You’ve just become a part of Greek life at Georgia Tech.
You’ve endured the long days (or nights) of rush, battling against awkward
silences and small talk. You’ve gotten a bid, and you’re ready to experience
the awesome thing that is sorority and fraternity life. For the first few days,
you knew exactly what to expect: Greek peer education on Wednesday, Run of the
Roses on Thursday, meal plan all week.
Now that things have settled down a
bit, you’ve probably found yourself wondering what now? You’re still a
little uncomfortable walking into your house. You’re still afraid that you’ll
never learn everyone’s name. You’re still running into people on the street
that you’ve never seen before, but you soon discover that they’re part of your
organization. Now is the time that you get to figure out how you want to
benefit from your organization as a whole, and here are five tips to make it a
little easier.
1.
Introduce yourself!This may seem like a
no-brainer, but it really is so important. Chances are that the guy you’re
sitting next to at lunch, or the girl you just ran into in the hallway, doesn’t
know you either, so it really doesn’t hurt to tell them who you are. Even if
you’ve met them before, they’ll be happy that you took the initiative to
talk to them.
2. Get to
know the people in your pledge class. Your pledge
class/member class/associate member class is like your immediate family. These
are the people in the same stage of life as you, and some of them will probably
become your best friends. These are the people who you will do life with for
the next four years. They are the people you will call on Thursday nights when you want
to go out, the people you’ll dress up with for mixers, the people you want to
talk to when something awesome happens. These are the people who will grow and
change alongside you in college, and they’re such an important part of your
Greek experience.
3. Get to
know the older brothers/sisters. I know this
contradicts number two, but it’s just as important. While your pledge class is made up
of the people you will grow up with, the older members of your chapter are the
people you will grow up to be. These
are the people you will look up to, the people who will drive you to Taco Bell
when you don’t have a car, the people who would love to get to know you if you
simply reach out to them. After all, they’ve been a huge part of selecting you
for their chapter. They see potential in you that you haven’t even begun to
understand, yet. Just two or three years ago, they were right
where you are now, and look how far they’ve come!
4. Pay
attention to all parts of your organization, not just the social aspects.
As a new
member of a Greek organization, it’s so easy to get swept away in going out on
weekdays, taking people to date nights, and looking forward to an off-campus
semiformal. And it’s completely fine, if the social aspect is your favorite part
of your fraternity or sorority. But don’t forget that there are so many other
things about Greek life. Chapter may seem boring, but it’s held for a reason
and it’s one of the only times that your entire organization will be in the
same room. Intramurals may be scheduled at inconvenient times, but they’re a
place where you can really bond with the people on your team. Service hours may
be mandatory, but it’s a good way to discover your passions. So get involved in
things like this -- you’ll be surprised at what you find.
5. You only
have four years; make the most of it! What better time than now to do things that you never thought you
could. Get involved in something that an older member is a part of, just
because they tell you to. Go to a random event on campus with people in your
organization. Hang out at the house as much as possible. Eat meals with people
you don’t know that well. Say yes when your brothers and sisters ask you to do
something crazy and spontaneous. Take
weekend trips to away football games. You only have so much time, and it’s time
that you should enjoy with the men and women in an organization that you chose
to be a part of. I hope that you can look back on Georgia Tech Greek life and
know that you made the most of it.
