Sororities can be a great way to make friends and make sure you are on top of your schoolwork. However, I personally have never been interested in joining one. Plus, my college doesn’t have an option to live in a house with a sorority, so I don’t think I am missing out on too much of that experience. However, I have discovered over this year that I am actually getting a lot of similar if not the same benefits as a Little would from a Big with two of my sophomore friends.

Just a disclaimer, I should mention that I know very little about sororities so don’t hate me if I am not always right in my assumptions, but overall I think my image of what sororities do is pretty accurate.

First of all, a big portion of the responsibilities of Bigs on many college campuses is to be a good role model for their littles. My two friends are both incredibly involved in school. One of them encouraged me to begin writing for the Odyssey in the first place. She also writes for various other places, has two jobs, is an ambassador for a clothing line, and is crazy good at finding really good deals for free things on the internet. She also plays a sport and is a mentor in a program on campus. My other friend is incredibly involved musically. She is always either working in the band department or playing in a band. In addition, she finds time to hang out, and spend weekends working at our beloved summer camp. Both of these women have pushed me to join groups and apply to summer camp and do what I love. I can definitely say I would not be as involved in this community if it weren’t for them.

I believe that another responsibility for Bigs is to watch out for them. Both of these women have done this for me on many occasions. They have helped me when I was feeling stressed about schoolwork, they joined me when I was sitting alone eating dinner, and they invited me to various events both on campus and off. Plus, since one of them even lives in the same hometown as me, she always drives me home when we go home on the same weekend, AND she takes me with her whenever she goes on a target run (which is a lot).

Lastly, Bigs are supposed to be genuine friends to their Littles, and I can easily say that they are two of my best friends. Both of these women have made me feel comfortable at college and welcome, and they have been there for me when I was feeling homesick. We have had a ton of fun times together, and since we will be working together all summer, I can’t wait to get closer with them! Plus, since both of them have already worked there for a year, they can help me navigate and they will most likely continue their roles throughout the summer!

So thank you to those girlies, I don’t know what I would do without them. I hope they will continue to look out for me, because I will do my best to do the same for them.