People ask me all the time what I love about Ole Miss, and while my answers vary from The Grove, football season, the town of Oxford, the people, etc. My answers almost always include a very important part of my life, my sorority Alpha Phi.

I smile with pride and excitement every time the topic of my sorority gets brought up. It's an organization I personally work very hard for and it's one that I have I grown within and I hold it very dear to my heart.

However, I cannot begin to tell you how many eye rolls or fake smiles I get from people when I tell them I'm in a sorority. "Oh, you're one of those crazy party girls, I see" was a response I got from an older gentlemen from my hometown when he asked what those letters on my T-shirt meant.

A young lady I was in a group project with in a college marketing class once told me "I don't get it. It's one step away from a cult but with glitter." I'll admit I laughed at that one, but nonetheless.

Why is this the case? Why is Greek life such hold such a negative connotation now? Well I hate it. So I'm here to eliminate some of the basic stereotypes I encounter on a regular basis:

I attend a college in the South where Greek life is yeah, a pretty big deal. You take one walk on campus and you're met with a mix of different Greek shirts, and usually a table in front of our Student Union advertising one of our many amazing philanthropic events (yes, that's right, us Greeks actually do work with charities and we hold them very close to our hearts.)

I also attend a college where we have a lot more activities to offer other than our Greek organizations, which many of us are also apart of.

Many of my friends are Greek, but guess what? My best friend isn't Greek, and either are a lot of my other friends.

We actually do have to have good grades to stay in our organizations.

Yes, we go to parties. But so do people not in sororities or fraternities. I'm not really sure why that got labeled as a Greek life thing, because breaking news: partying is also a college, or just ya know, a life thing.

Being Greek IS, yes, an honor. It's an honor because each person ever involved was hand picked to continue to build the legacy established many many years ago by men and women who created each organization with one goal in mind: to better themselves, their organization, and those that would come after them. Greek founders wanted a community of leaders to change the world, and we all know change starts from within.

Greek life does build leaders and innovators, it does provide long lasting friendships and leadership opportunities. It does change things. Being Greek didn't make me great, but it did show me courage and showed me my true potential.

I am now a sorority Vice President who can stand up every at chapter meeting and speak to a room of 300+ women. I can now go to events and important meetings and network with influential people. I can now confidently work to plan events.

Now of course, we all, as humans make mistakes. I am more than aware that if one young lady in my sorority messes up, it falls back on all of us. Every day when I walk about my door I represent the ladies of Alpha Phi, whether I'm wearing my letters or not.

So I get it, it's easy to group us all together because you heard that story about the mistake that one sorority made that got blasted on every news show. And quite honestly, we should be doing a better job at leading in our communities, so it's okay when we get called out on it. The number 1 key to improving Greek life is growth, and mistakes help us grow.

But let's try not to forget, that with all the bad that we see out there, there's a whole lot of good they'll never show.

If you are Greek, do us all a favor, and continue to show the world who we are and what the meaning of those letters we stand behind really is.

And if you aren't, try to give us a chance to surprise ya. These letters on my T-Shirt mean a lot more than you'd think, so just ask.

I'm in a sorority and damn proud, because the way I see it, there's no reason not to be.