A Cultured Pearl

Founders’ Day Feelings

Posted on October 19th, 2015

During my involuntary digital vacation, I missed a post about a mini personal holiday: Founders’ Day! Zeta Tau Alpha was founded in Virginia on October 15, 1898, so Zetas worldwide rejoice on the same day each year. Now that I’m an elderly alumnae, Founders’ Day makes me particularly nostalgic. My sorority experience was atypical in some ways and quintessential in others, and it meant the world to me.

Positive interpersonal relationships are a crucial contributor to happiness, and joining ZTA provided me with an automatic connection to over 100 amazing women at my school. I know, I know– you can make friends and meet people in any of the infinite organizations your college has. But I think there are two things that makes joining a sorority unique.

Sororities are a one-stop-shop. Want to volunteer? Meet cute boys? Have study buddies? Raise money for an important cause? Network with professionals in your desired industry? Try new restaurants? Make friends with girls in other years, majors, and dorms? Go apple picking? GOOD NEWS because joining a sorority supplies literally all of this (and more!). I was not aware of any non-Greek organizations at my school that provided such a comprehensive extra-curricular experience.

The second is more a matter of opinion, but hear me out. Everyone says, “the bonds you forge with your sisters are unlike any other, they’re forever, they’re so deep…” We’ve all heard these sappy speeches, and I’ve thought a lot about whether that’s true and what makes people say that. Because yes, you take vows pledging to support them, but those don’t have to be more than words, and you can meet nice girls that you grow to love anywhere. What was special for me was the way these relationships started out. When you join a sorority, your sisters work under the starting assumption that they love you, you love them, and that you will be best friends. Elsewhere in life, you approach with caution– we all do. But when you approach with love instead, beautiful things can happen.

Example: This summer, I moved to Seattle and didn’t know anyone except my (now) fiance. I heard that one of my sisters who had been in a different class was moving to Seattle, too, and even though we hadn’t been super close at school I just kind of assumed she would be my best friend here. And she is!

I’m lucky that Zeta Tau Alpha’s philanthropy is particularly special (breast cancer education and research), and that the size of the sorority means that our national support network is one of the best. But mostly I’m just grateful that ZTA connected me to the women who made college fun.