I love sharing my story about why I joined a sorority. A lot of other women join for the same reason and a lot of women, at least at the very beginning of the sorority recruitment process, have no idea what they are getting themselves into. I was clueless and barely knew the proper way to put heat in my hair.

I signed up for formal recruitment at my school in the fall of 2014; the beginning of my sophomore year. With just a few minutes to spare before the registration period was over, I filled out the online application and crossed my fingers that the server wouldn’t cash. Of course if it had, it would’ve been a sign to try again some other time or even not at all. (I’m all about the universe sending down signs to lead you in the right direction.) Lucky for me, my application went through and I was officially a potential new member for the eight College Panhellenic Council (CPC) organizations at my school. The next thing on my agenda was to pick out my outfits for the next four days of talking about myself and trying to find my home away from home.

I decided to go out for recruitment because I did absolutely nothing my freshman year of college. I had a boyfriend and spent most of my time with him and when I wasn’t, I spent most of my time watching Parks and Recreation on Netflix. I slept on the bottom bunk in my dorm, was able to go to the bathroom in a communal restroom, and I was finally doing my own laundry. I was an adult and I had my life together, never could I have imagined something greater: a better college experience for myself. Plus, one of my best friends was going through recruitment and I thought it could be something fun to do together. And now we’re sisters, so it’s even better.

Formal recruitment at my school is a system and operates on a skillfully, mapped-out time table. You go into a room, you talk for however long the round is, you exit, and you move on to another room, another organization. Your days start and end with blistered ankles, sore throats, and sweaty everything’s. And that’s on the potential new member side and the sister side. You repeat yourself too many times to count and you smile through all the physical pain. Formal recruitment is a long process, but it flies by and it pays off in the long run.

I didn’t know what organization I wanted to be a part of at my school. Honestly, I didn’t really even know what organizations were even at my school. I went into recruitment not knowing anything about any sorority and for me, I think that’s the right way to go into recruitment. A handful of women who go through recruitment know exactly which organization they want to be a part of and they know exactly what organization they don’t want to be a part of. Formal recruitment days dwindle. You start with meeting all the organizations and after each day, you write down your top organizations and they write down their top potential new members. All the numbers go into a computer and it spits out the results, your schedule for the next day. Some women who want to be in a specific organization don’t always get matched up with their dream sorority. This causes a lot of heartache and a lot of tears. Going into recruitment with an open-mind is the only way to go into it. I enjoyed meeting women in every organization and I had awesome conversations with each and every one of them. To this day I still remember who I spoke to in every room during my recruitment process.

You attract who you show to the world and you are placed in an organization that represents who you are and what you believe in. Even if you might not see it at first, you have to trust the formal recruitment system and you must be open to trying new things. That’s exactly what I did. I didn’t care what happened for me during recruitment. I wasn’t going to lose anything, I knew there was only something to gain. Joining a sorority helped me with my time management skills and staying busy has kept me more organized. Most Greek organizations, sorority and fraternity, have officers on an academic team. They monitor the grades of individuals and the organization as a whole, aiming to improve GPA’s and overall chapter academic excellence. You wouldn’t think that by looking at Greek organizations we’re focused on academics, but that’s the only reason why we’re at college in the first place. “College graduation rates are 20% higher among Greeks than non-Greeks” (Glass). Being a part of an organization is an addition to your life. It’s an issue only when it gets to the point of consuming your life.

Being a part of a sorority really changed my perspective of college life. I have made the greatest of friends and have found mentors I know will stay by my side forever. If I hadn’t joined I would’ve probably never met these women. By joining a sorority I made a lifelong promise and because of that, I know I have lifelong friends. I have academic support, social support -- endless support. I give back to my community and because of that, I’m a better person than I was before I joined. I’ve learned so much about myself and about other people that I’ve realized everyone has the potential for greatness. I’ve made memories I know I won’t forget, even if I tried to. And the one only hesitation that I had when joining a sorority was that I wouldn’t have enough time to enjoy it. But trust me when I say, you’re going to want to make the time.

Glass, Nicole. "Examining the Benefits of Greek Life." USA TODAY College. N.p., 08 May 2012. Web. 15 July 2016. .