If at any point during the summer before my freshman year of college, you would have told me that I would not only join a Greek house, but also be the president of the Chapter, I would have laughed and said that you were crazy. I didn't think going Greek was in the cards for me. After all, I most certainly wasn't a "sorority girl." But, as I get ready to start my senior year of college, I would go Greek again in a heartbeat.
That being said, here are the things I wish I would have known or understood from the beginning:
1. Being an independent is okay.
When I wasn't able to go through formal recruitment, I thought it was the end of the world. When your school is almost 70 percent Greek, you feel like everyone is in a sorority. I didn't join a sorority until the spring semester of my sophomore year. But, being an independent taught me who my real friends were. It made me find out who I was, who I wanted to be and what I wanted out of a sorority. It ultimately helped me make the best choice for me based on what I wanted to do and not because everyone else was doing it.
2. Don't join a house unless you absolutely love it.
One of the quotes that I absolutely love from "Sorority Wars" is, "You know your people when you meet them." When choosing a sorority, if you don't absolutely love it, don't join. You don't want to spend the rest of your time in college miserable, and as established above, being an independent isn't really all that bad.
3. Don't be afraid the check out the houses that aren't Panhellenic.
This is my not-so-shameless plug for the local sorority (read: my sorority) and the smaller Greek chapters that make up the other two councils on DePauw's campus. The truth is the Panhellenic sororities aren't a match for everyone. If you feel out of sorts with a Panhellenic sorority, look into the other Greek options before you cast aside Greek life entirely.
4. Don't let one negative experience with one person determine how you think or feel about a whole chapter, or worse, the entire Greek community.
And don't listen to stereotypes. One person does not a sorority make. The fact of the matter is a sorority consists of a lot of different personalities, and each sorority is different. Just because the one girl who was a jerk to you was in one sorority, it doesn't mean that the entire sorority is like that or that the entire Greek community is like that.
5. Make sure Greek life aligns with what you want out of your college experience.
Greek life takes up a lot of time. At a minimum, you have an hour for chapter. By the time you add in philanthropy, social and recruitment events, sorority schedules alone can fill a lot of time. Make sure that you have time for it. More importantly, as "Sorority Wars" also pointed out, "Whichever house you pick, make sure you like what they stand for. You're about to stand for it too." While stereotypes shouldn't just be blindly believed, there's a reason that they exist. Greek life shapes your college career, and you want to add to the overall experience and not overshadow it.
6. There's an instant bond, even with sisters that you're meeting for the first time.
One of the first experiences I had as a chapter president was some alumnae coming back to help out with an event. I felt like I had known each of them for several years instead of a few minutes. Even though they were part of the sorority seven years ago, they're still just like everyone in the sorority now.
7. Sisters are family.
I'd do anything for my sisters. I thought that sisterhood was a word for friendship. It is, but friendship is an understatement. I would do anything for any one of them, and I know that they always have my back. There's nothing better or more empowering than having a group of girls that are there to celebrate the good and get you through the bad.
