There aren't many people who can say they've joined more than one Greek organization during their college years. Many people who are in one don't join a second for many reasons. At my college, it's possible to join more than one organization - one local and one national. For those of you who aren't sure what I'm meaning, a local Greek organization is a group that is unique to your school, meaning you could go anywhere else and not find another chapter of that specific Greek organization. You may find an organization with the same letters, but there is no affiliation between the two. A national Greek organization is a group that has multiple chapters across multiple schools in the country.
Last year, I joined the national Greek organization Sigma Alpha Iota. This April, we had what is called a Province Day, where we have to opportunity to meet other sisters from other chapters that are in our province. The most recent sister I met was someone my college had invited to be a guest conductor for our annual Honors Wind Ensemble. It's possible for me to travel the country and even the world and find someone that I can call a sister.
So, why did I join a second organization?
Local Greek organizations have their charm as well. Even in the few weeks that have gone by with the pledging process, I have already run into and heard from alumnae members of this organization. There's a more personal relation with these ladies because we have all been in the same place at one moment of time or another. It's like that with my chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, but at the same time, it's different. The environment between the organizations is different.
One of the main reasons I decided to join a second organization is to expand the type of friendships I have. Because at heart I am a musician, it's easy for me to become friends with the girls of SAI. Before going to an SAI rush party, I was already friends with a majority of the members of the group. With the local sorority Lambda Sigma Phi, that was a different story. I didn't have much in common with those girls, so I had thought. It turns out that I had way more in common with them - I just hadn't opened myself up to making friends with them. Joining a second Greek organization has taught me that you can become friends with just about anyone if you open yourself up to the possibility of a friendship.
I'm proud to be able to call both the Lambdas and Sigma Alpha Iota girls my sisters. I'm thankful for the opportunity to have more than one sisterhood to belong to. If you have the chance to join a second Greek organization, I highly recommend it. Most people have more than one place they fit in at.
