Recently at Ohio Northern University, sorority recruitment was in full swing, and all the chapters were trying to find new girls to join their sisterhoods. Several days after it was all finished, and many girls found their new homes on campus, I came across an article titled Sorority Life, A Waste Of Time For The Below Average Girl. After reading it, I was feeling bad for the writer yet angry all at once. I felt bad because she did not get the great experience from recruitment that so many girls do, yet angry because she blamed false stereotypes and fake girls as reasons for not getting in.
On such a small campus with small chapters in Greek life, there is no such thing as stereotyping. To believe that one must be popular with pretty hair, a face covered in makeup with flawless skin, and a tall, skinny, blonde girl who always wears cute clothes is so far from the truth. I have never been popular nor do I want to be popular; however, the sororities don't care that I'm not an extremely outgoing person who isn't friends with every single person on campus. I do my hair a few times a week, but other days it is an absolute mess whether it's a braid, bun, or just all natural. I even went to a formal round with my hair still wet from track practice and in a bun right on top of my head, but no one even batted an eye at it. I rarely put on any makeup, and to be totally honest, I never wore makeup to any informal or formal rounds when I went through recruitment, but that didn't change anyone's opinion of me. My skin is not flawless, and I don't know a single person who has perfect skin either. I am not tall or short. I'm right in the middle - I guess you could say "average" -and I know many others in sororities who are also the same. I may be skinny in my waist, but I have pretty big thighs from running and lifting for the past five years of my life, yet I know many sisters whose body types are so much different than mine, either bigger or smaller, but all beautiful in their own way. I am not blonde, just like half of the other girls on the campus and in Greek life, yet I don't know of a single person who was turned away from any sorority because they did not have the "ideal" style, hair, or body type. Most days during the week, I am wearing athletic shorts or leggings, as are many girls in Greek life that I know, while some days I do put a little more effort into wearing nicer clothes, but absolutely none of that affects how or why I got into a sorority. For every stereotype that was addressed, I can think of so many sisters and friends of other chapters that do not fit them but still are a part of this great experience in Greek life.
I, too, was unsure at first of joining Greek life, but that did not make anyone feel that I should be turned away. I told the truth but still showed optimism and excitement for what would come if I decided to go through with it. I got into a sorority for opening up and showing my personality. I talked about my passions, goals, and dreams, and my hopes and expectations of becoming a sister. I was enthusiastic about the opportunities I could gain from it, and I never put on a fake show for the girls I met. I just wanted them to like me, for me, and if they didn't, that was okay, but I would go on to find my forever home.
I am sorry that you feel you are less than average and that is the reason you didn't get into a sorority. However, it is up to every person choose where to set the bar of what "average" is, and they choose to stay beneath it or rise above it. No one puts you there, and no one forces you to stay there. You decide for yourself, and you can always make yourself feel like you are way more, and you are well above average. I would never label myself, or anyone else, as average or below, because we are all special and unique, and we can all bring something to this world that no one else can. So, it was not because you are a "below average" woman or you did not "follow the rules" of sororities, or you did not fit the "stereotypical standards" of a sorority girl that you did not receive a bid from anyone, and I hope you will come to understand this truth and not hold such a hard feeling toward women who are in Greek Life, and maybe even one day, you'll decide to give it another shot.
