Winter Break is Better with your Zistas: Telluride Edition

I met Caroline Cantrell and Reagan Walker at move-in day at the beginning of the year. After messaging with these random girls, who would soon become my sisters, I decided to take a leap of faith and room with them. As I watched my parents drive away, it became very real just how close I would become with my roommates. The next thing I know, we were all sitting on the couch of our apartment when Caroline yells out, “who wants to watch a documentary, but a cool one, I promise.” I looked around at my two other roommates and we all smiled and died laughing as we sat there watching an Amish documentary for the next 45 minutes. At that moment, I realized that I had made peace with my parents departure and I was ready to take on this next adventure at UT with my crazy and lovable best friends.

In making these best friends in the world, we decided to sign up to go on a ski trip to Telluride, Colorado; and oh boy, I had no idea what I was signing up for. When we arrived and got to our room, we all peered at each other with looks of denial as we stared at this two bedroom-one bath condo with no hot water... for six people! You would be amazed at how close you can get with your sisters after sharing a twin bed with them for five days. Every night of this trip was something new. From card games to joke telling, there was never a dull moment. On the first day, I watched one of my ski poles tumble to its death after dropping it off the ski lift, but Reagan reassured me that I looked amazing and professional, skiing with one pole and all. This was definitely a turning point in our friendship, as only a true friend would be so supportive (Ha!). Continuing the adventure, Caroline decided she needed to go to “ski school” and told us that day when she got home that she spent her entire day (11AM-4PM) on the “adult” magic carpet, and could not graduate from ski school. We not only grew closer physically (having the temperature being in the teens), but also deepened our friendship as Zeta sisters. 

Our ski trip was definitely not perfect, but it was perfect for us. Taking the time out of my winter break to sleep in a twin size bed with two of my best friends was one of the best decisions I've made. Six months ago, Caroline and Reagan were just strangers, and now we were sisters conquering the world together, one lost ski pole at a time. Thanks, Telluride!!

Faith Osterberg

PC '17