I was absolutely stoked to live in my sorority house this school year. All summer I had been looking forward to living with my friends and becoming even closer. Growing friendships and making new ones is hard when you only see people for certain events, but to my surprise, it can be even harder when you live with a group of college women.
1. You still share a room
Just when you thought that sharing your living space was over, think again. Your living space is something that should be respected and taken care of because it is one of our most vulnerable areas as people. But, when you live with two other people in a tiny room and share a house with 32 others, your room is never really as neat.
2. Nothing is really your own
What I mean by this is that everything in the house is shared, AND everyone has responsibilities. More often than not, someone is in my room that doesn't actually live in my room. People come in and out of my room like crazy, even at 8 a.m. Crazy, right?
3. Things go missing quite often
I don't mean things get stolen, but some girls have a tendency to take things without asking. It leaves you asking yourself where your stuff keeps going. I have one friend that comes in my room every time she has to go somewhere and asks me and my roommates the same thing every time, "Can I borrow this?"
4. Chores
Um, yeah, this is probably the worst part of living in the house. I don't think I realized that we had chores when I decided to live in, but they're a pain in the butt. They're not hard chores at all, but if you forget to do one, you get fined. Yes, fined. Now you understand why I constantly complain about them.
5. Hosting every event at the house
Like most sorority houses, a majority of the chapter's events are held at the house. The only reason it sucks is that over 100 people are in the house during these events, so it gets very crowded quickly. And crowded also means messy. People don't care that they make a mess. And, who ends up having to clean it up? The live-ins.
6. Chef B
Now onto some positives: Chef B. He is our chef, and he makes some of the best food ever. We get a menu of what he is making for the whole week as well as a suggestion sheet, which us live-ins use quite a bit. His food is quite a step-up from dining hall food.
7. Having an actual bathroom
This sounds kind of weird. Living in the dorms meant using a communal bathroom, which is also the same case when you live in a sorority house, except it's much nicer. Our house bathroom had been newly redone with three showers and three toilets — this is the closest to feeling at home.
8. Sleepovers
Being able to have a sleepover with my best friends every night will never get old. Some nights aren't as chatty as others, but I wouldn't want to share a bunk bed with anyone else.
9. Living in a house, not a dorm
While our house gets dirty fairly easily, I'd rather Swiffer the floors every day than have to live in the dorms again. We have a formal dining space for eating, a serving room for getting our food, and a rec room for hanging out and watch TV with everyone.
10. Being around everyone 24/7
It can get really annoying sometimes, but I think, to make your sorority experience a truly special one, you have to live in the house at one point. I've made so many new friendships with people I thought I would never talk to.
Bottom line is that living in the house can really suck sometimes, but it's also one of the best experiences I've been able to have. I am very excited to live in my own apartment next year and have my own living space. If you ask me, to truly appreciate the people you surround yourself within your sorority, you have to live with them!
