As a high school dance team alumna, I am realizing how truly prepared I was to join a sorority in college. After spending so much time with my team every day for my entire high school career, there are many aspects of sisterhood and living in a house with 80 other girls that I've never really had to adjust to. Here is a list of things I learned on dance team that still apply to my life today.
1. I learned how to work well with a large group of girls.
Being in a sorority means you'll be put in situations where you are expected to work or collaborate with other girls, whether it is a project for an officer position or you simply need help with your math homework. Dancing as a team meant we always had to dance in sync, which required many hours of working together to get better.
2. Our coach was basically our house mom.
She handled everything behind the scenes from paperwork to communicating with other teams, and let's be honest, we wouldn't have survived without her. My coaches were always people I could go to for help or just talk to about anything, and going into a sorority knowing I would have those same qualities in a house mom was comforting.
3. My family is used to extra expenses.
Being the parents of a dancer is not cheap, and that doesn't change when they become the parents of a sorority girl. There are fees due left and right and sometimes they pop up unexpectedly. My family and I were not surprised to see what the sorority bills contained.
4. I am always prepared to participate in sorority dance competitions.
Having a dance background comes in handy when your sorority gets involved in philanthropy events that involved dancing. Everyone knows you love choreographing and performing, so they ask you to be a part of these dances.
5. Big/little was not a new concept.
A lot of dance teams, including mine, had bigs and littles. Crafting and putting together fun gifts and calling someone "little" was not a foreign concept to me, and having that close relationship with a set person is always nice and familiar.
6. Dressing alike is not weird.
Some girls had to get used to the idea of dressing alike for recruitment, but to me it made complete sense. I was always used to wearing the exact same thing as the girl dancing next to me, or wearing specific outfits to school on performance days.
7. I knew what it was like to have an overwhelming amount of sisters.
Although my dance team members and I never lived together, we felt like a family, which is exactly how I feel as a sorority girl. I wasn't close with every girl on my team, and I'm not close with every girl in my sorority, but we are all sisters, regardless. I knew no matter who I went to on my dance team, they would have my back. I also know this to be true with my sorority sisters, and I feel comfortable going to any of them for help or advice because that's what sisters are for.
8. Being immensely busy has always been normal.
Juggling school, work and especially dance in high school was something I got very used to doing, and in college the workload has only expanded. Dance took up large amounts of my time each day, but I learned to manage everything I had going on in the best ways possible. Adding Greek life into the mix has made me busier, but I've also learned that when you're doing something you love, the stress is worth it.
I would have most likely learned to love being a sorority girl with or without the dance team experience, but being on my team definitely heightened my excitement towards Greek life in the first place as I knew I would find a similar group to fit in with. It also prepared me more than I ever realized it would to be the best sister to my sorority sisters that I can be. Dance team prepared me for just the right lifestyle, and I'm thankful for what it taught me.
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