Growing up with a mother who was never in a sorority and a therapist who told me it was “probably not in my best interest” to join one, the fact I’m now living in the UCLA Kappa Kappa Gamma house is something I had not foreseen. Whether you love it or not, “living in” definitely has its pros and cons.
So, here’s a list of nine reasons sorority girls relate to, for hopeful srat stars to get excited over, and for unaffiliated people to get a glimpse of #sratlyfe:
1. The obvious one, you get to live with all your sisters and a lot of your closest friends
I don’t want to be cliché and say “you get to live with ALL your best friends,” because that would just be a fat lie. You are not going to be BEST friends with sixty girls. You may barely know some, and that is completely okay. It’s true that they’re all your sisters, which is something in and of itself. It’s also true that you do get to live under a roof with some, maybe even most, of your best friends, without the hassle of finding an apartment, paying utility bills, etc, etc…
2. You kind of feel like you’re supposed to be best friends with everyone living in, which, as I said, is an improbable thought
I hate to be a Debbie-downer, but contrary to the movies, you won’t be best friends with all two hundred of your sisters. Odds are, you might not even like all of them—which is FINE. Having beef with even one of your sisters can make you feel like you failed as a sorority girl, but that’s life, and you have to learn to live with it. Everything in a sorority house is heard—who’s doing what, who’s going where, who wasn’t invited to what, and, to be entirely honest, it sucks sometimes. Being let down is inevitable, feeling left out is too; feelings will undoubtedly be hurt, and living in makes it a little more present.
3. Having chefs is life-changing; I’ve forgotten what a stove even looks like
Not really, but it truly is so nice to have a chef cook two meals a day for you. You will forget what it’s like to feed yourself. Not to mention, all you have to do is walk a couple feet to your kitchen and voila! There’s your next meal—freshly cooked each day.
4. Once the weekend hits, you no longer get two meals a day and you’re left to fend for yourself
Once the chefs leave, the kitchen is locked. This means the only appliance available to cook is the microwave. Trying to make a decent meal becomes pretty difficult.
5. Living in a mansion near Beverly Hills? Sign me up
Okay, maybe this one is specific to UCLA, but the sorority houses on Hilgard are BEAUTIFUL. Our house has a courtyard where you can bask in the year-round LA sun, blue tiling, bathrooms fit for princesses, and, best of all, an adorable house dog named Mr. Troubles and wonderful house mom, Carolyn.
6. My closet is your closet
If you love wearing other people’s clothes and/or are totally cool with people constantly asking to borrow stuff or rummaging through your closet, then this one doesn’t seem so bad. But if you’re like me, someone who loves her clothes, enjoys keeping them in pristine condition, AND has a really hard time saying no, this one’s a nightmare.
I love to share and have delegated a large chunk of my closet to loan out, but it’s a little harder to draw the line of what is loanable and what isn’t when living in a sorority. It’s no biggie when someone comes out wearing your cheap bodysuit to go on a date, but when your friend comes out wearing your brand-new boots to go to a frat party, it’s a whole different story.
7. You become closer to your PC and the other girls who live in
In case you’re wondering, PC stands for pledge class. This is the group of other lovely people who went through rush with you and were initiated into your respective house at the same time. Generally, your PC all moves into the house the same year (which year varies from school to school, sorority to sorority), and undoubtedly you become closer since you’re all living down the hall from each other and sleeping in the bunk above one another.
8. What’s personal space?
You live in a house with dozens of other girls (in my case around 60)–that’s a lot of people regardless of how big your house is, and girls are incredibly social creatures, especially sorority girls. Someone will always be knocking on your door, there will never be an empty public area. At times, it’s exhausting. Knowing you can never find a place to be completely alone in your own home can be mentally taxing.
9. You never have to be alone
On the bright side, since you don’t get much personal space, you never have to be alone. There are always other girls in the house. If you need someone to talk with, eat with, go out with, or watch Netflix with, there will always be at least one, if not ten, girls who are up for the challenge.
