Love Letters from Thetas

LEADING WOMEN. Leading women are those that speak up for their beliefs, strive for academic achievement, and care about everyone around them. Leading women don’t stop when they reach their goals, they strive to improve them and love to overcome challenges. Leading women don’t follow the path that is set up for them, but create and cultivate their own path that aligns with their beliefs. Kappa Alpha Theta has done an immense amount for me. I can't even begin to share how thankful I am to be a part of an organization that uplifts women and is founded on changing the idea that we are sorority women and not just sorority girls. I am so thankful for my family: Nabeeha, Carla, Caroline, Katie S., and  Katie D because they have inspired me to be a leading woman day in and day out. Because of them, I aim to be my best self when pursuing my dreams and furthering my accomplishments. Every single Sunday, during our chapter meetings, I am surrounded by countless leading women in every shape and form. The fact that we are involved in so many organizations, I am able to talk to my family and anyone in Theta about my opinion and struggles in my school and personal life. Kappa Alpha Theta is the reason I have become more confident and extroverted. Theta has helped me and is continuing to help me find my place in the UT Dallas community. I am very proud to say that I am now a Student Ambassador along with some fellow Thetas. I hope in the future I can give back to Theta because it has done so much for me. Kappa Alpha Theta is my home and I could not be happier!

With love, 

Sindu Ponnam MC19

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TLAM. Theta love and mine. It’s a phrase as a Theta that you hear a lot, and for the first two months of being a Theta, I never really understood. Not only did it grammatically confuse me, but, I also didn’t understand how my love connected with ‘theta’s love’, whatever that meant. It wasn’t until the week of initiation, where it all just...hit me. I was struggling… a lot. I was overwhelmed with assignments, financially drowning in obligations, emotionally overwhelmed with misunderstood feelings, and falling into detrimental physical habits. I was self-destructing inside, yet smiling on the outside, but my eyes, were screaming out for help. Finally, I decided, I couldn’t handle the weight of the world on my own, so I reached out for help from my Theta sisters. This was a big turning point for me because I always want to be independent and fix everything all by myself. But I knew, deep down, I needed help. And when I reached out, my sisters welcomed me with open arms. Madison. Kristi. Amy. Crystal. Lauren. Those are just some of the people who gave me so much loving support, taking time out of their day to listen to me rant, give me long hugs, and give me great advice and encouragement. But it was also all of my sisters who smiled at me that week, waved at me when they passed by or shared small talk with me. All of it made a difference because I didn’t feel alone anymore. I was experiencing and understanding Theta love, a kind of love that is shown through the big and little things that are unconditional and above all, powerful. At initiation, I was trying not to cry the whole time, because I finally felt like I was home, that I had found my people, that I found my ‘one true love,’ as cheesy as that sounds. So thank you, Theta. Thank you for being the net that saved me from drowning. For teaching me that it’s okay to rely on others, to feel things, and not to be okay. Thank you for letting me be human. Thank you for helping me to love myself, so I can better love others. Thank you for giving me a home and a family when I needed one most. I know it’s only been two months, but me and Theta are hitched… for life. Cheetah Girls used to be one of my favorite movies growing up, and I can proudly say, I have been able to successfully recreate one of the greatest Disney films with my Theta sisters.

Sincerely,

Sierra Ford MC18

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Faith, hope, and love. These three words didn’t mean much to me until I joined Theta and now these three words mean the world to me.

FAITH: I remember the first time Theta gave me faith. I was sitting in my chair during preference day with tears falling from my eyes because of so much going on in my life. My parents had just recently moved to California, and I wasn’t going to be able to see them much, I had no friends at UTD and I wasn’t in love with this school yet, and I was going through a heartbreak with a boy. I heard all of the speeches from the Thetas of their hardships and how they wouldn’t have been able to get through it without all of their Theta sisters helping them. For the first time in a long time, I had faith that I could find my happiness again and that Theta was going to be the key component of guiding me to my happiness. Then, on bid day, my Rho gam Marisa ran home to Theta, and she gave me the biggest hug and told me that I was finally home. Marisa wiped my tears that whole weekend as my rho gam, and she told me her life hardships, and I told her mine, and we realized how similar our hardships were. From that moment on, she became my big, and she was there for me in every single way possible. I didn’t know I’d find the perfect sorority, big, or new member class…but I did. Theta gave me faith that no matter what happens in my life that these girls were going to be by my side no matter what to help me through it. Marisa gave me faith to believe that life gets better and that I would find my happiness. I am so thrilled to sit here and say that I found my happiness and faith all thanks to Theta.

HOPE: The first time Theta gave me hope was the second semester of my freshman year. I was constantly so physically sick, and I was dealing with a LOT of family drama. I put my trust into Theta, and I shared some of my family issues with some girls that I hardly even knew within Theta. No matter how close I was to the other Theta, they were there for me no matter what. I finally gained the hope that I needed through Theta. I was so hopeful that the next semester of my sophomore year would be so much better than the current one I was experiencing. I had hope that everything in my life would fall into place and everything would get better, but this hope was gained through all of the conversations I had with these amazing women within our chapter.

LOVE: This word is by far my favorite of the three for many reasons. For one, love is something that you can’t see, but rather feel so deeply. When I was in California for the summer, I never got to see any of my Theta sisters, but no matter the distance I always felt their love from miles away. So many of my sisters checked up on me, and my big even offered to pay to come out and visit me. To know that this Theta love will last a life time and will prosper no matter the distance is such an incredible feeling. Theta love runs deep, and I think my favorite part of it all is how much Theta has taught me to love myself and to believe in myself. I honestly never thought I’d be a good big, but during guess week my little kept telling me how much all of my sisters were telling her how lucky she was to get me as a big, but LITTLE did Charmi know I was the lucky one to be getting her as a little. I hadn’t had a single conversation with Charmi before I got her as my little, but I knew that I would love her no matter what because she’s one of my sisters and holds the same values as I do. I’m so lucky to have such an amazing little who I love so dearly. I love Theta with all of my heart, and I love every single one of the girls within the chapter that I’m lucky enough to call my sisters.

FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE, but the greatest of these three will always and forever be…Theta LOVE.

Chloe Wold MC17

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Zeta Upsilon,

It's wild to think I am who I am today because of you. I was independent and driven before I met you, however, because of you I fell in love with a support system and having confidence! I am grateful for being introduced to CASA and falling in love with service. I am grateful to have the best type of friends who understand me for me. Theta is for life, and as cheesy as it sounds it is nice to know I will have strong women who will always have my back.

TLAM,

Kylah Arnold MC16 <3