Many people see sororities as a fun little club you can join that will provide you with t-shirts, parties and friends while you are in college.
Sometimes it's hard to see the bigger picture, especially for those of us who are current members, because we are living in a little Greek bubble where our biggest concern is who to take to formal.
I am here to tell you, my friends, that there are so many things that your sorority will teach you that will help you in the long run. You probably haven't even realized that you're learning life skills, even while you're just sitting at chapter.
Time Management.
If there's anything a sorority girl is good at, it's juggling multiple responsibilities at once. Let's just look at a typical day for example: You wake up, go to class, go to the gym, craft something for your big or little, go to study tables, go to lab, go to chapter/programming/a recruitment event, then, if you're feeling up to it, you go to a party or a bar. Rinse and repeat. You're going to have to manage your time like this all throughout your life: your job and your future family will pull you in all kinds of different directions. Thank God your sorority made you an expert at multi-tasking.
How to "Play Nice".
I'm not going to pretend that a house of over 150 girls is hunky-dory 24/7. We all know that there's certain people you just don't click with. Hell, you might even straight-up despise people in your chapter. Being in a sorority teaches you how to slap on a smile and treat each of those girls with respect. It's not called being fake; it's called being a mature, polite adult. In the workforce you are going to meet so many people you don't like, but playing nice will make your life SO much easier.
How to Dress.
It's hilarious looking back at old pictures from high school or freshman year and seeing how different everyone looks. For the more unfortunate dressers, the process is not unlike Cady from Mean Girls when the "Plastics" first got a hold of her: Girls in your house will teach you how to do your makeup and how to wear cuter outfits. Even if they don't outright hold a fashion intervention, being around all of these women means you're constantly exposed to new trends. If you live in your sorority, you have dozens of new closets to choose from.
On top of normal clothes, being in a chapter teaches you how to dress professionally. Pin attire is annoying as all get out, but knowing how to dress appropriately is a major asset in the workforce.
How to Drink.
I'm not trying to say that your sorority will teach you how to guzzle a beer and slam shots like a frat guy (even though it might), but being in a sorority will definitely teach you the dos and don'ts of partying. Having a Standards Chair that watches you like a hawk is a blessing in disguise: Being held accountable for acting stupid will prevent you from acting stupid in the first place. You are going to be around alcohol your entire life, and dancing on tables and drunk-crying isn't funny or cute anymore when you're older than 22.
Conversational Skills.
Recruitment is insane. At no other point in your life are you going to have to talk to dozens upon dozens of girls in the span of a few hours. However, this process will make you an expert at interviews. After all, that's pretty much what these recruitment conversations are: you're pitching yourself (and your chapter) to someone else, and you have only minutes to make a lasting impression. Being able to give a firm handshake and hold a conversation without any awkwardness is an invaluable skill to have.
In sororities we're always saying "It's not four years, it's for life." Clearly, that's true in more ways than one.
