Zeta sister who's seen you through
the hardest year of your life
that you're happy now,
and you got accepted to your number one grad school choice.

And Zeta is, I suppose, a kind of evaluation.
you grow up inside those chapter room walls.
And perhaps you do learn more of the
circus we call life than if you had
spent your time somewhere else.

You learn that no matter where you came from,
or who took you there, you've still got to find
that one small acre that belongs to you.
by yourself.
You learn that the world is made up of people you're
not going to like, and you live with them anyway.

You learn that there's still a lot left
to believe in.
and a whole lot more to hope for.
You learn that love has never been easy.
And that it's a long time coming, but through
Zeta Tau Alpha
You learn that "Love is the greatest of all things."
And if you're very smart
or very lucky
You learn that no matter how big
or how messy the world becomes
what is precious
and what is permanent
is always the same.
And in the very end
You come to realize
Zeta Tau Alpha is, indeed.
a better way
to stumble down the back steps
and out the front door of life.

WOW! I am passing this along to my Zeta mailing list. That was beautiful.