It is no secret that Mardi Gras is one of the biggest holidays celebrated down in New Orleans.The whole city completely shuts down and the only things that are open are the hospitals and police stations. Mardi Gras is also the only time of the year when the ground is more saturated with alcohol than rain.This mighty festival does not actually occur on the real Mardi Gras, but approximately two weeks before the holiday. It starts with a parade called Krewe du Vieux. Before the parade, many students pre-game on a bus while driving downtown. Others rent hotels so they can experience the totality. Once the parade starts, a few rules apply. First, you can never have too many beads, so get as many as you can. Secondly, never pick up beads from the ground. After that, anything goes.
All the fancy restaurants allow participants to enter, regardless of their outfits. One student recalls seeing an older woman dressed up wearing a fuzzy light up tiara and pounding drinks. This came as no surprise to the students who shook their heads and thought to themselves, “well it’s that time of year again.”
Some choose to go to the dog parade known as Barkus. One student recalled sitting down on a curb to enjoy the show when a woman, who introduced herself as Chow Chow, told them they could not sit there because a woman had been there minutes earlier and had claimed the spot. She then proceeded to mark the territory by peeing on the ground. It was only 2 p.m.
The next parade people attend is Krewe d’Etat, where many people bring liters of rum and coke to satisfy them throughout the entire parade. They continue to day drink while attempting to collect more beads. Finally, to end the weekend, they celebrate what is known as Lundi Gras where the tradition is to stay up until sunrise sipping on a tequila sunrise.
A much less extreme Mardi Gras that is, nonetheless, famous to most college students happens at St. Louis University. Many students wake up as early as 5 a.m. to start their drinking and they proceed to pre-game till 10 a.m. Then they load onto a bus and continue their celebration at an event known as Soulard.
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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Rebekah Lee
I was lonely. I was miserable. I was in need of sisterhood.
Fast forward to my second semester of college. A bad breakup put me into the mindset that I needed to put myself out there. I needed to develop relationships with people on campus. Through my new boyfriend, I became friends with girls and guys involved in Greek life and realized I had made a huge mistake. I then decided to rush the fall of my sophomore year.
I went through rush as a sophomore and even though it was anxiety inducing and stressful, I still found my home. I met wonderful girls who were on the same journey as me and now we share a Panhellenic bond that beats awkward orientation "ice breakers" any day.
Maybe you're interested in Greek life too. Maybe you're just as confused as I was last year. If you are still a little weary about the idea of Greek life, take a look into some truths about what it is like to be a part of a sorority!
We Learn How To Lead
As a member of a sorority, you are given the opportunity to run for a position in the chapter. This can run anywhere from the president to a small position. Regardless of the duties and actual job of the position, sisters who hold positions can learn a lot about themselves. Most importantly, they learn valuable leadership skills that they will take with them wherever they go in life.
We Have A Financial Obligation
I am not going to lie and say that we don't. But I promise that it's worth it. Contrary to popular belief, we don't buy our friends. Wow. Crazy, right? Our monthly dues go toward important activities such as mixers, socials, formal, semi-formal, and some chapters even use their dues to send sisters to leadership conferences and sisterhood retreats. We pay for our social outlets. And like the cliche goes, "If I had paid for my friends, I surely did not pay enough" Not only do our dues pay for our activities, but it teaches each sister to learn the valuable lesson of controlling her money and paying a monthly bill.
We Like To Eat (Together)
You will never sit alone at lunch ever again. Or at Chick-fil-A. Or Moe's. If there is one thing that we love more than sisterhood, it's food. Sisters who eat together, stay together.
We Support Each Other
Photo by Melissa Askew on UnsplashI know that whenever I need advice, support, or someone to be completely honest with me, I can turn to my sisters. There are times when we seriously mess up in life, but we can always count on our biggest supporters. If a sister calls me in her time of trouble, I am more than willing to step in and help her. We sit and listen to each other freak out about papers and tests. We cheer each other up. We are each other's lifeline, no matter what.
We Aren't Cookie Cutter Versions Of Each Other
This is a common stereotype about sorority women (maybe it's the matching Bid Day shirts). It's not true at all. In fact, we are a diverse group of women with our own talents and abilities. In fact, we strive to promote diversity in almost everything we do. Each of us brings something different to the chapter and it's not all t-shirt ideas. In one big group, sure, we may look all the same, but each girl is different in their own perfect way.
We Still Have Bad Days
Photo by Zhivko Minkov on UnsplashWe are still human and even though we are surrounded by women who love and support us, we still break. Joining a sorority is not a cure-all for every problem we may face in life. You as a rushee may experience a girl who was not being genuine with you during rush because she's had a tough week. Or maybe we did not stop to say hi to you on our way to class because we just failed a test. We have bad days too, but don't let that sway your decision.
We Care About Our Grades
Photo by Kyle Gregory Devaras on UnsplashBelieve it or not, grades are a very important part of being in a sorority. We are in college to get an education, after all, and our chapters respect this. All Greek Letter organizations have a GPA requirement and though they may differ from one to another, it is strongly enforced. Most chapters have study hours that they are required to attend in order to keep their sisters in their studies.
We Have Families And It's Confusing, But Wonderful
There comes a time in every new member's life that they find out who her big sister is. It's one of the best days of her life. But soon after she falls in love with her big, she discovers that she has a twin, an aunt, a great-aunt, a grand-big, a cousin, etc. You have your immediate family (your big, twin, g-big), but then you find out it goes back for ages and it can be really overwhelming. As hard as it is to explain how Greek families work, it's best to just enjoy what is given to you. These are the people who you have another awesome bond with and will always be down for anything with you.
We Like To Have Fun
Photo by Jed Villejo on UnsplashWith all the stress of school, work, mandatory events, and late night studying we like to let loose a little. Whether it be a Gossip Girl marathon, a social, or just painting the town red, we like to have fun and we are pretty darn good at it. There is no better entourage than that of your sista friends!
We Genuinely Love Our Sisters
Photo by Olena Bohovyk on UnsplashI am about to get really cheesy on you but bear with me here. We do not just go around acting like we love our sisters because we wear the same letters on our chests. We don't "pretend" to love the girls we don't get along with because deep down, they are still our sisters.
The bond that we share through sisterhood is a bond that cannot be explained from the outside looking in or the inside looking out. I would go above and beyond for my sisters and they would do the same for me. Even when drama shows up, we can always look back to what holds us together as a chapter. That is what it is all about.
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