When I was a freshman and new to campus, I realized I needed a way to get involved. I didn't want to end up going through my entire college career as a big, fat nobody. What should I do? Student government? Some type of religious organization? Greek life? "No, no, no, stop right there", I told myself, "Greek life, seriously? I'll end up being just another one of those self-absorbed Barbies who sleeps around and drink their lives away. Yeah, no thanks."
Afraid of being just another college cliché, I stayed away from sorority life and what I thought sorority life entailed. I isolated myself in my tiny dorm room with my Netflix turned on Gossip Girl. I didn't realize how much I was hiding from an opportunity. I was missing out on trying something new, discovering something better for myself.
As the semester went on, however, I started to realize something; All these "sorority girls" walking around campus with their letters across their shirts were not at all what I pictured. They were not all bleach blonde toothpicks with shallow personalities and eyes constantly held on Frat guys. These girls walking around campus were not the television and magazine versions. These girls, with their letters on display and their heads held high, were dedicated and strong women determined to make a difference on campus and in the community. I decided I should get to the bottom of this sorority confusion once and for all, so I did.
My second semester of college I did the one thing I thought I would never actually end up doing: I joined a sorority. Spring recruitment was a lot less overwhelming and truly allowed me to see sorority life for what it really is. Walking into the house that I would eventually call my home, I felt a sense of nervousness come over me but also a strange sense of warmth. I was anxious for the change. It was scary committing to be someone I thought I wasn't. However, the sincerity I felt at that interest party from the girls who would soon be my sisters showed me what sorority life is really all about. It doesn't matter who you are individually but what you are able to achieve as a sisterhood.
To anyone that is considering Greek life, even if it's just a crazy thought in the back of your head, go for it! Attending an interest party or even just talking to a member of Greek life is a great way to get your foot in the door. You will learn that there is a lot more involved than what meets the eye and that sisterhood means philanthropy events that give to the underprivileged, late night study meetings, clean-up days around campus, or talking to a stressed-out sister who is struggling to make it through the day. This is what it means to be a sorority girl. Now every time I put on my jersey, I wear my letters proudly across my chest because I know I am part of something greater than myself.
