Clown School

I have always loved clowns. They just make me happy and I love nothing more than dressing up and playing a character so when the opportunity came to attend a one week clown school program I decided to take on the challenge and sign up for it. I have always played dramatic characters but comedy was something new to me.

I was really nervous when I started out. I tend to be a very shy person so putting myself out there and not being afraid to look dumb took a lot of courage. I know I am funny with words but being funny in actions alone was a new feat entirely. Being a clown is more than just putting on silly makeup and jiggling; it involves a lot of physical movement, perfectly timed actions, and using action and reaction in improvisation. It was actually a lot harder than it looks! I am usually really good at using sarcasm but I had to learn how to portray it in just my actions.

There was a definite learning curve but the instructors were great at helping us all learn. We started each day with warm ups to stretch our bodies and then played games that worked on our teamwork and quick thinking skills. Each day we learned new techniques and gags to strengthen our range of clown knowledge. What challenged me most was how integral it was to rely on instinct rather than knowledge. In everyday life I am much more of a logical thinker but once my instructor talked it over with me I realized that is what makes clowning so funny. Going with your instincts and not taking things literally is what makes audiences laugh! For example, if a giant rock hits a cartoon, he doesn’t get broken bones, he flattens like an accordion and makes an accordion sound as he walks away. After realizing this, I was able to start relying on whatever came to my mind first instead of trying to think through everything. I became a lot more comfortable after that and that is when I really started to shine through in our clown classes. I was able to let loose and that’s when I started to get a lot of laughs in return for my actions.

I also learned that clowning involves a lot of teamwork. When clowning in a group you always have to give your partners something to work with to make them look good. It is all about action and reaction so when each person contributes, the scenes really flow and that is when we were the funniest.

I loved my clown school experience because we were given the freedom to come up with our own scenarios and test them out in front of our class. This helped me really let my imagination flow and come up with some good material. My favorite thing we learned was how to juggle scarves and how to balance sticks on different body parts. They were super fun skills to learn and they taught me how to remain clam, stay focused, and to really be in the moment.

My love for clowns has only grown through this class and I think I have discovered my niche! It makes me feel comfortable in my own skin and getting to let go is a great feeling. The best part of the whole class though was being able to do it with my friends and one of my Zeta sisters. We got to learn together, play off each others ideas, and support each other and that is what made it worthwhile.

Alex Zepeda, PC Spring ‘13

A Zeta Goodbye

“I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn, and we are lead to those who help us most to grow, if we let them (and we help them, in return).” - For Good, Wicked the Musical.

If I had a nickel for every time I quoted, cried to, or belted this song with my zeta sisters, I wouldn’t be so anxious about finding a job once I cross that commencement stage in less than two weeks. But not even every trite little canvas quote or Instagram caption could summarize what I have experienced in my three short years as a collegiate member of my fraternity, or the feelings I experienced Sunday night at my final collegiate event, Senior Appreciation.

            Having attended a few send-offs in the past, I felt that I would be prepared for the general itinerary of the evening: a lot of crying, a bit of laughter, some uncomfortable stories, and, of course, even more crying as we all said goodbye to our bigs, littles, and sisters as the seniors enter the alumnae world. But I could not have been prepared for how hard it was to sit on the other side.

            Sitting at the front of the room, and looking out onto the chapter that had been my home for so long was a difficult moment for me. I had always prided myself on being a member who considered herself overly involved. It wasn’t an uncommon occasion that I would find myself up until three in the morning working on a banner for that week’s mixer, or cramming last minute details onto the homecoming float. These delusional nights spent with sleep deprivation and hysterical laughing fits were some that I never expected to be those I cherished most. But that’s what Zeta truly is, I think. It is the unexpected moments where you suddenly find yourself crammed in a car with six girls as you hysterically cry over a joke you can’t even remember the origin of. It’s pomping the homecoming float for hours on end until the tips of your fingers grow numb, but you can’t keep yourself from laughing at the spontaneous dance party thanks to someone playing ‘Lip Gloss’ at full blast.  It’s reading your letter to your big at her senior appreciation, trying to speak through the tears as you reminisce on everything she has taught you, and how much she changed your life in the short time you had her.

            Leaving is hard. Walking away from the comfort of the strongest support system you could have ever wished for, and leaping into the great unknown that is the “real world” is terrifying. But, though it all, you are granted a sense of hope, and humility. Perhaps some would judge their success in their chapters by counting the philanthropy trophies that line their walls, or the formal t-shirts hanging in their closets, but I choose to judge it by how many faces I saw in the crowd that night.

Seeing the line of people who wanted their turn to cry and laugh, to lament and celebrate with their sisters. Being handed a small jar of glitter and sobbing over it, because your sister told that it wasn’t just glitter, it was floo powder so I could come home whenever I missed them too much. Hearing the words “you’re why I’m here, you’re why I’m home” and laughing through your tears because you can’t possibly believe that you could have touched someone’s life in such a significant way. Holding your perfect, precious littles in your arms as they tell you that you inspired their successes and motivations to become the strong women you boast about so often. All of these things are moments you could never anticipate, but would never trade for anything in the world.

Well, I don’t know if I’ve been changed for the better, but because I knew them, I have been changed for good.

Kristina Brewer, PC Fall ‘13

We Live the Creed

In 1898, our founders gave us the greatest gift we could have asked for. They created this organization that has, in just three years, already changed my life so much. As I look back at my time in Zeta so far I realize just how much my sisters have impacted me. I came to UNT and didn’t know anyone and wasn’t super comfortable in my own skin but I found this group of women who has built me up and encouraged me to do things I never imagined I could do. My sisters have been there for the ups, the downs, and the in-betweens, and they have loved me unconditionally. They have seen greatness in me even when I could not see it for myself and they have never given up on me. It is easy to find people who will be there for you during the good times but finding a support system who will stick through the bad times is what counts most.

I have one year left as a collegiate member of Zeta Tau Alpha and I can’t believe my time is almost up. Because of my sisters I am growing to the be woman I always wished I could become and am driven to take on things I never would have had the guts to do without their encouragement. Our chapter has grown together so much and I am so proud to call these women my sisters and call this chapter my home. I think that when we feel loved and have others to love, we are capable of amazing things and can say from experience that this chapter is built on the love that our founders envisioned for our members over 100 years ago. Our creed gives us so many beautiful tenets to live by but it truly all comes down to love, the greatest of all things.

Mary Campbell Jones Batte, Historian