When I came to college, joining a sorority was the last thing in my head. I did not want to be a part of one because of the hazing, the negative connotations that come with it and I was not a blonde with blue eyes with a perfect body. I would never fit the image of being a sorority sister. I had zero desire to be a part of Greek Life. So when did my image change?

I met a sister and she had told me how much her college experience changed after joining her sorority. She had told me to at least go out for recruitment. It would not hurt me but only further help me to make my decision. I then started to hang out with frat brothers more so too. They all seemed so close, always hanging out together and they were there for one another. The more I talked to people in Greek Life the more I saw the real reasons to why people join frats and sororities. Around campus, sisters were always together, wearing their letters. No matter where you went, there was a jacket with someone’s letters on it that drew in a crowd of the Greek Life family.

In my school, Greek Life is small. Montclair State is a large commuter based school so most people go home after classes rather than sticking around until 8:30 at night to hang out with some people who share letters. That is not to say that commuters are not in Greek Life, but it is an extra stretch if you are a commuter.

So as I built up a newer, different image of Greek Life, I decided to go through formal recruitment for National Panhellenic Conference sororities. At Montclair State, that consisted of Delta Phi Epsilon, Sigma Delta Tau, Sigma Sigma Sigma and Phi Sigma Sigma. (We are adding a Theta Phi Alpha chapter) I learned throughout the recruitment that there is so much more to Greek Life than people think. There are families that love each other, sisters that are connected through their letters. I saw how they interacted with each other and how close they were and I knew it was something I wanted.

I got my bid from the lovely Tri Sigma. I have been going through my Arc member process for about three weeks now and I have already seen a new outlook on Greek Life. I have not gone through a hazing process, sisters do not drink all day long like society thinks, there are amazing community service opportunities, Bigs and Littles are way more special than they seem to be from the outside, there is an amazing sense of family among the older sisters, and there is a sense of belonging. There is a place for everyone and you end up in the home you are supposed to.

I joined Greek Life because I wanted to become more involved in my community. I wanted to meet people outside my major since I live in a music door and I am music major. I wanted to find a home for me on my campus. Sure, I had a home in music but sometimes that is the thing causing me the most stress and it begins to lose its feeling of home. I wanted to meet women like me who understood life’s struggles, who would help me through the hard parts of college and life. I joined Greek Life to find my best friends that in years to come would sit in my wedding party, who I would grow to love for years and years. I joined Greek Life to have people to share my weekends with and who motivate me to do better and be the best person I can be. I joined Tri Sigma to help those in need, to work towards our philanthropies in order to change someone’s world. I joined Greek Life not for the partying and for the status and for the image. I joined it for the all the opposite reasons.

Greek Life is more than frat parties, sorority squats, girls who are all “drop dead gorgeous” with “perfect” bodies, and being better than everyone not in Greek Life. It is actually everything opposite of that. Greek Life is about family, a sense of unity, a home to feel like you can be yourself, helping others in need who need the help most, being a good person and contributing to society in a positive way. I joined Greek Life to be a part of that. After three weeks I know that I made the right choice and all of this is clear to me without being here that long. There is nothing like Greek Life and I made the best choice for myself by joining. It never seemed to be in my cards, but I was so wrong at first. Now I found my home.