The stereotypes are endless; Blonde. Tall. Skinny. Mean. The list goes on and on. These are just some of things the movies make sorority girls out to be.

However, in my short time here at Central I’ve learned that this is as far from the truth as anything gets.

When I first set foot on campus, I never thought I was going to be in a sorority. Sure like other girls I considered it but always thought “Is it really for me?” After joining my sorority, Alpha Sigma Alpha, I realized that sorority life was definitely for me.

While I love my sorority, I’m not going to sit here and tell you why Greek life is totally awesome or why everyone should Greek. I want to talk about, and shoot down, the ridiculous misconceptions that are associated with sororities.

Misconception 1. You are paying for friends

This is the first thing someone said to me when I said I was thinking about joining a sorority. This is one thing that drives me absolutely crazy. Sororities aren’t just a club, it’s an organization and in an organization there are dues. Like any other organization, funds are needed to keep it running. Each sorority has a national office where we send our money. The breakdown of the dues can are essentially seen in payments for the house, membership fees, philanthropy events and other little events done throughout the year.

While dues can sometimes be costly, they aren’t paying for our friends. One thing I’ve learned in life is that you can’t buy your friends, and the same thing applies in Greek Life. You meet these girls who are just as excited as you are to be joining a sorority. It’s a new experience and you’re gaining a huge family. As you get more involved and go to more events, the more friends you make. No amount of dues can pay for friendship, it’s what you put into it as a member that helps you make lifelong friends.

Misconception 2. Sorority girls are dumb

If this isn’t the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard I don’t know what is. In order to get into a sorority a certain GPA is required. After becoming a member of the sorority maintaining a GPA, usually higher than the one required during recruitment, is needed to avoid consequences. As a sorority, we also have study hours where groups of girls get together to do homework and study. School is important to these girls and it is obvious that school comes first. It has been made clear that school is the first priority and we are not only representing our sorority, but our school as well and our grades will reflect how much we care about our futures. The girls that I’ve met in my sorority are some of the smartest girls I’ve ever met and many of them care more about school than anyone else I’ve met in my time here at Central.

Misconception 3. All sorority girls do is party

This might seem like a constant thing us sorority girls are doing. There are socials every weekend, formal and semi-formal, Greek Week, so on and so on. Yeah sure we have a lot of events but they aren’t all required.But these aren’t the only things we do. On top of that, we have philanthropy events in order to raise awareness for a certain cause. Volunteer hours are also a necessity to being a part of a sorority. While it’s important to help out other organizations, it is just as important to volunteer locally to form connections and create positive impacts in society. For example, Greeks Clean the Streets was an event created by someone from Greek Life in order to keep our community and campus clean.

So next time you think about all the stereotypes that are attached to Greek Life, I highly encourage you to think again. We are all just as smart, friendly and helpful as other students on campus. We aren’t all blonde stick figures who parade around campus making fun of people while flashing the latest fashions. We’re normal students who just chose a different path to take in college and there is nothing wrong with that.