I joined a sorority in fall of my freshman year. When I decided to go through recruitment, the only knowledge I had of sororities was from chick flicks and romcoms. Some of the activities these movies portrayed made me equally nervous and excited. What if I don't fit in to any of these groups of women? What if it's too much for me to handle? What if I end up being in an evil clique or something? But also, what if my big is my perfect match? And what if I make really awesome connections and meet my future bridesmaids? As I ran home to my new sisterhood on Bid Day, I had a million thoughts running through my mind of what the next few years would bring.

I write this now as a second-year sorority sister, and I have found a lot of my expectations about sorority life were wrong. The movies portray a really skewed version of what being in a sorority is like. So here are some expectations of what I thought I was getting myself into (based solely on how sorority life is portrayed in television and movies) and their completely different realities.

1: They only hang out with their own sorority.

Reality: Just because I am in a sorority does not mean I don't have friends outside of my sorority. I have multiple friends in other sororities and other friends who are GDI's. Sure, a lot of my follower count and Facebook friends list is made up of sisters who I love dearly, but they only make up a fraction of the people in my life.

2: All they do is party with fraternity guys.

Reality: Yes, we do have socials with fraternities and some of us attend other gatherings that can be considered parties. But we also participate in and host many philanthropic events. My sorority is top fundraiser three years in a row for our school's Dance Marathon.

3. They all look the same or "They are all like Barbie Dolls."

Reality: OK, sure. There are times where we all dress the same (like at formal/informal recruitment and chapter photo-shoots), but not a single one of my sisters in this looks like a carbon copy of me. Come to think of it, maybe two or three of my sorority sisters look similar to each other... and that's because they are actually related.

4. They don't participate in anything but Greek life.

Since I have been a sister in my sorority, two of my sisters have served as President and now Vice President of my university's student council. In fact, a lot of my sisters are part of different clubs, have part-time jobs, and as you can tell, write for online publications.

5. They "haze" their "pledges."

First of all, at my school we don't even call girls "pledges." We call them new members because that word itself constitutes hazing. Secondly, we have a very strict policy about hazing and there are serious consequences if any sorority or fraternity is accused of hazing. So that stereotype is totally false.

6. They aren't smart/don't care about school work.

My sorority prides itself on getting good grades. We have weekly study sessions in the library and many of my sisters are engineering or biomedical majors. So just because we like to surround ourselves with a close-knit sisterhood and fun activities doesn't mean we aren't also smart and confident women.

7. We pay for our friends.

This has to be one of the most aggravating things I hear as a member of a sorority. I was told this before I even went through recruitment. And you know what, in a way, it's true. But it is in no way a bad thing. We pay our dues and get initiated into a strong circle of amazing women who believe in sisterhood and being there for each other. We pay our dues and get a support system, a mentor, a career network, and a whole lot of fun events. And I'm not ashamed of that.

To wrap up, sorority life is highly stereotyped in the media and it lead me to expect a lot of negative and outright ridiculous things about sororities. It's sad that in all aspects of media, the only news that gets reported is negative -- and the same idea applies to sorority and fraternity life. When was the last time you heard a positive report about a sorority or fraternity be made in a newspaper or television show? It's time we start recognizing all of the amazing things Greek life brings to a college campus. A community of driven men and women with similar values, a passionate, philanthropic group of people who raise thousands of dollars each year, and people I can count on throughout my college career and in the future. These are just some of the amazing things Greek life can bring to a college student.

I am a proud member of the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority. And no amount of stereotypes can change that.