When most people think of sororities, they imagine gorgeous model-like girls wearing revealing clothing and attending parties every weekend. They think of hazing and paddles and getting drunk because that’s what the movies show, so it must be realistic. Right? Wrong.

I admit, before joining a sorority, I shared some of those negative views. It’s hard not to when all you know about Greek life is what you see or hear in the media. Shows like "Scream Queens" and "Greek" partner with movies such as "Legally Blonde," "Neighbors," and "The House Bunny" to distort sorority life and cloud people’s opinions of the Greek system. Fictional plots like these are part of the reason that many individuals have a strong dislike of sororities.

Fortunately, sororities are not at all similar to how they’re portrayed. Sorority girls are not like the actresses who play them in movies. We are not our stereotype.

I spend my weekends studying, not partying. Just like most Greek women, I value my education and my GPA. I work hard seven days per week and my idea of fun is staying at home to hang out with my friends.

My grades show that I’m not dumb. I’ve been on the Dean’s List every semester of college. I have high academic standards, and I reach them because of my hard work and dedication. After I finish my undergraduate studies, I plan to further my education in graduate school.

I participate in community service because I want to, not because I have to. I love my sorority’s philanthropies and I truly enjoy working with them. One of the main reasons I chose my sorority is because their philanthropies are important to me.

My parents don’t pay for everything. I’m not a preppy rich girl. I earn my own money and pay for things myself, with a little help from my parents now and then.

I am not “popular” and I don’t look like a model. Not everyone on campus knows who I am. I’m not the class president, star athlete, or recipient of a big award. In addition, I’m not a stereotypical sorority girl in terms of physical appearance. I’m happy with the way I look. I may not be tall, blonde, or thin, but I’m unique.

I am not part of a clique. I’m friends with people from other sororities and other campus organizations. I am not tied down to my sorority and I don’t walk through the halls with my friends like a posse from "Mean Girls."

I do not haze, nor have I been hazed. My sorority has a zero-tolerance hazing policy. We don’t haze, and that’s that.

I don’t pay for my friends, I’m not a carbon copy of my sisters, and I don’t have everything handed to me. I may be a sorority woman, but there’s much more to me than that.