Growing up, my big sister was - and still is - the greatest influence in my life. She is everything I want to be and more. Her compassion and love of everyone is something that I strive for every single day. Obviously being the younger sister, I do everything after her, including going to college. I couldn’t have been more proud of sending her off to Monmouth University in the Fall of 2014. She had worked so hard and was finally getting to go off and be the mini adult she always was.

Fast forward to spring semester, and my sister joins a sorority. At first I was so happy for her, finding where she belonged, making friends, and experiencing all of the amazing parts about being in a Greek organization. However, she started to refer to the girls in her sorority as her sisters. Granted, they are her sisters, but being a needy, semi-selfish middle child, I didn’t like it. She’s my sister, my role model, my backbone. Why did I now have to share her with all these other sisters? So when she would talk about her sorority, I would stop listening and play on my phone or even walk away. I never told her this. Luckily, I got over it.

It did take me awhile to accept the fact that I wasn’t the only sister in her life anymore. The real turning point was when I met her big. She is loving and caring, funny and sarcastic, and all around a wonderful person. She is everything my sister is to me. Finally, my sister got to be the little sibling for once. How could I not want that for her? Why would I let my personal feelings take away from the amazing sisters with which she has surrounded herself? With that in mind, I started to listen, and even laugh about the great time she was having at school with her sisters. I started to want what she had. Once again, I started to want to do everything she did, to follow her footsteps. So when I was applying to colleges, the Greek life played a role in where I wanted to go. I ended up at a small liberal arts college in cow-country Maryland, McDaniel College. My school was everything I needed - small but not too small, far from home but no more than a day’s drive, and connected with fulfilling Greek life. Having to wait until the spring semester to go through rounds, though, I didn’t think much of the sororities on campus. I was trying to keep my fall semester as simple as possible and not stress about whether or not I was going to find a sorority that fits me. Figuring out that my sister’s sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau, was on campus, I figured I was golden. Hopefully I liked all of the girls and they liked me too, and I did end up really liking them. They were sweet and funny and everything I thought I wanted. However, I didn’t belong there. A different sorority on campus was what I wanted and more. I can’t put into words what it was. So the night that I had to make a choice of where I wanted to go, I spent a good 40 minutes on the phone with my sister giving her all of the pros and cons of both organizations. She finally stopped me and said, “I might be the reason you wanted to join Greek life, but I will always be your sister, so go where your heart is.”

Today, we are in two different sororities. Yet the bond my sister and I share has only grown. Both of us have been able to flourish in our respective homes, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have both my sorority sisters and my blood sister. I am who I am because of them all.