The Greek community is one of a kind. Who else wears togas on Friday nights and raises the average GPA on campus on Monday morning? The key is to truly value your collegiate experiences as much as you can, not just your senior year. 

As a rising senior, I find myself looking back on my experiences as a member of Delta Gamma and cannot imagine my experiences at the College of Charleston without them. But why am I just now realizing this? If I could go back and do it all over again, there is only one thing I would change -- my perspective.

Dear new member (of any Greek organization),

Welcome to the sweet life, where people ask you if you act like the sorority girls in House Bunny or the fraternity boys in Greek. With a smile, and maybe a chuckle, you can happily say, no, for you are about to become the best version of yourself because of the Frat Life, which includes extra study sessions and friends that will last a lifetime. If you do it right, which I'm sure you will, Greek life will give you a social life, better grades, and more genuine relationships with everyone. 

Your friends from home won't understand. They might not see Greek Life for what it is because it is truly only understood from the inside looking out. Heck, you might not even understand it just yet, but each time you get a sneak peek into a ritual or the meaning of your organization's motto or mascot, you begin to turn your focus from the outside appearance of Greek Life to the inside definition of why you are there. There will be a moment when it clicks - when you finally understand and appreciate your organization. Cherish that moment. Never let it fade.

Chapters will get long and your brothers or sisters will ask the dumbest questions about the budget, or voting, or the dress code for Founder's Day, but you're gonna miss those questions when you realize that you might never hear another one at a two hour chapter again. Those sisterhood events - go to them - each and every one! You're going to meet a member there that you have barely talked to before, you're going to hit it off, and they're going be in your wedding one day.

When your chapter President asks you to take down that picture on Instagram, you will be upset and offended. But when you land that internship your senior year and it leads to a job, you can thank her for that then. These women and men are there to support you and help you become the best person you can possibly be.

Get to know everyone in your chapter: at least everyone's name, face, hometown, and something besides your organization that you have in common. As far as connections go, the more the merrier, and these people are your brothers and sisters - why wouldn't you want to know them?

TAKE PICTURES. The only pictures you will regret are the ones you don't take. Picture frames will become great gifts and hanging up an obscene amount of pictures in your room is 100% acceptable. You will need the pictures to remember some nights... and that's OK. Greek Life will teach you balance, and that's one of the most important lessons you can learn in life. 

I know this is a lot, but take it to heart. I leave you with a quote that was sent to me on my initiation day - a quote that changed my perception of Greek Life forever. Now I start the beginning to the end of my collegiate career and I am proud that I joined a Greek organization because it will be a part of me forever, wherever I go. The people I met in college, the sisters I have, the relationships I've made will always be with me, but the people I haven't met yet, the sisters I don't know exist, the relationships that I will form are waiting for me all because of Delta Gamma. You have found something special - it is not just four years, it's for life.

"Sometimes we stand outside life, waiting for a door to open to us, hoping the person behind that door will let us in and be our friend. I was once on the outside until a door opened to me and behind it I found not only a friend, but a new world- a sisterhood. Now I stand behind that door, on the inside, helping to open it for someone else who stands where I once stood."- Linda Parks

Best of luck to you. Blessed be the ties that bind.

Xoxo,

M