The reason why I joined my sorority is because I decided to go away to school in May of my senior year — not only did I not have a lot of time to adjust to going away to a university but I also had chosen a school almost four hours away from my hometown. The transition from high school to college is already difficult, let alone having three months to prepare for it.

I did not have a great senior year. Actually, I was bullied so badly I almost did not get to walk across the stage because I was too nervous that I would be booed off. I needed a fresh start, and SIUE was my new beginning. I wanted to meet friends quickly, so the easiest way to do that was to go through sorority recruitment. When I went through recruitment, I met amazing girls in every sorority. They shared the reasons why they loved their sisterhood, and I admired them for finding where they belonged. Opening my card on Bid Day, I received my first choice, Alpha Phi.

I have loved Alpha Phi from the moment that I walked into the room on info night. I will be honest — my first year in Alpha Phi I absolutely loved it, but it was not until my sophomore year until I stopped loving it and began to be in love with it. It's weird to say that you can be in love with an organization, but if you think about, it's not that weird. The people in the organization are the reason I am in love with it.

I want to give a piece advice for the new members that have recently joined their own sorority. This advice goes across the board no matter what sorority you are in, I will mention mine quite a bit, but know it is not just Alpha Phi. This could be applied to every sorority out there. My advice to you is to make your sorority a constant in your life. Do not go a single day without thinking about sisters or interacting with them.

When I opened my Bid Day card a little over two years ago I never imagined that I would feel so loved by so many different women in my organization. I have made Alpha Phi my constant. My sisters are there for me when I fail an exam and I am upset about it. They are also there to help me study for the next exam to ensure that I get a better grade on it.

My sisters are there for me when I feel like the world's worst person; they remind me of how amazing I am. I do not know where I would be without a single one of my sisters because without them I would not have the courage to be who I am. I would not have taken a single leadership position without them, I would not have let myself be vulnerable without them, and I certainly would not be who I am today without them.

I realized that Alpha Phi became my constant when I went through stressful times last school year. My classes were terrible, I was always stressed out, and I was not happy. One of my sisters reached out to me and did something that many others had done before, but she told me how much she cared about me, she told me how amazing I was, she told me she thinks about me and wonders how I am doing, and then she simply said, "If you ever need me, I am here to get you the help you need with anything." That was the moment when I knew I had a support system that would be there for me on my worst days and on my best days.

Some of my sisters have become my best friends, my future bridesmaids, the Godmother to my future children, the people who are always on the sidelines cheering for me, my role models, my inspirations, and my family. I know, at the end of the day — whether it is a great day or a terrible day — that I will be loved and supported by the women that I chose to make constant in my life.