Coming into college as a freshman, I was scared. I had never been away from home before--not even to sleep away camp. The fact that I was also moving roughly six and a half hours away to attend school didn’t help ease my anxieties either. I was worried about things that any typical college freshman worries about: Will I make friends? Will I like the school? Will I be homesick? Will I like dorm life?

I never really thought about Going Greek. My friends and relatives used to ask me if I was thinking about joining a sorority, and I would immediately shoot back with “of course not!” I was too caught up in the stereotypes of Greek life. It is safe to say that sororities and fraternities have definitely gotten a bad rap. My perception of “sorority girls” came from movies such as Legally Blonde, which made me discouraged because I knew that I would never fit in.

However, once I got to school and started seeing sorority girls on campus, my perceptions of greek life started to change. I didn’t see perfect girls that resembled Blake Lively. What I saw instead were normal, sweet looking girls that reminded me of myself and the friends I loved to hang out with. I used to see groups of girls sitting and laughing at lunch in their letters, and I began to think, “I want that!” I started to attend more information sessions, and by winter break, I had decided I wanted to rush.

It wasn’t until I actually joined my sorority that I realized how false the perceptions and stereotypes truly were. As soon as I joined, I was made to feel like I belonged. I immediately had a support group full of girls that I never even knew existed; girls that I wouldn’t have met if I hadn’t gone Greek.

So many people think that you “buy your friends” when you join a sorority, which is a statement that couldn’t be any more false. I have grown close to girls in my sorority, but there are still girls that I would love to get to know better. Before Going Greek I was searching for a place to belong, and it wasn't until after I joined that I really felt like I had a home away from home and a support group that I could count on to be there for me whenever I needed them.

It’s the little things such as waving from across campus or spontaneous lunch dates that make you feel like you belong. I can’t go anywhere on campus without running into one of my sisters. It is so comforting to always know that they are always there. Even if I go days without talking to some of them, as soon as I see them, we pick up as if we never even left off. It is truly an indescribable experience.

I know that through my sorority, I have made lifelong friends. Friends that I am connected through not only by sisterhood, but by our shared interests and passions in life. The gut-wrenching laughter until we cry and the endless hours spent talking about everything from that cute boy we saw on campus to what we aspire to be in life are just some of the things I am thankful for. Going Greek has truly given me a home that I miss when I am gone, and one that I look forward to coming back to.