When asked to describe a sorority girl, many would envision a blonde Elle Woods with a Starbucks coffee in one hand and Pinterest opened up on her phone in the other hand. Well, as a sorority girl, I hate to break it to you, but I am not blonde, I hate Starbucks' coffee, and I can't craft to save my life, so Pinterest is of zero use to me. Sure, us sorority girls laugh at ourselves and make jokes about the "basic" stereotypes we deal with on a daily basis, but there are some false ideas about sororities that can be hurtful and judgmental. It's time to put these common misconceptions about what being in a sorority really entails to bed.

You're Forced to Dress A Certain Way

I go to class in sweatpants and over-sized T-shirts that sometimes have a coffee stain on the right sleeve. I go to dining halls in my sweaty workout clothes and could care less who I see (unless it's that boy from my Chemistry lecture who I stalk every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from three rows back. Then maybe I care a little.) The point is, I have never felt pressured to dress a certain way for the purpose of my house. Sure, once a week we are encouraged to dress in business casual attire for chapter meetings, but that is because we are business women who are working toward becoming strong, independent leaders one day. I don't know about most people, but I would never show up to work in raggedy, worn-out clothes. It is expected that for work, you show up in a professional and clean manner or in the uniform you were distributed at your job training session. Sororities are no different, we mean business.

You Aren't Allowed to Get Fat

LOL. Who do you think splits the Uber to Chipotle, In-N-Out, Five Guys, Chick-fil-A, etc. with me numerous times a week? My sisters.

There is No Diversity

Of my roommates in my house alone, we have a tennis player, a waterpolo player, a pre-med student, a biz-econ student, a waitress, a customer relations worker, a lifeguard, in-state students, out-of-state students, tall girls, short girls, good dancers, horrible (and I mean really horrible) dancers, pizza lovers (actually we all love pizza, but you get the idea), and more. When we join our houses, it's based on a mutual selection process. We choose our house based off of who we feel connected to during recruitment and they choose us because they know we would be a great fit. If you think we "act" the same, understandable, we're all best friends. We share the same humor and love of Netflix and raw cookie dough and we may even pick up on the same phrases. What best friends don't do that? So, yes, we may "act" the same, but let me tell you, we are far from the same.

You're Dumb

At most universities across the country, it's statistically been proven that the all sorority GPA is actually higher than the all-school female body GPA. In fact, all sorority chapters have a rule that the house and its individuals must maintain certain GPAs in order to have and participate in social events. Being in a sorority has provided me with resources such as study hours, tutors and educational internships to help promote and build up my resume.

You Only Hang Out With Girls in Your Own Sorority

I could go on for HOURS about how false this misconception is. This past Spring Break alone I brought three girls home with me, each and every one of us was a part of a different chapter on campus. This summer, I am living in an apartment complex with both Greek life and non-Greek life people. It's amazing to be able to have such strong connections with girls in other chapters because we all support each other as if we were "honorary" sisters, whether it be attending one another's philanthropy events, swapping clothes/fun costumes for social events or more. I am so lucky to know and I am inspired by so many girls outside of my chapter and I could not imagine life without my "honorary" sisters.

You Pay For Your Friends

One of my sorority sisters, Demi Hingeley, could not have handled this common misconception any better when she once said, "I paid for the food, the friends just happened to come along with it." Saying we pay for our friends is like saying because someone pays tuition to go to school, they're paying for the friends they happen to meet at school. My school tuition goes towards receiving an education. My sorority dues go toward participating in and attending philanthropy events, maintaining the house, putting on galas and so much more, even food. I have met some of the most genuine, kind-hearted girls in my sorority. The kind of girls who, even outside of the house, I would want and choose to be friends with.

It's been said time and time again that "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it, and from the inside looking out, you can't explain it." It's time to stop judging sororities based off of silly misconceptions formulated by those who don't understand it because, until you're on the inside, you will truly never know what it's like to be part of something bigger than you could ever imagine.