"Naturally some letters stand out."

Some letters indeed stand out more than others. Take it from one who knows, someone who's been in those letters himself, living & loving life representing in those same letters. Without question, without contest, one pair of letters does stand out & no number of votes to the contrary will tell me otherwise.

The very first day I saw those letters - well before my mind was made up to go out & support the ladies who wore them - was an epiphany, a revelation of sorts, a moment of truth for me. Whether their letters were displayed on cardinal totes (love & roses), on their hearts & sleeves or both of the above, I began to wonder: What made these women stand out above all the others? What made these wonderful ladies such a force to be reckoned with on campus?

I did all the homework & research I possibly could & found out just why these ladies & these letters stood out above all the others: strong emphasis on grades, continued learning, serving for the greater good of the community, finding ways to stay involved on & off campus - the list could go on ad infinitum. These women, I can tell you this much, were truly living out their values & most of all they had a classiness about them which no one else could surpass, much less equal.

Exceeding the expectation. Living. Loving. Leading. Serving. Each & every aspect of that sisterhood I mentioned above gave me the initiative, then & there (not without making some baby steps, of course) to start supporting these women in the first place. Right away, I knew that these ladies were the ones I'd stand by & represent from that day forward.

Whenever someone says, "NAturally
sOme
leTTers
stand out,"
they truly mean it. And you don't need to look far to know immediately whose letters have stood out in a class of their own for just over 112 years.

Of (Alpha) love & letters

Where it all began.

I can't remember exactly when I first started wearing such highly guarded letters, letters which no other duder I've known has been able to gain access to before or since. (If memory serves me well, it was sometime in late August or early September.) What I do know is: Once I put them on, I drew a line in the sand, made a decision which I haven't regretted making - even to this very day, I still don't. At the same time, to quote from one of my poems, "The Letter Wearing Oath," I started "...bearing a mark of recognition that so many other men wished they could have (but cannot, that chance being denied a long time ago)."

This is not to say that I made an ultimate fashion statement you either loved or hated; far from it. The very instant I received my first tee from the Emporium & threw those letters on, I wore them with heartfelt love & pride, to tell those folks who would listen, "Now these are the ladies I want to represent with all my heart - beginning & end of story." Yet I was also saying, "I'm not wearing these letters just to give myself the glory. This is to show my appreciation, lots of courtesy & respect to the classiest ladies on campus."

It has been five-odd years since I made that bold, daring move which no other duder before or after has been able to accomplish. Perhaps it was the rebel in me who felt compelled to show his true colors as he ended up doing, perhaps no. At any rate, the first day I wore these letters on my sleeve & on my heart, I took a stand, I made a good call which Stella, Bess, Jessie & Helen would be proud of, no doubt. And - at the expense of sounding like a broken record - I began truly supporting a sisterhood unlike all the rest out there.

Those letters spoke much louder than words ever could - always have, always will. I didn't know it at the time, but when I first wore them with heartfelt, unswerving love, I would wind up making one of the best choices of my life. Five years later, yours truly is still representing, still donning these letters steadfastly, making everyone from the recent initiates on over to the alumnae proud.

Oh, & being able to speak on their behalf is still one of the sweetest & most beautiful things I have ever done & am still doing.