[PenguinTrax]

Evergreen -

For me, it's a combination of both. For example, there are experiences I"ve shared with the sisters from my 'home' chapter. Those experiences are dear to me because they are things that happened with friends. The flip side of that is that I may have never met these women had I not made the decision to go Greek and share the secret parts.

Because I share the secret things (rituals & meanings) with every initiated ZTA, that leads to a commonality that helps when meeting sisters from another chapter. Because of our shared rituals, we know there is a bond between us, even though we haven't met or gotten close.

Granted, not every sister I meet will be a friend, but the concept of sisterhood, our ritual, etc. is strong and that helps to overcome obstacles.

The open motto of ZTA is "Seek the Noblest".

Our creed is:

To realize that within our grasp, in Zeta Tau Alpha, lies the opportunity to learn those things which will ever enrich and ennoble our lives; to be true to ourselves, to those within and without our circle; to think in terms of all mankind and our service in the world; to be steadfast, strong, and clean of heart and mind, remembering that since the thought is father to the deed, only that which we would have manifested in our experience should be entertained in thought; to find satisfaction in being, rather than seeming, thus strengthening in us the higher qualities of the spirit; to prepare for service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to be served; to seek understanding that we might gain true wisdom; to look for the good in everyone; to see beauty, with its enriching influence; to be humble in success, and without bitterness in defeat; to have the welfare and harmony of the Fraternity at heart, striving ever to make our lives a symphony of high ideals, devotion to the right, the good, and the true, without a discordant note; remembering always that the foundation precept of Zeta Tau Alpha was love, "the greatest of all things."