I was never too sure about sororities. Actually, if I’m being honest, any time someone asked me if I planned on joining a sorority once I went away for college, I would scoff. A sorority? Me? C’mon. That just isn’t going to happen.

And well, when I got to school, I still was not too fond of the idea of joining a sorority. That is until everyone seemed to be registering and signing up for fall recruitment so I thought, “Well, why not?” I’m not usually one to endorse doing what everyone else is doing but I was a scared freshman in college and hey, I didn’t know my place yet. I was open to just about anything at that point.

Long story short, I joined a sorority and two years later I can say with the upmost satisfaction and certainty that I made the best decision when I signed up for fall recruitment that one fateful September night.

I would not be who I am today without my sorority. This organization has taught me so much and I will forever be indebted to the women in it for bringing me so much love and laughter.

All I have to say is thank you. Without the love and support of this organization and all of my sisters, I would have never been able to cope with the stresses that college tends to throw at me every week constantly.

Thank you for teaching me compassion and true sisterhood. I have one biological sister but when I was initiated into this sorority, I gained 200 more and for that I will always be grateful. No matter where I go on campus, seeing one of you always makes me so much happier, no matter if we talk for hours or for two minutes or only say hi in passing. Knowing that there is a familiar face and a loving soul is all I need to get through the rest of the day.

Thank you for offering me laughter on days where I all want to do is lock myself in my room and sleep for days. You provided me with hilarious moments that I will always cherish. You made my bad days better and being able to laugh with you was and is such a privilege.

Thank you for being my home when I was so worried I would never find it at college. I have a close knit group of friends from high school and I was so convinced that while I would find great friends in college, I was never sure I would find the same kind of closeness that I had in high school. But with this sorority, I truly feel like I am a part of something so much bigger than myself.

Thank you for bringing me my family. They're some of the most important people in my life and they constantly inspire me to work harder and chase after what I love. There are no words to explain the amount of lessons I have learnt from them in such a short period of time and I am forever thankful for them.

Thank you for bringing me some of my closest friends. The relationships and love that I have found in this organization are ones that I hold so incredibly close to my heart. College sucks sometimes, but I'm beyond lucky I get to suffer through those ugly times with such genuine people.

Thank you for making me feel important and special. You are all so unique and wonderful in your own ways and being able to get to know so many different personalities but still possessing that similar loving and welcoming quality is a gift.

I have (thankfully) two more years with my sorority and I know that there is so much more growth and self-fulfillment to be had in my final years at college but I am more than happy to be getting through them with you, my sorority and my sisters.

Thank you, all of you, for being so unapologetically yourselves and seeing something in me that I did not see in myself.

I am honored to be a part of an organization that not only loves but empowers each other. An organization that lifts each other up when times are rough but is there to smile and laugh during the good times.

I am who I am because of you.

Thank you endlessly.