Friday, August 17, 2018

Letters From Mom

My daughter has been participating in Sorority Recruitment this week, and today is "Preference Day" ... which basically means that I am a nervous wreck. When I talked to her last night she seemed WAY more calm than I feel, so kudos to her for truly trusting the process and keeping herself together. 

Tomorrow is Sorority Bid Day, when they find out whether or not they have an offer to join a Sorority. This whole process has been very interesting for a mom who went to a school (Notre Dame) that did not (and still does not) have Greek life. I hope my daughter has enjoyed the week, but from the mom aspect, it's been a pretty stressful week, especially seeing as we still haven't found a home to live in here in Branson, but that is neither here nor there. 

Seeing as I shared my first letter from my dad earlier in the week, I thought I'd share my first letter to my daughter today. I am counting down the hours until I find out whether or not she gets a bid, and tomorrow I will head down to Arkansas to hopefully celebrate with her (fingers crossed)! I am thrilled as she heads down her collegiate journey, and can't wait to see how her path unfolds. Here you go ... hope you enjoy it!








_________________________
August 7, 2018

Letters from Mom - #1

Hi Cate!

By the time you open this letter, you will have made it through the first two days of Sorority Recruitment. You will probably have also gone through the first round of cuts, and even though you knew they were coming, I know they are still not easy. I’m also sure that you’ve heard them tell you to “trust the process” more times than you can count, but I am going to say it one more time, trust the process. They have been recruiting girls to become members of sororities since 1851 (here’s a little sorority fun fact: the first sorority was Alpha Delta Pi, and it was founded on May 15, 1851, in Macon, Georgia), and the “process” truly does work or they wouldn’t be using it all of these years later! You have everything within you to get you through this. You are strong, smart, beautiful, funny, caring, and generous; and whichever house you land in will be lucky to have you. Remember, every sorority house at Arkansas is great. They all having amazing girls, functions, intramural sports, sisterhoods, and soon you will call one of them home.

Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s journey. Every girl is going to go through recruitment on her own path, and every girl will get to her number one choice differently, and that is okay. Bid day will be amazing for each and every one of you, no matter how you got there. Also know you will be so much stronger as a result of going through the recruitment process, and you will see a resilience in yourself that you may have never seen before. You are about to embark upon a new journey, not just academically at college, but with your sisters as well, that you will remember and treasure for the rest of your life.

I am so proud of you. Proud of everything you have done up to this point, and proud of everything that you will do in the next four years. Just like the good witch Glinda told Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, “You’ve always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.” I can’t wait to see all of the things that you will learn and experience over the next four years. My four years at Notre Dame were truly some of the best years of my life. They molded and shaped me into the woman I am today, equipped me with skills that I use every day, both professional and personally; and the friends I made there are probably the closest friends I have to this day, even though we live far apart and only see each other a few times a year.

I love you, my dear! Enjoy every moment of this, and call home!! J

Here’s a little “Note to Self” for recruitment week:

-          Your feelings ARE valid
-          You ARE allowed to enforce your boundaries
-          You DO NOT need anyone else’s approval
-          You ARE capable of amazing things
-          You ARE enough

I love you! Next letter … next week!

Love you,
Mom

1 comment:

  1. She's so lucky to have you as a mom! And whatever Sorority is lucky enough to have her? She'll be running it by the end of the semester. ;)

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