Nearly every fraternity began with a different purpose; whether it was to reunite the North and the South after the Civil War or to band together students with a common love for learning. Regardless of the reason behind the fraternity’s inception, the core concept remained the same; to instill a sense of brotherhood between men.
My high school was extremely small for a public high school in Texas, with only 115 students in my graduating class, with nearly 70 of those students being girls. As a result, the group of friends that I survived and experienced high school with, were exceptionally close-knit. We knew each other’s birthdays, thoughts, fears, hopes and dreams, along with everything else one can know about another. We constantly finished each other’s sentences and jokes, and if one of my friends was messing with another, we joined in seamlessly. We seemed to communicate almost instantly, and when faced with a common goal or purpose, nothing could stop us. The knowledge that I’d lay my life down for any of the men in my friend group and that they would do the same for me, is one of the most reassuring feelings in the world.
As a friend group we had our drama, our differences, and our disagreements; but the love that we had for each other always prevailed. However, high school ended, and I found myself in a strange new place with only one of my aforementioned group. And I was lost. We were lost. How can you expect to find a similar group of people in a sea of faces? In high school I never imagined myself as a “frat guy.” In college, in a fraternity, I still do not consider myself a “frat guy.” The word fraternity and all of its variations have grown to be associated with a type of negative connotation to most independent people, including myself in the past. However, whatever poor reputation fraternities have been branded with does not accurately represent my experiences.
I came into college looking for a new family, not to necessarily replace my old one, but to provide me with the support and love I knew I’d need to survive this hectic time. I found this in my fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega. Knowing that I have a group of men to help guide me in whatever way I might need has helped me immensely. Not only has it given me a sense of family again, but it has given me a sense of purpose other than school. I constantly find myself with the desire to do whatever it takes to help out my brothers, and I know that they feel the same way. This sense of brotherhood isn’t bought, it isn’t created through partying, it’s formed when you live and breathe a set of principles with other people. If you find yourself feeling lost in your massive new home, whether its because you don’t know what you want to do with your life or merely because you’re literally lost, I’d highly recommend going out for either a fraternity or sorority. Your new family members will love you unconditionally as long as you do the same for them. They will provide you with all the tools you need to succeed, and offer you guidance every step of the way. I found myself pursuing a spot in a fraternity nearly by accident, and while I was extremely anxious about it at first, I know now that there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
