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  #1  
Old 06-09-2005, 08:54 PM
minerva98 minerva98 is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 3
What is Kappa?

What Is Kappa?



If it’s really anything at all,

Kappa Kappa Gamma is not:

a fleur-de-lis,

national conventions,

monogrammed rings,

worn-out songs,

by-laws,

membership standards,

or a golden key.



And it is not:

an institution,

a creed,

a legacy,

an obligation,

or a way of life.



And if you’re going to insist that it is something,

Kappa is:



Moving in for the first time and slowly learning

that the beautiful people have fat legs and use mouthwash, and wear
last
year’s coats.



Sitting next to an alumna you don’t particularly like

and being nice to her because it means something to her.



Long, tired eternities of black coffee and exam snacks,

when you still can’t remember the Renaissance architects or the mossy
taproot system.



Borrowing a skirt from Dina, and a blouse from Kristyn,

and shoes from Jen and a scarf from Heather and coat from Jackie …

and passing it all off as your own.



Sitting on the back steps and listening with all your helplessness

because she’s lost and she’s lonely,

and it seems the whole world just fell into ugly pieces.



And it’s coming in very late one night and closing the door

to tell someone who’s seen you through the hardest years of your life

that you’re happy now and you’re getting married.



And Kappa is, I suppose, a kind of evolution.

You grow up inside these elegant walls.

And, perhaps you do learn more of this grizzly, ungraceful circus we
call
life

than if you had lived somewhere else.



You learn that a football player is sometimes just shoulder pads,

and that skinny arms sometimes hide a great man.



You learn that no matter where you came from, of who took you there,

you’ve still got to find that one small place that belongs to you, by
yourself.



You learn that there’s still a lot left to believe in and a whole lot
more
to hope for.



You learn that love has never been easy and that it’s a long time
coming.



And if you’re smart, or very lucky,

you learn that no matter how big or how messy the world becomes,

what is precious and what is permanent is always the same.



And in the very end,

Kappa can only be, a better way to stumble down the back steps and out
the
front door.
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  #2  
Old 06-15-2005, 11:18 AM
paulaKKG paulaKKG is offline
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: Oakton, VA USA
Posts: 58
Mossy Taproot?

Minerva98, thank you for posting this - it is one of my favorite Kappa poems and it brings back wonderful memories.

But I have to ask - does ANYONE know what the Mossy Taproot system is?

My chapter always thought that was the goofiest line, so we always changed it to some engineering thing instead

Loyally,
Paula
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  #3  
Old 06-16-2005, 10:19 PM
ISUKappa ISUKappa is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,464
This is one of my favorite inspirational poems as well.

Mine says circulation system instead of mossy taproot, I think.

And my [bio] sister's name is Kristyn (spelled exactly the same), so I think it's funny it's in this version!
__________________
It's gonna be a hootenanny.
Or maybe a jamboree.
Or possibly even a shindig or lollapalooza.
Perhaps it'll be a hootshinpaloozaree. I don't know.
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  #4  
Old 06-17-2005, 02:45 PM
minerva98 minerva98 is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 3
Mossy taproot system Any geology majors out there??
I always thought it was a little strange...

The 'back steps' always hit home for me - at the Iowa Kappa house, the back stairwell was a stark departure from the splendor of the rest of the house...concrete steps and steel railings - and that was the only place in the house we were ALLOWED to smoke...so there were always overflowing ashtrays and a mess. But there were quite a few life-changing conversations on those back steps, chain-smoking, crying, and laughing too.
One of my pledge sisters sent this out to all of us, gearing us up for our '95 pledge reunion this weekend - it's going to be amazing.
And I am COMMITTED to getting a picture taken that we can send to the 'Key' - I never see the Beta Zeta chapter in there!!

Have a great weekend,
Dina
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  #5  
Old 06-17-2005, 03:11 PM
ISUKappa ISUKappa is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,464
Quote:
Originally posted by minerva98
Mossy taproot system Any geology majors out there??
I always thought it was a little strange...

The 'back steps' always hit home for me - at the Iowa Kappa house, the back stairwell was a stark departure from the splendor of the rest of the house...concrete steps and steel railings - and that was the only place in the house we were ALLOWED to smoke...so there were always overflowing ashtrays and a mess. But there were quite a few life-changing conversations on those back steps, chain-smoking, crying, and laughing too.
One of my pledge sisters sent this out to all of us, gearing us up for our '95 pledge reunion this weekend - it's going to be amazing.
And I am COMMITTED to getting a picture taken that we can send to the 'Key' - I never see the Beta Zeta chapter in there!!

Have a great weekend,
Dina
You'll be amazed at some of the changes at the house, Dina. And Julia and I have even more planned for this summer. The girls won't even recognize it when they come back in August.

I always thought the back stairway was odd for the house, very industrial. Smoking is only allowed on the back patio now, but they do have a nice new deck out there.

Have fun at your reunion!

L&L
Kari
__________________
It's gonna be a hootenanny.
Or maybe a jamboree.
Or possibly even a shindig or lollapalooza.
Perhaps it'll be a hootshinpaloozaree. I don't know.
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  #6  
Old 06-17-2005, 04:26 PM
paulaKKG paulaKKG is offline
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: Oakton, VA USA
Posts: 58
Back Steps

I love the back steps one too.. although at our house it was just changed to the back porch swing. I'm such a sap !

Have fun at your reunion! I'll be looking out in the Key for a Beta Zeta photo!

Here's a fun reunion game by the way: everyone has to bring something, a poem, a picture, an object, whatever - that will remind the group of something from when they were in college or a time they were all together. Then you pick a time (dinner works well) to reveal the items. We did this at my last get together and we had some great laughts and tears from the items that were brought!

Although, with the poem you might already be doing this!
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