"Are you going to rush?! You should totally rush."

I had no idea what rushing was, but when I found out, I shunned the idea because I didn't want to be one of those girls. I was wrong. Now, I am one of those girls, and I couldn't be happier. I hope that if one of these reasons resonates with you, my experience will encourage you to rush.

I'm a black girl. I'm just going to join a Divine 9 Chapter in grad school.

This was one of the most foolish reasons I had for not rushing my freshman year. I love everything Divine 9 stands for, and I believe in each purpose and mission-- this is not to bash them. I'm simply saying this was a foolish excuse because I immediately jumped to the conclusion that I wouldn't fit into any of the sororities on campus for the primary fact that they were mostly white. This couldn't be further from the truth because if that was my main concern, I wouldn't have come to Coe College-- a private school in the middle of Iowa. I am not the only woman of color in my chapter! Don't let your racial identity be the main reason why you don't rush. If you would like to wait until grad school to join a Greek letter organization founded within a specific ethnic/ racial community, by all means, go ahead. However, just know that all of our chapters are waiting with open arms to those seeking sisterhood and unity regardless or race, religion, or creed.

I have to work to pay my way through school; I won't have time.

I assumed that sororities in undergrad were only for rich girls who could call Daddy and have him pick up her tab. My sisters are all very hard working and most of them do have an off campus job or work study- sometimes both! And guess what, we all figure it out. We find a way to balance our crazy schedules to spend time with one another, to fulfill our fraternity responsibilities and to keep our sanity.

Sororities are only for the collegiate years, why invest that much money in something that isn't everlasting?

My sorority has an International Reunion Day once a year where members all over the globe gather to have a meal with each other. At the first one I attended, I met alumnae who were in their 70s and 80s. They had been serving our sorority for more than 50 years. There were so many stories shared of women moving away post-college and having members show up on their door steps with welcome baskets and helping hands. When we say that we offer lifelong friendship, we mean it.

I don't party a lot; no one will think I'm cool.

This was the funniest reason because none of my sisters party like the stereotype I had ingrained in my brain. Sorority women at Coe are some of the most driven on this campus and tend to have higher GPAs because of the immense amount of accountability that comes with wearing our letters.

While rushing may seem scary, may challenge your comfort zones, and may be tiring, there is so much reward at the end of it all. There is nothing to lose with going Greek at Coe. Not only were we ranked as one of the schools to "Get Greek Life Right," we truly foster Panhellenic sisterhood and unity. Our Greek is nothing like the movies. At the end of the day, we remember that we are all Kohawks first and that unites us the most.