I came to college my freshman year, I was the only person at my university (that I knew of) from my high school. I was over two hours away from home, and all of my best friends were scattered across different states. I didn’t get along with my roommate, I worked too much to go to any club activities other than marching band, and I didn’t make many friends. By the time my sophomore year came around, I was ready for a change. I started taking a medication for depression, I tried my best to stay positive and mentally prepared for the school year, and I decided I would try something new.

So, I started an internship that I now love, and got to meet new people. I began a leadership role in my marching band and became more active with its members. I began writing for the school’s newspaper, as a low time-commitment way of getting myself out there. I get along really well with my roommate and have met new people through her. However, while all of this is great, the most important thing I’ve done this year is going through sorority recruitment.
Now, a year ago, if you’d told me that I would be in a sorority, I may have laughed. At the start of this semester, a good friend of mine asked me to go through formal recruitment with her, and I was hesitant, but considering where I was at my freshman year, I didn’t have much to lose. So, I signed up with the mindset of “The most that’s going to happen is I meet new people”. As recruitment grew nearer, though, I became more and more excited for it, and ready to start- still, with no commitment in mind. The parties went on, and I got invited back to some, and I realized that being in a sorority is exactly what I needed at this point in my life.

One of the most important things that I would tell my freshman year self is that opening up and making friends makes life so much better. I wish I had learned this lesson earlier in my college career, but I am so happy that I came around to the idea of being myself around others. Another important thing I would tell myself last year is that the Greek life stereotypes that I knew from movies like American Pie or House Bunny are, at least at my university, completely and totally wrong. I found myself inspired by these amazing women that I was getting to know, and I’m now proud to be a part of them. Going through formal sorority recruitment was the best thing I’ve done in my college career so far, and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.