It was Preference Day, and after the exciting -albeit overwhelming – week that is recruitment, I found myself sitting inside Kappa Alpha Theta at a table with several other women. I looked around nervously when I caught the eyes of someone sitting across from me. This person had the friendliest eyes and gave me an encouraging smile. I smiled back and turned my head to listen to the presentation. A couple of months later, I found out the wide-eyed stranger was Christiana Marvray, who would soon become my best friend. After that interaction on Pref Day, Christiana and I would occasionally hang out– mostly she would just happen to be there when I needed to talk to someone. It was like the universe was trying to tell us something.
However it wasn’t until second semester of our sophomore year that my friendship with Christiana truly blossomed. (Christiana could probably tell this story better than I can because she has a memory like an elephant and I have the memory of a squirrel.) It was a snow day in February, and while I’m from Iowa, the snow and I are not friends. Christiana found me in my room binge-watching Netflix. Christiana is from California, so it makes sense that she doesn’t like the snow. We are both introverts with a distaste for snow, but that day Christiana came to my room with a problem that I was facing as well. “I want to go play in the snow with everyone, but I also want some alone time.” We decided we would join our sisters and friends. In that moment we became best friends.
While Christiana and I could not be more opposite; she’s from the West Coast, I’m from the Midwest; she’s a Democrat, I’m a Republican; she loves science, I love writing; I have learned how to be a better version of myself because of her friendship. We probably would have never met if Theta hadn’t brought us together. I am so thankful for the woman smiling across from me on Pref Day with bright eyes, big dreams and an even bigger heart.
– Steph Musser
Thetas at Mizzou 