Big Little Week: Kardashian Edition
It’s been a while. Trust me I know. I’m sorry I haven’t been posting, but life gets hectic and I’m going to attempt to get back on track. PLUS I have the perfect piece to write on.
Sorority life isn’t for everyone totally understandable. For me, I’d say it’s one of the best things to happen to me. It not only gave me a diverse group of friends but it has also given me those three pictured above. And for that I’m forever grateful.
For those unaware Big Little week in sororities is usually one the of happiest times. It is an event that helps gather every member of the organization, no matter the age, to welcome in the newest pledge class. The basics go like this:
A sophomore seeks out a freshman she seems to think would fit in best with her family.
There is a voting process.
The sophomore is given a freshman based on both sides preferences, and you have a big little pairing.
The family grows each and every year bumping the highest up to new positions. i.e. Grand Big, Great-Grand Big and so on.
The big little process may seem stupid to most outside of a sorority but it has truly amazing qualities. I have been able to feel a smaller sense of community at Tulane that in a way actually mimics a real nuclear family. We are each other’s go to with anything related to academic advice and especially boy advice. No matter the drama your family entails you always have each others back and are more than happy to drop what you are doing when one of your family members is in need. It also helped open up my community through meeting friends of the older girls in my family.
Now that the basics are covered, I want to go into my love for each and every member of my family. Being a Junior at Tulane means that I picked my big, picked my little, and was very involved in the picking of my grand little. So, you can say, I really love each and every person in my family.
Sheridan knew my best friend from high school’s boyfriend. During those horrible days of rush when I felt judged and unwanted every time a house dropped me, I was assured by the boyfriend that Sheridan was looking out for me. I didn’t give it much hope, but I obviously told every girl I talked to at SDT I knew Sheridan, the philanthropy chair. (As if saying her position gave me more credibility- *it didn’t*). As luck would have it Sheridan assured everyone I was “cool” and I somehow found my way into SDT. I opened my bid day card, ran to the house and saw a girl holding up my name. That girl was Sheridan. From that moment we instantly clicked. We knew instantly we’d be big and little and everyone else knew it’d be pointless to write our names on their lists. She’d come over every day, we’d talk, she’d assure me yes my life is crazy, yes I’m slightly crazy, but most importantly it’s okay, that’s why she loves me. Our friendship grew more and more the longer we knew each other and saying I had the worst semester the fall she studied abroad would be an understatement. Things would have been so different if she was there to put sense into my head about my ex, make me feel better about the shitty things my friends did and most importantly just have been by my side day and night. We talked constantly while she was away. Daily FaceTimes and Facebook messages. She tried talking sense into me but it just wasn’t the same without her in person. Morale of that story is I function better with her in my life.
Some things to note:
She’s the worst driver.
Her favorite types of friends are the kind who are crazy (like me).
Her meals consist of very oddly put together snack food.
The way she talks makes me smile.
She has a nipple piercing and no one can pull it off better.
Next along came my little, Tulane Jane. I met her during sisterhood night the first Thursday she was in SDT. Her positive attitude is contagious and I thought she was way too cool to be my little. At the event Sheridan pulled me aside and said, “I’m buying a shot for your little, who do you like?” I immediately thought of Jane. Her best friend Molly never left her side so I told Sheridan to buy two for the both of them. I found her dancing on a table, brought her over the tequila shot and told her I bought it for her and Molly. Her response, “thank you but I don’t take shots.” (This is something that thankfully has since changed). I handed them to the next closest girls instead. After feeling slightly defeated I noticed a friend of Jane’s a little too drunk so I kept her company at the bar and encouraged her to drink many glasses of water.
The next day I got a text from Jane. We bonded over our mutual hatred (and love) of boys and gossiped over the upcoming frat events that weekend. We talked sparingly over that next week but I invited her to my pregame before the date party, which to my excitement, she showed up to. Throughout that night she followed me around the party as I introduced her to my friends. I whispered to my date, “I really like this girl and want her to be my little.” He turned to her and said, “Sydney would make a cool big wouldn’t she?” Jane’s face lit up with both desperation and hope and the whole rest of the night all I heard her tell me how much she wanted to be my little. Without actually establishing our mutual want to be big little aloud, I Instagramed a photo of the two of us from the party to give her some reassurance. Ever since that night we talked and hung out as frequently as possible. I couldn’t get enough of her positive energy. She acts exactly like her costume that night, a cheerleader, and in the weeks following a breakup she helped keep me distracted and empowered to move onto the next. We brought out each others best sides and you can always catch the two of us at our favorite fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, or on tables dancing the night away. I love looking out for her and treating her as if she was my actual child. She has been on two blind dates that I personally set up for her, boys I still approve of. I have made sure to steer her clear of boys I don’t agree upon or give the ones who have hurt her a piece of my mind. Our dynamic duo has certainly showed throughout our sorority and among Tulane as a whole. Her only flaw is that she is a horrible crafter, which is fine because I am more than happy to step in and assist.
Last but not least is my beautiful grand-daughter Gianna. Jane found her early on and pointed her out to me. I met her for the first time on a bus to a date party. I don’t remember much from that interaction but she was this adorable freshman I couldn’t wait to get to know better. Later that weekend SDT hosted a free Cycle Bar class. I signed up last and picked the only available seat in the room which just so happened to be next to Gianna. Not the best impression of her seeing my struggle at my first Cycle Bar class, but clearly she didn’t seem too bothered as she is still around. Over Mardi Gras I remember spending full days with her away from both of our friends. She fit in so perfectly to our family as she was not shy in verbally expressing her want of being the new addition and even said, “I don’t want to jinx it but can we take a family photo?” I knew she was perfect in that moment as that seems to be a general trend in our family of not holding back thoughts (that should have probably have been held back). We hung out just us two at Cycle Bar later that month and got a healthy brunch after. At brunch, she flat out told me she was putting Jane first on the list.
When it came time to receiving the finalized Big-Little list, it came as no surprised when we saw her name. I spent the week crafting and baking for my beautiful grandchild and this past Friday we had reveal. As a joke between our pre-determined family we had referred to each other as different members of the Kardashian family. Stormi for Gianna, Kylie for Jane, and Kris for myself. At reveal, I made Kardashian themed tops, which left last but not least, Sheridan to be M.J. We decided to have a “photo-shoot” in our Kardashian themed tops because, we are nothing short of extra and wanted to show off our newest addition. Although I haven’t known Gianna really long, I already have so much love for my newest family member. I constantly ask her for advice because she is way more mature than both Jane and I combined. She also has the best fashion sense so she’s basically also my new stylist. As cheesy and basic as it is to refer to each other as Kardashians, we really fit into their roles. We each care so much about each other and are a tight knit family. I am so excited for the many memories to come with these three and slightly scared for the next crazy addition our family receives. Don’t worry Gianna there is no pressure to pick someone as perfect as ourselves.
