Being in a sorority makes me better than everyone else. Being in a sorority brings all the boys to my yard. Accepting my bid was, basically, an open invitation to drink all day, every day, out of monogrammed tumblers. I’m basically too srat to care about anything, but hanging out at frat houses and collecting all of their Comfort Colors T-shirts.
If you actually believe any of these statements, then be prepared for your world to be rocked because you obviously don’t know anything about Greek life. The moment you accept your bid, you are branded. You are automatically judged, envied, and hated by some people. More importantly, you are also accepted, loved, and a part of something so much bigger than yourself. Accepting a bid from a sorority will change your whole perspective on life. You may think you know exactly what you are getting yourself into, but you are probably wrong. I was.
Before you go through recruitment, before you accept a bid, there are some things you need to know.
Being in a sorority can be challenging.
Imagine 100 girls with completely different personality types, in one room, trying to decide on something that will make everyone happy. It seems impossible, right? If you’ve ever worked with a group in class, you know that three to six people are hard enough to please, let alone 100 females! When you're in a sorority, you learn the beautiful art of compromise and respect. If there is a disagreement, common ground must be reached or there will be chaos. Learning to work together is a really hard lesson to learn at first, but you must learn it. If you aren’t a fan of teamwork, and aren’t willing to make sacrifices, then a sorority probably is not for you.
You won’t get along with everyone.
There will be a few girls you really don’t get along with. This is one thing that surprised me. I thought being a part of a sisterhood meant that everyone would love each other, and things would be perfect all the time. I believed life would be glitter, puppies, and rainbows and everyone was BFFs. I was wrong. Being a part of a sisterhood really means that everyone respects each other, whether they like them or not -- no matter what, no exceptions. If anyone needs help or is going through a tough time, it is your obligation to swallow your pride and be there for them. Working with people you aren’t fond of is a crucial life skill everyone needs to learn at some point. If you aren’t mature enough to put your differences aside and act like an adult when the situation calls for it, then you probably wouldn’t like being in a sorority.
The things you see during recruitment don’t just magically appear and happen with the flick of a wand.
If that were the case, we’d all be transferring to Hogwarts on the first broomstick out of here. Preparations for everything you will see started happening the day after the previous bid day. I never realized how much work goes into everything. The decorations, the dances and skits, the costumes; you can rest assured that someone’s blood, sweat, and tears went in to pulling it all together. Recruitment practices are long and tiring. If you can’t handle being yelled at, not sleeping, squatting for an eternity in heels (benefit: killer calf muscles), chanting and acting like you’re happy about it, stress, or following orders, then maybe you should reconsider being in a sorority. Bad attitudes are not tolerated. However, I must say that once recruitment week finally arrives, and you get to meet your potential new sisters, all of your hard work suddenly seems 100 percent worth it.
Most of your time that is not spent in class or at work will revolve around your sorority.
Many people don’t understand just how much time you devote to your sisterhood. You will meet at least once a week for chapter meetings, you will attend your philanthropy events as well as other Greek organizations’ events, and you will eventually dedicate your life to recruitment practice once that gets into full swing. Not to mention the chapter retreats, mixers, cleaning duties, rituals, spring recruitment, and required study hours. You get out of a sorority what you put in it. Say you do the bare minimum and never go to events or meetings, your takeaway from a Greek organization will not seem as rewarding and probably won’t be as enjoyable as if you tried to be involved in everything. If you don’t have the time to commit to a sisterhood then it might be in your best interest to step away from the bid card.
People will tell you that you pay for your friends.
You will, eventually, learn to suppress your anger, roll your eyes, and laugh at them. You will know good and well that the sisters you have clung to through all of your collegiate experiences (good or bad) are the ones that will stand by you on your wedding day. They are the ones who will answer the phone at 3 a.m. when you call just to talk. They’re your wingwomen, ride or dies, partners in crime, your person. They’re the ones who will always say yes to staying up with you for 14 hours to paint a cooler that you waited until the last minute to start on. They’ll be your library dates, your scary face SnapChat conversations, your body guards on a midnight Walmart run, your biggest fans on Instagram, but most importantly, they will be your forever best friends. No amount of money could ever pay for the wonderful things you will get to experience with the best people by your side. Eventually, you will learn that being a part of a sisterhood is priceless.
There are some hard parts of being Greek, but for every negative there are at least two positives. Being a part of a Greek organization will help shape you into the person you will become later in life. College will teach you hard life lessons, but you can rest assured that you will never have to face them alone. Being in a sorority will be one of the only constant things in your collegiate life that you can always count on. Your classes will change, the places you live will change, you will change, but the bond with your sisterhood will stay the same. Like I said, I had no idea what I was getting myself in to when I registered for formal recruitment three years ago, but I would hate to see what my life would be like today if I hadn’t.
