I'm going to be 100 percent transparent with you in this article. I never wanted to join a sorority. I was the girl who constantly said, "I don't need to pay for my friends," and believed every sorority stereotype and every movie about Greek life. I never pictured myself going to college and "rushing" a sorority. I was incredibly skeptical about sororities and refused to even entertain the idea of ever being in one. I refused to fall into the sorority girl mold. Well, here I am years later preaching how I think every girl who is considering signing up for formal recruitment at whatever college they are going to should take the leap and just do it.

I don't want to be cliché and talk about how it changed my life and how I made forever bonds to all my sisters because frankly, I hardly know most of my sisters yet. What I will tell you about is how joining my sorority made me grow as a woman. The lessons I have learned, and the lessons others have taught me.

I have only been in my sorority for barely a semester which might not seem like a long time but boy have I learned a heap about myself. Over the past five days, we have been working tirelessly for around eight hours a day preparing for the next round of girls going through recruitment. During these days I have learned so much about myself and the women I call my sisters. Through this extended process, we have discussed our values, what being in a sorority means to us and more. We did countless exercises and discussions to be prepared for the next four stressful (but fun) days.

I have discovered that these women all love each other unconditionally and only wish for the best out of each other. We push one another to be loud, proud, annoying, obnoxious, confident and authentically ourselves. We push each other to apply for that leadership position. We push each other to take that leap of faith that we may need one more shove for. And they are always there for us when we need them, no matter the time or day.

As exhausted as I am from the past five days and writing this on my only day off with four more intense days ahead of me, I can honestly say these women have made my naturally confident self even more confident. They have made me confident in my ability to carry on a deeper than surface level conversation, to be myself in front of strangers and that it is OK to open up to others even though I am as closed off as a clamshell. There is so much more I have learned and have yet to learn.

I look forward to my journey and future with Phi Mu and hope that if someone who was a skeptical as me about sororities was reading this, they take away at least one thing: you never truly understand the meaning of a sorority to someone until you are immersed in it yourself. So, before you go judging the girl crossing the street in her shirt with Greek letters on it, just remember that it goes deeper than what you see on TV.