Mexican Dinner with AXO

What could be better than Mexican food, Zetas, and A Chi O’s all in one place? Nothing! This year Zeta started off the Holiday season with a trip to our sister sorority's house, Alpha Chi Omega, for a fun night of Mexican food, Tiffs Treats, and unlimited amounts of ice cream.

Samantha Hicks with her roommate, Kelly Sheehy

This event was especially special for me because my roommate, Kelly Sheehy, is a member of A Chi O. I loved getting to introduce her to all my Zeta sisters and I really enjoyed getting to hangout with all of her pledge sisters. Creating bonds within the Panhellenic community is a big part of being a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, we strive to be involved with the entire Greek community and this is just another event that showcases our efforts.

On behalf of the entire chapter I would like to thank the members of the Alpha Phi chapter of Alpha Chi Omega for generously opening your house to us for such a wonderful and festive night!

ZLAM,

Samantha Hicks PC’13

ZTA Holiday Party 2013

Festive table decor at the ZTA Holiday Party!

I’m usually the girl at parties who NEVER shows up in the correct theme attire. I’m not kidding; I think I showed up to three parties in the span of one semester in a toga (to a “white-out party”), risky business (to a 70’s disco) and my personal favorite Moulin Rouge (to Whataburger when our plans changed). I don’t do these things on purpose; It seems like people just think it’s funny to tell me the wrong theme! So of course when I first heard about the annual Zeta Christmas Party I knew It wouldn't be any different, and I somehow incorrectly assumed it was tacky Christmas sweater themed.

So there I was at three o’clock in the afternoon, super excited to throw my books aside to get all dolled up and tacky for the Zeta Christmas Party. My friend Lindsey down the hall said she’d pick me up at 5 for the party, and I couldn’t wait to show her my ugly reindeer sweater! She opened the door with big eyes and kind of didn’t know how to react to my childish appearance. I looked at her and asked why she wasn’t dressed up and she told me most girls are just going to wear sweats because of finals week, and more importantly,  IT IS NOT A TACKY CHRISTMAS SWEATER PARTY. There was no way I was going to make a fool of myself like I repeatedly did my fall semester of freshman year, so I quickly changed out of those clothes.

Right when I walked through the festively lit doors of the Zeta house I noticed attires of all kinds. I saw onesies, girls’ faces painted as Santa Clause, snuggies, and even tacky Christmas sweaters. I realized then that my sorority sisters could have cared less if I was wearing my reindeer sweater or even showed up as Moulin Rouge again. What really mattered is that we were together celebrating the most wonderful time of the year! These girls were not going to judge me for what I was wearing to the Zeta Holiday Party, and I’m so thankful to have made best friends like these this past semester. 

Happy Holidays and ZLAM, 

Claire Rodgers PC '13

PC '13 Claire Rodgers and Mackenzie Benton (L to R)
enjoying their meals at the ZTA Holiday Party!

Home for Thanksgiving!

After several exams and countless late nights at the library, Thanksgiving break began to sound better and better. I was lucky enough to have my classes canceled for the week and was able to leave for home on Sunday. However, my parents thought I was leaving that Tuesday, and the look on their faces when I surprised them was absolutely priceless.

Of course the first couple days over break I just had to spend my time on the couch watching the Harry Potter marathon, playing with my puppy, and simply enjoy being lazy. I hadn’t seen my little sister in over two months prior to Thanksgiving break, so I was more than happy to spend time with her while my parents were working. We had fabulous dress up parties, where she begged me to teach her how to put makeup on, and spent a lot of our time at Build-A-Bear. One of my favorite moments with my little sister over break was when she told me that she couldn’t wait to be a Zeta when she grew up so she could have best friends just like me.

Once Thanksgiving came around the corner, my family and I made our way to my grandmother’s house where we’ve spent Thanksgiving every single year. My entire family is enormous, and we all live in close proximity to each other, so let's just say it was a full house on that bright and early morning. My grandmother always prepares the most amazing and mouthwatering Thanksgiving lunch for all of us, and I am not exaggerating when I say that the second she is done setting out all of the dishes, there is an immediate fight and battle to be first in line for food. She makes turkey, ham, stuffing, five different pies, and side dishes galore. After everyone is done eating, traditionally we all gathered together to relax and watch a movie. This year’s movie was The Heat, which resulted in a lot of funny and shocked expressions from my grandmother. I cannot express how great it was to see my huge and crazy family on Thanksgiving. There was so much love in the atmosphere and made me realize how blessed I really was.

Ever since last year at Christmas I've told my mother that my family was not allowed to put our Christmas tree and decorations up without me while I was at college. So during the final days of my Thanksgiving break, my mother, sister, and I spent our time transforming the casual Donham house into the North Pole, and I would like to thank Pinterest for this. Putting up the Christmas tree has always been special to me because it brings our family together and we get to start the Christmas season off as a family.

Although Thanksgiving break flew by way too quickly, it was a spectacular time spent with extraordinary people. Even though my family does not do anything too big for Thanksgiving, all we really need is each other and we always make the most amazing memories. I could not have asked for a better Thanksgiving break and it just made me more excited to be home for Christmas. This is why I love the holiday season; everything is about being with your loved ones and being thankful for all that you have been given.

ZLAM,

Madi Donham PC '13

Sisterhood at Six Flags!

With school in full swing, a get-away to Six Flags with Zetas sounded like a perfect way to take a break. While getting up the morning of at 8 was a struggle to say the least, as soon as I stepped into the house I could not wait for the day ahead of us! With the weather on our side, and equipped with our fanny packs, we were ready to take on Fiesta Texas.

PC '13 Hailey Williams, Mackenzie Benton, Maddie Mills,
and Kacey Adams (left to right) crown it before the ride!

            Racing to cram in a few rides before lunch we were excited to see that the lines were almost nonexistent. We were walking onto rides multiple times that one would usually wait in line for hours to ride once! But then it was time to eat; the picnic pavilion was a nice place to rest and enjoy the great meal provided for us by the amazing six flags staff. With throwback songs playing from the speakers it was easy to let loose with our sisters; we only had one worry in the world, staying away from the bees that seemed to follow us everywhere! After lunch it was back to experiencing every ride the park had to offer, and of course, what would an adventure with Zeta be if someone didn’t get their face painted?

PC '13 Ava Fechtman, Jacqueline Bruni, and
Kate McBee show off their facepaint!

            Yet when the time came to get back on the buses, we were worn out and ready to head home to Austin. Everyone seemed to have saved their last bit of phone battery to look at everyone’s photos and videos that of course had already been posted. Soon after the phones had all been turned off, the bus became quiet with sleeping Zetas, exhausted from such a fun-filled day!

                       

           

                                                ZLAM,

Maddie Mills PC ‘13

ZTA Semi-Formal At Speakeasy

With the end of every semester comes “formal season” and it certainly came quicker than I could have ever imagined. Before I knew it, Zeta Semi-Formal was around the corner and I could hardly contain my excitement. The anticipation built higher and higher the few weeks leading up to the night as we all began asking our dates and looking all over for the perfect dress. All of the plans started to come together and all of a sudden Semi-Formal was here!

The day of Semi-Formal was incredibly cold and rainy, but we were all determined to not let the weather ruin our night! In our coats and gloves, a group of my friends gathered in the beautiful lobby of my dorm, SRD, to take pictures with each other and our dates before we headed off to dinner. Fortunately the SRD Christmas tree had just been put up in the lobby, so we were provided with the perfect backdrop for our pictures. The scene was definitely perfect for the cold and wintery weather. Once we had taken all of the pictures our face muscles would allow, we ran through the cold to our cars to head off to dinner. My group decided that, for Semi-Formal, we wanted to go somewhere special for dinner, so we chose The Oasis on Lake Travis. As soon as we got there and saw the view, we knew that the drive was worth it. I had never seen a sight so beautiful! The dinner provided lots of laughs and delicious food. It was one of my favorite parts of the evening. The Oasis had a beautiful fireplace set up, so after dinner we were able to drink some coffee and hang out with our group for a little longer before it was time to make our way to Speakeasy!

Once we arrived at Speakeasy, the party was in full swing! It was great to see everyone dressed up and looking their best. Everyone looked so beautiful! In true Zeta fashion, there was a photo booth, face painters, and lots of dancing. As the night progressed, it was exciting to see how the crowd was transformed into different animals, fairies, and superheroes by the talented face painters. It was such a blast to get dressed up in boas and hats for the photo booth and get our goofy pictures taken. Afterwards, it was so fun to get to look at the hilarious and candid pictures. There was a live band at Speakeasy who played mostly covers from the 90s, which are, in my opinion, some of the best songs to jam out to. It was great to sing at the top of my lungs and dance like a fool with all of my sisters and best friends!

Overall, it was a great night full of laughter, silly dancing, and memories I will cherish forever. Semi-Formal was the perfect way to finish out the semester with my best friends in Zeta and celebrate an outstanding first semester at UT before the start of exams in December. I’m already so excited for next year!

ZL,

Avery Staples PC ‘13

Throwback Thursday to Austin City Limits!

Thinking back to October fourth through sixth, I start to smile.  Austin City Limits was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. The sheer fact that about 75,000 people attend each day was crazy to me having come from a small town.  However, with bands like Muse, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Kings of Leon, Kendrick Lamar, Phoenix, Artic Monkeys, Lionel Richie, and many more, who can blame the crowd? 

            The first band of the festival I saw was Jimmy Eat World. From “The Middle” and “Sweetness” to their newer songs like “I Will Steal You Back”, I was thoroughly impressed with Jimmy Eat World.  They had a great upbeat vibe and the crowd loved it judging from all the heads bobbing and the hippie mannequin someone held on a stick, dancing around to the songs.

            One band I just have to mention was Muse. Now I’ve always heard they put on a great show, but I certainly underestimated these claims.  After about a thirty-minute technically difficulty with a generator, Muse was up and at it. The light show was incredible, especially to the song “Madness” where Matthew Bellamy had sunglasses on that typed the lyrics to the song as he sang them! I was extremely elated when they played many songs from the album Absolution including “Time is Running Out” and “Falling Away With You”.  I don’t think I could pick a favorite song they preformed but,  “Follow Me” was very well done by Muse. Overall, Muse created a hauntingly perfect rock ambiance that I enjoyed greatly from the fifth row, and it definitely made up for the thirty-minute delay.

            Kodaline, a small band from Dublin, Ireland that I have admired for a few years now, came to ACL on the third day. I woke up early Sunday morning to be in the front row of their show and it definitely paid off! With their Irish wit, nice looks, and great musical talent, I loved every minute of it. I did not want it to end, but another great band was up next. MS MR was unquestionably not what I expected.  As Lizzy Plapinger, lead vocalist, strutted out on stage with her—I kid you not—lime green hair, I thought, “This is going to be a great show.”  I was right.  The energy of the performers and the crowd was so in sync. It was basically like a big party. It felt like more than the band was performing to perform, it band was performing for fun, because they liked doing it.  That is what I love seeing, so MS MR was definitely one of my favorite shows of the festival.  The all-girl, indie pop band Haim, which I adore, was so entertaining.  Even with a few guitar mishaps these sisters didn’t let anything get in their way. You could tell they were having fun too; Este talked about how she just wanted to dance and Alana beat on her drums like it was a game.  I loved the free spirit these girls gave off and it made for a great rest of the festival.

            There are so many other bands I could go on and on about! ACL was truly amazing and I am so happy I attended this year. I loved seeing all my Zeta sisters throughout the festival and hanging out! I cannot wait to go back with them next year. I encourage everyone that goes to ACL to check out the smaller bands earlier in the day because they have some great talent and potential to be huge in the near future!

ZLAM,

Riley Anderson PC ‘13