To the girls who will never go Greek,

I've been where you are. Right about now, as your last high school summer is coming to an end, you are getting excited for your college adventures to begin. You're a little anxious, too. You know you are ready for a new city, new friends, and new ideas. But starting college, in all its excitement, also comes with a lot of preconceived ideas of the experiences you'll have and the people you'll meet. Before starting, I thought I knew what college was going to be like and who I was as a person, but I repeatedly told myself that the best way to grow is to keep an open mind. I didn’t really know what my major was going to be or what clubs I wanted to join, but there was one thing I knew for certain: I would never join a sorority.

At American, freshmen can't join Greek life until second semester. In some ways this is a great system because it allows you to find yourself on the campus before deciding if you want to go Greek or not. In other ways, it allows for your mind to be swayed by those around you. As my first semester progressed, people started asking me if I planned on rushing in the spring, a question to which I would respond by laughing in their faces. This was not very open-minded of me, but I found myself standing by my original testimony of remaining a GDI. I rolled my eyes that whole recruitment weekend as I saw tribes of girls strutting around campus all dressed the same. It seemed so silly to try and fit certain ideals just to be with a particular group of girls. But one thing in all of the chaos surprised me, and that was my roommate. If there is one person I would vote least likely to join a sorority over myself, it would be her. But as the weekend came to a close and she got a bid from the organization she wanted, I saw something in her, a spark that I hadn't seen since we moved in together.

A few weeks later, I got offered a bid for the same organization. If you do decide to rush, just know that you don't have to accept a bid from an organization. Don't be afraid to say no and really take the time to figure out what you want because being in a sorority is a commitment that does deserve a bit of your attention. So after 20 hours agonizing over the decision and long calls to friends from home, I decided to accept the bid. In the beginning it was a little strange. I'm not going to lie, some of it is what you might expect. The images you may have of girls hugging and crying together does happen on occasion. And the longer I stayed in it, the stranger it felt. There was more than one occasion when I would ask myself if I had mistakenly joined a cult, but then I would think of my roommate. If she could sit through rituals and still be herself so could I. However, it was not that easy.

You may think that you are too much of an individual to join an organization, or that you won't need it because you will be able to find friends on your own and that might be the case! I know that's certainly what I thought. I had so much cognitive dissidence while starting my time in Greek life. I still wanted to give my friends who were not affiliated the time that they deserved while trying to meet my new sisters. I truly enjoyed the organization but it's almost as if I would convince myself otherwise because every day I would still tell myself that I am not a sorority girl. When talking to people from home I would say “I’m in a sorority, but it’s not like a real sorority,” trying to convince them that I was not a typical sorority girl. Finally it all came to a breaking point. I had tried to convince myself that I was something I'm not.

I have soon come to realize, and you will too, that there is no such thing as a typical sorority girl, but rather stereotypes built up through generations of labeling. When I took a step back I realized that I was doing just the same. The moment I truly let go and just let life happen without all these labels was the moment I was able to truly enjoy where I am at in my life. So please try and forget about any preconceived notions you have of Greek life.

You may think, as did I, that being in a sorority is about fitting into a certain particular mold brought about by other girls. I am here to tell you that you are mistaken. The truth is the girls in my organization are some of the most driven and caring people I could ever imagine. Their ideals are based in understanding and compassion and have helped me every day to find my own self. Being in a sorority is much more than mutual respect. It's about being around people that love the individual you are so deeply, that they can better understand and love the individual in themselves.

So when you walk onto campus in a month or so, keep an open mind, grow as a person in the presence of different views, and don’t be afraid to go Greek!