Growing up, I had always been a girly girl. My mom and I are super close, so we’d often go out, get our nails done together and go on endless trips to the mall. As I got older, I saw horror stories about sororities and parody movies about sorority girls, so it never occurred to me when I started going to college to join one. My school is relatively small, and we only have two sororities. I was interested in neither. It wasn’t until now, my second semester of sophomore year, that the Greek life appealed to me.

To be completely honest, I didn’t even want to go through the recruitment process; I actually didn’t even want to join. I actually used to make fun of sorority girls, saying that they were super stuck up and had annoyingly perfect hair. Two of my coworkers had begged me to come out for recruitment in the fall, and I just never showed up because Netflix. However, spring semester started, and I had worked with them everyday over winter break so I didn’t have an excuse not to come. Not to mention, my best friend blew up my phone begging me to come.

I went to the information session the first night where they talked about dues, philanthropy and sisterhood. The sisterhood thing didn’t really strike my attention because I have the most amazing friends, and I didn’t need anymore (I honestly said this like a zillion times).

In the beginning I was able to socialize with a lot of different sisters, and I realized: These girls were seriously smart and ambitious. One girl was a senior nursing major and told me about how she helped educate the chapter about health and wellness. Another girl told me about how she was an education major, was a cheer coach and loved working with children! After speaking with them, they played a video of picture perfect girls all laughing and smiling and throwing glitter, and it was nicely made. All I could think of is, “If I join, will I have to throw glitter? Because that stuff gets everywhere and is impossible to get out."

Anyway, something that interested me was the philanthropy work they did. These girls not only did relay for life, but they did things like go to firehouses on Halloween to hand out candy, surprised soldiers with welcoming signs at the airport and went to the police station to bring food to officers. It was then I realized that maybe sororities had a little more to offer than just pretty girls and partying.

The next few gatherings, I realized that some of the prospective new members weren’t there anymore. Then I realized that it was starting to get real. I still wasn’t 100 percent sure if I even wanted to join. I would go to the meet-and-greets and feel great, but when I got home, I just didn’t care about it. I was honestly secretly hoping that during their selection process I wouldn’t make the cut because I couldn’t make the decision myself, but they never cut me. It was a few days after an open meeting, when I got an email from a sister telling me that I was invited to a ceremony, and I thought, “Oh, maybe they’ll tell me I’m not in." They didn’t. I went home, and I knew that I was in too deep. They weren’t going to cut me, but for some reason, I just couldn’t quit.

One Saturday, my school had a big event for potential students, and I had to work. The sorority had an event, though. Anyone who knows me knows that if I make a prior commitment to something, I stick to it no matter what. So I went to work and told the sorority I’d be late, but they had already gotten to my boss and asked if I could leave early (stalkerish, I know). So I leave early, and my coworker in the sorority keeps texting me to tell her when I’m close. I just thought she was being totally weird. When I walked in, I saw three sisters just waiting for me, and I was super scared because I thought this was the time they were going to tell me I wasn’t in. I had just left work early for nothing! Anyway, I see this door, and it has writing on it. I totally can’t remember because I was super nervous. One of the sisters starts reading something, and I just have no clue what she’s saying because I’m confused.

Finally, they open the door, and all these girls wearing the cutest shirts are smiling and hugging me (anyone who knows me, knows I’m not about that hug life). I was so confused, but long story short, it was Bid Day. I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to be in a sorority.

Fast-forward a week, I have to put five names down of my Big. I literally had no clue who I was going to put down. I talked to my amazing Sister Development head, and she told me to "just put people you met." Then my now Big walked in and said “just put someone down, you’ll like them, and if you don’t, they don’t have to be your best friend." So I put her down as my #1 because it definitely wasn’t the right thing to say, but it was definitely something that I would’ve said. We had never talked throughout the entire recruitment process, and I only knew her because I had a class with her my first semester of college. I put her down.

Two days later, I get a text from an anonymous number claiming she was my Big, and she asked who I thought she was. I guessed it right away; I’m a genius. Since I called her out on the first day, we didn’t talk often because she still tried to stay anonymous. At this point, I didn’t really know if I wanted to be in the sorority because my own big didn’t even want to talk to me, and that’s kind of a bummer.

Thus, came Sapphire Sister Week, which changed my life forever. Sapphire Sister Week is literally a week that your anonymous Big spoils you with presents each day, and it’s pretty amazing. I knew that I belonged when I went to pick up my gift, and I see a canvas with a Beyoncé lyric (anyone who knows me, knows that Beyoncé is my absolute… I mean she’s Beyoncé). That night, I hung that canvas up, along with my other canvases with my sorority name on my wall. I was all of a sudden super excited because somehow this person who never talked to me knew what I liked, and this made me super excited for the Big, Little Reveal.

For our reveal, we had to write a letter to our big and read it aloud before finding out who she was. When I read my letter, I was so happy and filled with hope. Once I was finished, I scanned the line of girls to see which one could be my Big. When she stepped out of line, it was the greatest feeling knowing that she was now my big sister; it was so great that I actually hugged her! After the reveal, I was able to meet our “family tree” that consisted of a Grandbig and a Great Grandbig. I was never more excited to start this new journey and get to know these amazing people. It was when I found by Big, when I truly knew that I belonged.

Honestly, I have learned so much about myself joining this sorority, and I haven’t been in it for more than two months. If you don’t think a sorority is for you (which I didn’t either), it is. It’s so much more than partying or whatever you think it may be. The sisters you meet are going to be the most amazing people you’ll ever come across. Some girls are your stereotypical “sorority girl,” but there is so much more to them than that. Chances are, they believe in you more than you believe in yourself.