Dear Greek life hater,

I am writing this letter not to show my anger towards you for not agreeing with sororities or fraternities, but I am trying to express my opinion to you, because I was in your shoes before. When I entered college my freshman year, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with Greek life. I thought it was a waste of time and a way of buying your friends. I do not blame you for thinking this, but I blame the way that Greeks are portrayed.

The first thing that I want to tell you is that I never saw myself in a sorority, but I am so glad that my roommate talked me into going through recruitment. Even after I paid my recruitment fee (which covered a t-shirt and additional activities), I still wanted to back out. I was afraid that I would be laughed at for even walking into the room on the first day, since I have long hair that can be compared to a lion's mane, I carry I satchel with fringe, and I wear a diamond peace sign necklace every day.

I immediately lost all despair once I walked into the room. I chatted with each sorority for 45 minutes, and there was not a single one that made me feel out of place. Every single sorority was diverse, there were some preppy girls, some "hippie" girls- they were not all bleach blondes with perfectly straight hair.

I ended up joining Chi Omega, and looking back, I cannot believe I waited so long to join. Although I am a junior and have two years left, I still wish I was able to be in it all four years of college. I immediately felt loved. Bid day was all about the new members, and they treated us like royalty. I was given a giant gift bag filled with Chi Omega gear, from sunglasses to stationary. We had a new member retreat, where we had team bonding activities to get to know each other better. And don't get me started about big-little reveal. I was given giant amounts of gifts each day for a week, and was surprised each day when trying to guess who my big was.

With all of the amazing things that I have received, I realized that the dues that sororities pay for are not for "buying your friends." They allow the sorority to be able to do fun activities and get each other gifts. Without the dues, we would not be able to host events for our philanthropy, get our pins and badges (which are made our of real silver/gold, so those alone take up a portion of the dues), and simply have cute memories.

Aside from the dues, we are all genuine to each other. We are not fake friends because we all are in the same sorority. We were given a bid for a reason, and that is because we all have the personality that fits in with the sorority. We have different personalities and lifestyles, but ultimately we were chosen because the recruitment team saw us as a Chi Omega. I love everyone in Chi Omega to death, and I never would think about having to be fake to a member, because there is no need.

And as far as academics goes, we do care about grades, despite how we are portrayed. We all have GPA requirements and we will be punished for not meeting them. It is not something that is taken lightly, and often we will not be allowed to participate in events if we do not meet grades.

We have a philanthropy, which is an organization that we support. My chapter's philanthropy is "Susan G Komen" and "Make a Wish." We work hard to support our philanthropy, and it gives us opportunities for community service and bettering the world.

Being in a sorority is not about "being popular" (because frankly, I do not see myself as popular, I see myself as a normal regular college student). Being in a sorority is about having a support system; it is about having someone that you can call late at night when you had a bad day, it is about always having someone to go to lunch or dinner with, it is about never feeling lonely and knowing that there is always going to be someone there for you. It is about enjoying weekends and going shopping or petting puppies, it is about having someone to spend in the library with and cry over exams together. Being in a sorority is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me, and I wish that I knew the truth about sorority life sooner.

Thank you for reading this, I hope that you have a little bit more respect for us.

Alexa