When you join a sorority, you know you’re going to learn a lot. You’ll learn what it means to be a member and your responsibilities within your chapter. You’ll learn serious things like ritual. You’ll also learn silly things like which place in the dining room is the best to sit so you’re not constantly getting bumped. While I appreciate all the big lessons my sorority has taught me, it’s often the smaller, sometimes unspoken, ones that mean the most.

I’ve learned that it’s important to lift each other up in all situations. It’s encouraging each other to be the best that we can be as a chapter but also as individuals. It’s pushing each other constantly, even when one person doesn’t always want the pushing. It’s not only thriving to do your best but helping others to do the same. College is tough, so it’s good to have girls surrounding you who try to lift you up instead of tear you down. However, this isn’t always easy because there will be problems when you have a large group of girls. To quote High School Musical, “We’re all in this together” and that’s something we’ll never forget.

I’ve learned that we should call each other in not out. Whenever one of our sisters has a problem we don’t call her out for what she’s doing wrong; instead, we offer her help and guidance. Calling a sister out isn’t going to fix the situation, but showing her that we want to be there for her and support her does. Whether that be offering to help a sister who is struggling in a class study to having a positive attitude during rush workshops to lift a tired sister’s spirit. If we mean to or not, calling someone out can make them feel even worse about the situation, but calling them in reminds them that they’re loved and supported no matter what. (Thank you to Caroline for this one!)

I’ve learned that it’s important that we have each other’s backs. A sorority can have any number of girls and one with 300+ girls, you can’t possibly know everyone on a personal level. You might not know all their names even. What does matter though is knowing that even if you don’t know one of your sisters well, she’s still your sister, which means she’d still there for you. I have sisters who I barely knew offering to give me rides to chapter every week and helping me curl my hair before a big philanthropy event. It’s not how you have your sister’s back that’s important, it just matters that you do.

I’ve learned that time doesn’t mean a thing because time can past but that sisterly bond never fades. There are girls in my sorority who I’ve known for only a few weeks, and they treat me like I’m their best friend. They have my back 100% simply because I’m their sister. Theta proves that a long history with a person doesn’t always equal a great friendship. Someone doesn’t have to know everything about you to love and care about you. I’ve learned that time can past but a sisterly bond never fades.

Lastly, I’ve learned to accept all my sisters as individuals. Being a diverse sorority can give you the label of a “catch all,” but I don’t see this as a bad thing. Rather I see it as a great thing because it means that we’re accepting of girls no matter who they are or where they come from. It’s these differences that make us so unique. My chapter isn’t full of cookie cutter typical sorority girls, and I like it that way. We don’t all look the same, we don’t all act the same, and we don’t always want all the same things and that’s OK because it’s our differences that make us stronger.