There are so many negative connotations behind Greek life. This is understandable considering how the media portrays the women as being ditzy and dumb with the only priorities being boys and makeup, and how they portray the males as female-hungry party boys with buttoned-up shirts and backwards hats. The news always brings light to the stories of the person dying from alcohol intoxication at a Greek party or someone wearing their letters and doing something majorly stupid. Those incidents make the entire Greek system look negative and a waste of time. Yes, there are some Greek members who are like that, but the truth is, the majority of us aren't.

Greek life at Gustavus is a lot different than Greek life at a lot of other campuses. First, we don't allow any freshmen to bid so they can get to know the members and the chapters better. Secondly, we are waaaaayyy smaller than a lot of other chapters at different colleges. Thirdly, the majority of our chapters are local chapters which mean we don't have to report to a national board, just the Inter-Greek Senate at Gustavus. The list could go on and on about how different we are from other chapters around the nation.

I'm a sorority girl, but I'm not paying for friends. Yes, there are dues that we have to pay. So what? A lot of other organizations (sports, clubs, etc) have a fee that you have to pay for various reasons. Money does not buy me friendship. Yes, I probably wouldn't be as close to a few sisters or have met them had it not been for our sorority, but the bonds were formed over the mutual love of the same organization, not because both of us are able to pay $50.

I'm a sorority girl, but I'm not dumb. We all made it to college (duh) and have a wide variety of majors and minors. We all have to maintain a certain GPA to pledge and keep our spot within the chapter. If anything, we motivate each other to study hard and challenge each other to do our best. Another thing the Inter-Greek Senate holds each semester is an All-Greek study night to help everyone study for finals.

I'm a sorority girl, but I don't only care about my looks. Yes, looking presentable is necessary during some occasions, but I honestly would rather lounge around in my athletic shorts than wear jeans any day. A day where I don't have to put on a full face of makeup is a great day.

I'm a sorority girl, but I'm not a girly girl. Sometimes wearing a sundress to class is nice because matching a shirt and a pair of shorts is just too much work. Sometimes wearing sweatpants is nice because who actually likes to do laundry (or has the time to)? I know a bunch of sorority women that are part of sports (go rugby!) and other extracurricular activities that don't include DIY'ing their entire room.

I'm a sorority girl, but I'm not exclusive. Everyone has their usual friend group that they hang out with more often than other groups. Never once have I been ignored or felt belittled for talking to someone because I'm not in their immediate friend group. Never once have I not interacted with anyone because they weren't part of a Greek chapter.

I'm a sorority girl, but I'm not an excessive partier. Yes, college is one big party and yes we do have Greek socials. Some people party harder than others, but just because I'm in Greek life, it doesn't mean I party hard or more than anyone else in college. Being social is important, but I know when I have time to go out and when I don't.

Honestly, this list could be infinite with the things that sorority girls aren't. Some of us may be more girly or care about our looks more than others. Some of us look damn fine taking pictures down by the sign with our sisters. That's fine. We all don't fit the mold that Hollywood put out there for us, and I'm not even sorry about it one bit. *mic drop*