Lately, there's been a lot of uncalled for negativity aimed at Greek life all over the internet. As a proud sister of Zeta Tau Alpha, it breaks my heart to see something I'm so passionate about torn down over and over again, especially by people who may not fully understand it. It's time to start painting Greek life in a more positive light.

1. "All they do is party."

As a whole, Greek life in America raises over $7 million annually for our philanthropies, combined. Maybe it's just me, but that figure seems like it'd impossible to reach if we were drunk all the time. How much money have you raised for your charity of choice this year?

2. "They all talk shit about each other."

If you've never vented about one of your friends to somebody else, you are a better person than most of us. Chapter meetings, fundraisers and many sisters living together results in a lot of time spent together, and it's only human to get on each other's nerves sometimes.

3. "They pay for their friends."

While it's true that we pay dues, they don't cover our friendships. Dues go towards housing for campuses that provide sorority houses, new member fees that allow us to initiate a new pledge class each semester, and other incidentals such as chapter badges and membership cards. Anybody with a gym membership pays a monthly fee too. Are you buying your friends at the gym? It's just as unrelated in Greek life.

4. "Recruitment is based on looks."

In my chapter alone, we've got women who sport 4.0 GPAs every single semester. We've got women who double as the captain of their sports teams as well as leaders within the sorority. A woman's intelligence, her ability to lead and her community service are the factors we use to determine who gets a bid. I know this because I was recruitment chair for my sorority, and the No. 1 thing each of my sisters looked for in potential new members was whether or not they'd do something to better our sorority. And if you don't believe me, tell Alicia Keyes, Carrie Underwood, Nancy Grace and Condoleezza Rice that they have nothing to offer besides their looks.

5. "You can't possibly love your big/little the second you meet them."

Here's the thing - we don't nor do we pretend to. Potential bigs and littles spend weeks getting to know each other, hanging out one on one as well as in groups, and genuinely forming a bond before ever actually becoming big & little. Have you ever made a friend you connected with instantly? That's what we look for in a big or a little. The relationship is just like any other friendship, and nobody outside of Greek life gets criticized for loving their friends.

6. "Everybody who's in Greek life hates everybody who isn't."

This couldn't be further from the truth. One of the biggest challenges in a sorority is recruitment. It's a series of long days filled with an irritable recruitment chair, the pressure of making a great first impression and sisters talking to literally hundreds of potential new members each day. And why do we recruit? To bring new faces into our sorority. To grow it, to better it, to keep it alive and strong. We don't hate you because you're a "GDI," and we'd love to have you join us. Check out recruitment at your school. I promise you'll believe me then.

8. "They all haze."

Hazing is a serious offense, and it is no longer tolerated on any college campuses anywhere. I have never agreed with hazing in any form nor would I subject myself to membership of an organization that tried to haze me. The rumors are out there, and it's your choice whether or not to believe that some organizations make their new members sleep in basements or chug bottles of hard liquor as fast as they can, but people who care about you won't force you to do those things. It is unfair to call hazing "just a part of Greek life" when organizations all over the country are revamping their new member programs - with the help of Nationals - every year.

9. "Sorority girls are all fake, that's how they get bids."

Every Greek organization has its own personality. During recruitment, a couple members from each sorority disaffiliate in order to help potential new members find exactly where they belong. There's no need to pretend to be someone you're not when there really is a perfect home for every girl who comes through recruitment. Not only are you free to think and act for yourself, but we encourage you to do so. Going Greek doesn't mean sacrificing who you are and adopting the same identity as everyone around you. In fact, it means the opposite. You're welcomed and celebrated for who you are, not stripped of it.

The moral of the story is, please stop bashing something you don't fully understand. Ignorance might be bliss, but knowledge is power.