I see you. You're the girl in the library with your head down, studying your books intently. You're the political junkie full of opinions you don't believe we have. The girl with the edgy hair, the not-so-perfect smile, and the personality that's quirky and loud. You like movie trivia and snuggling up with a good book, not "parties and drinking until you black out." Believe me, I get it. We see you.

Last summer, the idea of joining a sorority when I went to college was the furthest thing from my mind. To tell you how against Greek life I was, I specifically looked for colleges that did not have any fraternities or sororities associated with them, when I was doing my applications. When I went on a date with a cute fraternity guy and he asked why I wasn't considering a sorority, I bluntly told him that "I'm not going to pay for friends." We ended the discussion with me saying I would "Look into it," with absolutely no intentions of ever doing that.

To be completely honest, I don’t like girls. Let me rephrase that – I get along with guys better. I have no patience for drama, I hate talking about clothes, and if you see me wearing makeup, it’s a good day. Before I joined a sorority, the girl friends I had were all at different schools and places in their lives, and none of them were ever anything close to the “sorority-type.” My guy friends were the ones I could be weird around and have heart-to-hearts with. I wondered what it would be like to have a huge set of friends I would call my sisters to talk to and hang out with.

In all honesty, my fall semester of freshman year, I was a total loner. I piggy-backed along with my roommate when she went out, but other than that, I kept to myself. I’d checked out the sororities on campus, but was still on the fence about it. It was my boyfriend (that cute fraternity boy who I had that date with over the summer), who finally told me, “Sherilyn, I really think you should join a sorority. It’ll give you such a great group of supportive sisters who will always have your back.” For the first time, I seriously considered joining one of these sororities. I’d always floated from group to group in high school, never having that set of friends who I was sure to hang with on the weekends. I wanted to feel like I belonged somewhere.

Going through recruitment was the best choice I ever made. I met so many girls from so many sororities, but eventually, I found my home with Delta Phi Epsilon. I went from the girl who “would never join a sorority,” to the girl who had joined one that I was passionate about in so many regards; I loved the girls, I believed in our motto (Esse Quam Videri – To Be Rather than to Seem to Be), and I was passionate about our philanthropies. When we ran into that room on Bid Day and were welcomed into open arms, I knew I made the right choice to Go Greek. When we sat in a circle and had a heart to heart that ended with me bawling and being hugged, I knew I had found a second family. These girls are my sisters. I would go so far to help each and every one of them. We are tied to a history and an organization that I have so much love and respect for, and I am so glad to have made those ties.

I am still the independent, quirky girl who loves to talk to literally anyone who might be passing me by. I am still outgoing and friendly, animated and sarcastic. My sorority changed me, there’s no doubt about that – but it has changed me so that I am now a better friend, a better sister, and a better person. My sorority empowers me to be the type of woman that I see every senior becoming, and every alumna has become. I want to grow up to be like my sisters, and to be my own successful woman and make them proud.

We are not all the same. We are all amazing in our own ways. We are future teachers and future nurses, future therapists and future surgeons. We are future businesswomen and future publicists, future lawyers and future politicians. We are all unique, but we share a common love for the sisterhood and the “Family that we choose.” Just as I felt a love for DPhiE when I accepted my bid and went through initiation, I also felt that DPhiE chose me. I am so glad I took the leap to “Go Greek,” because it has helped make me who I am today. The girl who “would never join a sorority” is so glad that she did.