A Little Something About the New Members - Jihae

Seriously, I love every single one of them. I know many of you may not have had the chance to get to know the girls, but as New Member Director, I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with them every week since Bid Day (although they really have no other choice…). I promise you, if you go out of your way to get to know Alexa, Brooke, Emma, Tori, and Twiggs, you’ll see what I’m always raving about.

Alexa is one of the most diligent but fun-loving girls I know. This girl knows what she wants, and I know that she will become one of the most successful women after college.

At first, I thought that Brooke was super quiet and super sweet. I got the sweet part right, but once you get to know her, she is probably one of the funniest, most sarcastic girls I know and I love it!

Emma very well might be one of the most hard-working, most dedicated girls at Wake. She is always running from soccer to chapter, even with the butt-ton of work she always seems to have.

Tori? She is literally one of the sweetest girls I know, and no matter what she can put a smile on your face. (She even let me borrow her car to run Inspiration Week errands! …except I didn’t know how to pump gas… #jerseygirlprobs).

Twiggs is one of the most loved and loving girls I’ve met so far at Wake. Everyone always tells me, “Twiggs?! OMG I LOVE HER!” I’m not kidding.

I want to thank them (and Kate!) for being so patient with me these past couple of weeks. They’ve had to deal with my dysfunctional self, from my awkwardness to my over-enthusiasm, they’ve seen it all. Hopefully I haven’t scared them off… but in the end, all I have been trying to do is tell them just how much Theta means to me, and how much it will mean to them soon enough.

Each of these women contribute something so different to Theta, and we are so incredibly lucky to have each of them join our sisterhood. This just means that Theta is becoming even more perfect, one new member at a time. J

I LOVE YOU MY LITTLE NUGS <3 o:p="">
Jihae

Wake is "Thinking Theta" - Ashley Hamati

Here's Ashley Hamati's full response (the OGB only used a snippet) about how she believe Wake is "Thinking Theta."

A Theta is a leader. A Theta is someone who always goes above and beyond the expectation, whether it's in studies or in being a friend. A Theta helps others and causes positive change. She is the same person Saturday night as she is Tuesday morning. A Theta keeps it classy. She exudes passion in everything she does. A Theta is confident. 

 

Theta is assimilating at Wake wonderfully. Everyone has been extremely supportive and sometimes even more excited than we are! We have a very diverse group of girls, which I believe is an advantage. Thetas come from all different walks of life, but we have become a well-knit group of girls; unity in diversity is a sign of true leadership, and diversity is the spice of life.

 

Fall Recruitment was also a huge success-- we took five fantastic girls. I asked one of our new members on Bid Day why she thought Theta and she responded, "Everyone I talked to was so nice and genuine, and fun. I felt like I was being welcomed into a family. Those were the girls I wanted in a sorority." On campus, I see Theta's as cool, down-to-earth girls-- girls who have a positive presence on campus and that people say "She's awesome. She's such a good friend to everyone and is very genuine. Get to know her! She's in Theta."  Thetas are sincere girls who are involved both on campus and in the Winston-Salem community. 

We've been participating in other Greek organizations' philanthropy events, such as Sigma Chi's Derby Days, Lambda Chi's Watermelon Bash, Delta Zeta's Color Run and Turtle Tug, as well as campus-wide events, like Hit the Bricks, DESK, Project Pumpkin, and Wake N' Shake. Our Spring philanthropy event, CASA ROYALE, had a great turnout and support from the students and faculty, and we raised over $8,000  for Kappa Alpha Theta's national philanthropy, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). The women in Theta are also extremely involved on campus as well in other organizations, such as Volunteer Service Corps, WakeRadio, Campus Kitchen, volunteering at El  Buen Pastor tutoring underprivileged children, The Lilting Banshees, RAs, club & intramural sports, Habitat for Humanity, a capella groups, etc. With our success right now, I feel like it's all uphill from here. 

When spring rush had rolled around, many of us hadn't seen ourselves as perfect fits for a specific sorority-- we each embodied qualities that craved somewhere or something else. That "something else" became Theta. I know for me, personally, Theta had always been in the back of my mind since I heard about it last Fall. I had an inexplicable feeling that it would pay off.  It was an almost-too-huge leap, but aren't all the things that make life worth living are thrilling? I knew it was going to be hard, but it was going to be worth it. My friend always says, "I wanted to define a sorority, not have a sorority define me," and Theta has absolutely been that. It has given me girls I am proud to call my sorority sisters. It's given me a place to call home on this campus. It's given me some of my best friends. Theta inspires me to be the best version of myself.  Joining Theta has been one of the best decisions by far. 

iOS7 Theta Style - Victoria Elliott

             Just like most of you, I recently downloaded Apple’s new iOS7 update. And I couldn’t help but compare this operating system to our Zeta Omicron Chapter. I know it’s silly, but hear me out:

The update has several amazing new features – or as we call them in ZO, new members. It took a lot of work from programmers, designers, and executives to create a functioning operating system, just like it took Headquarters, Alyssa, Joni, and now Courtney to build up our Wake Chapter. And just like iOS7, now we’re out. Anyone could choose to download us – or not. And that is an exciting, albeit nerve-wracking experience. But just because one recruitment season was successful doesn’t mean we can relax. Apple employees are already at work on iOS8, just as we now turn to Spring Recruitment. And we need to advertise. Our letters are the same as the logo on the back of an iPhone. And every little bug we have affects how people view our brand.

I personally love Apple advertisements. They are simple and elegant, displaying the positives of purchasing their product, rather than tearing down another company. I’ve never seen an Apple-produced attack ad. But I’m sure you have all seen the ads for the Windows tablet, where Siri wails pathetically about how she can’t do anything compared to her competitor. To me, the commercial seems like a petty attack. We, as the classy women we are, need to shy away from comparing ourselves to other sororities. Let’s look at our own wonderful qualities and show them to the world!

But what is advertising without execution? If all Apple did was spend billions on ads about how wonderful their products were without working to improve themselves, people would catch on quickly and stop buying. The same is true for us. We can advertise love and Theta sisterhood all we want, but if no one attends sisterhood events, or spends time with each other, everyone will notice. Maintaining infrastructure is just as important as branding.  

Just like your updated home screen, Zeta Omicron looks beautiful and fresh. Everyone scrambled to download iOS7 because it was new and frequently talked about. But after long, the update won’t be new anymore. It will come standard on later phones, and even later something else will come along. Theta won’t be new soon. We will need a different adjective to describe ourselves. And it’s up to all of us to define what that adjective is.

The Pursuit of Happiness - Ashley Hamati

Happiness. We've all heard it, we've all experienced it at one point in our lives (and hopefully, that's the bare minimum). We're told constantly that either it's the meaning of life or it's what we should all strive to achieve on a day-to-day basis. 

That is absolutely true.

It's your life, so why would you want to rob anyone of your happiness? Ever heard the quote, "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game"? Or "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"? If you read into them, they're pretty mind-boggling. When you succumb to the demons each of these quotes directly (or indirectly) imposes, you rob yourself of your own happiness. Yep, you read that correctly. YOU rob YOUR OWN SELF out of YOUR OWN happiness. Why would you ever cheat yourself of living a joyous life? You deserve it. You're a hardworking and brilliant individual. We all are, so we should at least do ourselves the justice of making our lives worth living. My advice and thought for tonight, as well as for the rest of your time here, goes as this: Be fearless. Be confident. Do something that surprises you. For example, I draw from my own experience. I used to dance when I was younger (didn't we all?) and I enjoy dancing. Am I Karina Smirnoff or Julianne Hough or the next winner on So You Think You Can Dance? Or am I the star Radio City Rockette? I'm none of the above, but that didn't stop me from trying out for Dance Team this year. Did I make it? Nope. But I'm glad I did it. It showed me a new level of confidence that surprised me of my own abilities. 

When you're confident in yourself, you are happy. Your actions speak equally with your words and are taken in like the rays of the sun on a hot summer afternoon by everyone around you. You, in fact, have conquered this pursuit of happiness. That being said, only you can rob yourself of your happiness. No one has the power to do that. So try out for the Lilting Banshees. Try to find a silver lining each and every day. Have an excuse to be grateful and never stop giving. Even with schoolwork, pour your heart into it-- you'll rob yourself of happiness if you get a less-than-satisfactory grade when you know you could have studied just a little more. Going the extra mile is challenging and scary, but if it weren't scary or challenging, it would be simple. However, it is the very complexities of life that make it worth living, as well as the thrill of the pursuit of happiness. 

Turning Over a New Leaf - Shannon Magee

I’ll begin by informing you that I have a very literal mind when it comes to words. When people say, “you made your bed, now you have to lie in it,” I wonder why they think I will want to climb back into bed after having spent all that time making it! I am not that much of a clean freak . . .

 

So, when I think of the phrase “turning over a new leaf” I see an actual leaf flipping over in my mind. This image still means something to me, even if it isn’t quite the same meaning that other people have when they hear that familiar saying. Allow me to explain.

 

Looking at a leaf, the first thing most people (myself included) notice is the bright green (if we’re talking spring/summer) side. It’s colorful, it’s smooth, and it’s shiny. It’s kind of like a shield. It’s what people first notice because it is what the leaf wants people to see. How many of us work to show those around us only what we want them to see? How many of us hide a part of us that is truer to ourselves because we can’t bear the thought of others seeing that side of us, and rejecting it?

 

That deeper self, I believe, is the flip side of the leaf. When I picture the phrase, “turning over a new leaf,” I see that other side—the side of the leaf we usually see when they fall from the trees. This side is paler and full of the “veins” of the leaf. It’s the more vulnerable side of the leaf.

 

We have this side too. It’s the side of us that we only let out when we’re alone in our room, going nuts trying to finish a paper after hours of procrastination. It’s the side of us we only show to our siblings, when we dork out when we finally see them again during school breaks. It’s the side of us we introduce to our friends little by little, in small doses so they don’t freak out when they hear us speak in our Cookie Monster voice for the first time, or sing to a piece of chocolate. Yes, maybe this side of us is stranger. But isn’t it more fun to be strange and entertaining that to be cool and detached from everything around us?

 

So, this fall, I think we should all test these waters, as we still are getting to know each other and now have new sisters to befriend. Shouldn’t our sisters get to see us at our best, our craziest? Try turning over that new leaf and showing friends the more personal, maybe more goofy side of you. You may be surprised at how much people enjoy seeing you in this light. After all, we all want our friends to love us for who we are.

 

TLAM by Brittany Salaam

I always thought I would be a member of a historically African-American sorority. I had my heart set on one thing all my life and had to intentions of changing my mind… But there was something about Kappa Alpha Theta. My mom and sister worried if I would really fit in and if I would be received in a loving manner and I love them for that. But I am happy, blessed, and proud to be able to say that I am a sister of Kappa Alpha Theta and truly feel like one. Theta for me is belonging. It means a chance to thrive in a group for a common purpose. It means that I have the opportunity to really get to know a fine group of women and share my diversity and welcome the diversity of others. It is a place where I am not a minority but I am an important part of an awesome majority…a whole. I love Kappa Alpha Theta already for everything it is and everything that it already means to me and I can only hope, and I sincerely have faith, that my love strengthens…because after all, faith hope and love are all important, but the greatest of these is love.

Faith, Hope, and Love. But the Greatest of These is Love. -Cristina Ciaravalli

Before joining Kappa Alpha Theta, my favorite activities were serving as a Resident Adviser and being a Wake Forest Cheerleader. I was proud to wear my apparel from Residence Life & Housing and it was cool to get free Nike clothing; however, I still felt like I needed more out of my college experience. I had started these two positions because I was told, “Res Life is such a great community” and “the cheerleaders are great teammates.” While both of those statements were true, I was still missing something. I was missing sisterhood.

Being a Kappa Alpha Theta, I have learned why we are not just members, but we are truly sisters. Everyone Theta at Wake Forest joined this organization knowing that it wouldn’t be easy, but like Joni said, “It would be worth it.” We are united in the fact that we are bold and courageous young women, and I couldn’t be prouder to associate myself with such adventurous pioneers. While we have only been in Theta a short time, I have already seen the sisterhood impacting me in ways I never thought imaginable. Thetas lift each other up when they are down. Thetas reach out to others to start new relationships. Thetas serve the community and world as a whole. Thetas surround each other with those who will lift us higher. And we don’t just wear the shirts that say we do it—but we actually do it.

Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity prides itself on being an organization that encompasses the ideals of scholarship, leadership, friendship, service, and personal excellence. While that all sounds really impressive on paper, I wasn’t initially convinced that sororities always translate their values into their lifestyles. I knew many other organizations that claimed to hold certain values yet would act in a contradictory manner. Theta instantly debunked that myth. From the minute I met Joni and Alyssa in Benson to the dinner I just had with my little in the pit—it’s clear—Thetas stand behind our principles and we take them to heart. We have faith in each other, we never lose hope, and most importantly, we love each other dearly.

Thank you for letting me be a part of the Theta love. It has truly been an incredible experience and this organization means more to me than you will know. While I still enjoy cheer and RA, it has been the Theta committee meetings, Theta philanthropy events, Theta sisterhood, and even Theta colony meetings that were the highlights of this semester. During busy weeks of schoolwork that seemed like they would never end, I found myself highlighting any sort of Theta event in my planner as the “light at the end of the tunnel.” Theta has been just that—a light. Each sister has inspired me to be the best version of myself, to never give up, and to love unconditionally. And because of that, we have grown stronger than a team and closer than a community, and I am proud to call myself your sister. I cannot wait to continue to light up this campus with you. And when we graduate Wake Forest, we will take this love we share and light up the world. We are beautiful, talented, confident young women and I am certain these bonds will stay with us forever. After all, Theta is for a lifetime.