Another year just means another hundred-some names and faces to learn. And I guess I’m another one of them! My name’s Sharmaine (also known as Shar-Bear to a lot of my pledge class) and a proud baby of Alpha Phi at Ball State. It’s been about full month since bid day and the all the babies around campus are starting to learn the life of a sorority girl here at BSU. 

So, you’re here, you’ve gone through recruitment, and you’re part of a sisterhood. What now? Well, from Big/Littles to philanthropies and tailgates to formals, the greek life can be one hell of a maze to us newbies. Lucky for us, that’s what we've got our sisters for! And not only our sisters in our own sororities, but the entire campus. It was definitely a fun game looking out for other girl’s letters after bid day to see where they ended up. Immediately, conversations over formals, philanthropy teams, and greek pairings began to be the main topic amongst the babies. My calendar went from being barely filled to a rainbow of events…mainly because I color coordinate…but nevertheless, the word “slacker” will probably have to be deleted from my vocabulary. 

Finally, in my spare time, I was able to catch up with two of my friends who also decided to go greek: Morgan Whyde, a Chi Omega baby, and Kelsey Berlinger, a Sigma Kappa baby! The three of us came up with the conclusion that once we joined a sorority, spare time became a rare time. From lunch dates to meetings, you bet a baby’s life is a busy one. Kelsey described her new life in Sigma Kappa as, “never a dull moment, always someone to hang out with or events to go to.” And of course for us babies, October could be anything but boring especially with this month filled with our first Watermelon Bust, Homecoming, and everyone’s favorite: Big/Little Reveals! While talking about our favorite event that’s happened since joining our sororities, Morgan shared how her Big/Little reveal was, “such an incredible bonding experience to share with the whole sorority.” So, even though our time management skills have to be on par, in the end the reward of the sisterhood is worth it. 

Also, when first joining and trying to get to know everyone, remember, communication is key! Whether it’s for finding rides to meetings, dates and places for events, or even just someone to go to lunch with, talking to your pledge class is really important. Even though I can feel my phone’s life die in my hand, I gotta admit, the GroupMe’s can be pretty helpful and really amusing. I, for one, love my PC’s GroupMe. I’m not what happens in all of your’s but not only is mine filled with all the important information I need but it’s also the place I can get a good laugh during the day. The way I see my group me is like that funny group message text between you and your friends in high school. I’m also pretty sure that if it wasn’t for the GroupMe, I wouldn’t be as close to the girls as I am. 

I hope you all are ready to meet all the new babies on the greek block because we’re all ready for you!