Confidence

I was inspired to write this because of this video. This video is the current members of the Theta Nu chapter of TriDelta expressing how TriDelta has made them more confident. I am, and always will be, a proud TriDelta and I can say that what they expressed in this video is just the tip of the iceberg. Sororities teach you so much more than you can capture in a 3 minute video. They teach you confidence, loyalty, friendship, the importance of attitude, the importance of participating and helping out. How to be a leader, a sister, a support group.

I have lots of stories from my undergrad that can express aspects of sorority life. One in particular comes to mind (because one of my sorority sisters is presenting her thesis tomorrow) is when I defended my Honors Thesis. Now, I'm a little weird and actually am more nervous in front of smaller groups of people so would much rather have a lecture hall. As it was, I had been practicing in front of the lab members I worked with and was absolutely terrified. I'd never heard of anyone failing their thesis but technically, this presentation stood in the way of me graduating from the Honors College and having to redo all my general courses. So I stood up at our weekly chapter meeting and asked if people would be able to come to my thesis. The university building was 2 blocks from the house, the presentation would take 20 minutes, and I could really use the bodies to keep me from being nervous.

Now, presenters are always early to make sure nothing goes wrong, so early I was! And I watched not only the people I worked with and my parents file into the room, but also probably 20 of my sorority sisters. As more people came in, smiling at me, even though I was nervous, I knew I would do fine. Then, the lady who was in charge of coordinating these events comes in. She takes one look around, walks over to me, and says, "who are all these people?" Apparently, I had managed to set the record for number of attendees! In that moment I felt incredibly loved. Many of the women in that room had absolutely no idea what on earth I was talking about (many of them not liking science), but they paid attention enough to tell me (and prove it!) that they got the general gist. They spent barely a half an hour supporting me and it was enough to make sure I not only passed, but excelled! Their confidence in me, reminded me to have confidence in myself. When they believed in me and voted me Vice President Administration as a sophomore, I knew that I was going to live up to their expectations.

I'm a confident person, always have been. But having the support of the amazing group of women that TriDelta attracts, made me even more confident. Through them, I can do anything. But they also keep me grounded and set me straight when I need it. They truly are my sisters and their support means everything to me.

I can't make Lindsay's thesis tomorrow (I have a final). But I know that she will do great things. She has no reason to be nervous even though everything says she should. She will excel because she has the support of the same amazing group of women that I did - the group that believes in her and knows that she can do absolutely anything she sets her mind to. Good luck my friend, show 'em what TriDelts are made of.

**Photo courtesy of Jessica Peterson and Instagram**