FTK
“The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of us, but those who win battles we know nothing about.” Do the three letters, FTK, have any kind of meaning to you at all? Well for me they have a lot. Those three letters have come to mean a lot to me over the last year. Hopefully by the end of this they will mean more to you than they did before you read this.
I didn’t fall in love with my sorority the way every other girl seems to. No, I did not walk into the room and know right then and there that this was my home. I didn’t fall in love with the girls and knew I would make millions of memories with them, not a first anyways.
I fell in love with my sorority because of our philanthropy. If there is one thing that we all agree on and put our differences aside for, it’s our philanthropy. We go all out in every event that we do For The Kids we raise our money for. And there it is, FTK. FTK stands for, For The Kids. Our philanthropy is Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. We raise money for Riley Hospital for Children, right on our campus. Our main philanthropy event we host is, Teeter-Totter-A-Thon. This is when we teeter-totter for thirty six hours, we also have games and tournaments for others to do while they are there with us. Miracle breakfast is another philanthropy event that we have. At Miracle breakfast we make pancakes and sell them to staff and students on campus. Pie-A-Phi is another philanthropy event we started this past year. This one is a little different. We actually pair up with Phi Delta Theta to raise money for their philanthropy, ALS, as well. Lastly we also participate and are a proud sponsor of Jagathon. Jagathon is a dance marathon held at IUPUI to raise money for Riley. At jagathon we dance for twelve hours, there are games, inflatables, and food as well.
After falling in love with my philanthropy I fell in love with my sorority and all the things everyone kept saying would happen, did. I made many memories with my sisters, I found my close group of friends I can lean on for anything. I lost myself but then found the real me. I love helping out with anything that has to do with the children. I am now helping plan Teeter-Totter for this year, and I'm also helping with Jagathon. I love seeing what all my hard work and money is going too. I will Teeter-Totter for thirty-six hours for the kids that can’t. I will take a pie to my face for the kids that can’t. I will get up early in the morning and bake pancakes for the kids who can’t. I will dance for twelve hours for those kids sitting in the hospital that don’t have the privilege to do all the everyday things that I take for granted.
When thinking of those three little letters, it brings a smile to my face because I know that one day we will find a cure, but until then we will do all we can to get there. And yes, I am a Phi Mu, which I wear proudly across my chest because in the mist of losing myself and doubting which house I wanted to be in I found my hϕMe. And I thank the kids for that every day.
Find the fighter in you.
