Ah, fall. The time when leaves change colors, everything edible magically becomes pumpkin spice flavored, and fraternity and sorority recruitment becomes the most intense weekend of your life. If you go to BW, you've probably heard one of the following sentences at least once (if not approximately 100 times):
"BW Greek Life is so different from other campuses!"
"You'll make so many friends during recruitment, even if you don't end up in a fraternity or a sorority!"
"Going Greek could be the best decision you'll ever make!"
It's true that BW Greek Life is vastly different than anything I could have ever imagined when I used to think of sororities and fraternities. And I did make friends during recruitment who I continue to talk to, despite the fact that many of them are in different chapters than me. Going Greek was a good decision but obviously not the best one because duh, the best one was choosing to go to BW. But none of these are the reasons I went Greek, and they shouldn't be yours either.
You don't have to go Greek this fall in order to make friends. BW is literally the most friendly place I've ever been and you will absolutely make friends no matter what you decide to get involved in on campus. And anyone who tells you that recruitment is pure fun is a liar. Recruitment will be full of exhaustion, tears, stress...but also joy and happiness as you've never experienced it before when you finally get through it.
I didn't go Greek because someone told me to, and in fact when I went through I didn't have any close friends who were going through recruitment too. In fact, some of my close friends during my freshman year talked negatively about Greek life to the point where I almost didn't sign up for recruitment because I would be judged. But ultimately I did go Greek. I went Greek because the women I met during recruitment inspired me, awed me, and made me want to be like them someday. The women I met in each chapter every night of recruitment astounded me with their leadership on campus and the genuine compassion they showed toward me. I went Greek because I thought that if I surrounded myself with such amazing role models, these women's positive influence would make me a better person. Spoiler alert: I was right.
The women in BW's Sorority Life community have made me a better leader, a better friend, a better student, and the list goes on. I have never been more sure of myself and what I want in life than I am right now. I have never had a group of women believe in me as much as my sisters do. I never thought I would go Greek when I entered Baldwin Wallace as a freshman two years ago, but I couldn't be more happy that I did.
So if you do decide to go Greek this semester, don't do it because of a cute recruitment video or a sorority's killer Insta account. Social media hype will fade, and there will be hard days no matter which group of women become your sisters. There will be days when you just need to get away from everyone for a while, and you certainly will never be beset friends with everyone because that's just life. But if you want a group of strong, independent women who will stand by you in good times and bad then joining a sorority could be perfect for you.
Don't just "go Greek" this fall. Choose to join an amazing, supportive group of women to call your sisters.
