Growing up in Texas caused me to have a negative view of sorority girls since birth. I thought only tall, tan, and pretty blonde girls that love parties and frat boys joined sororities. Legally Blonde did me so wrong. In reality, it is far from greek life in movies. It wasn't until I actually joined a sorority that I learned what they are really about. Being a part of a sorority is nothing like you see in the movies, and I'm here to prove it to you. Here are some common misconceptions about sororities, debunked.
1. You're just paying to have friends
This is the most common, most annoying phrase I had to deal with while rushing. Yes, paying to be in a sorority means you suddenly have hundreds of other girls around you that value similar things, making you more likely to become friends with them.
However, our national dues pay for the upkeep of the house, the support of the national sorority, the cost of events, and our philanthropies. You could use this same kind of thought process to argue that people only pay to go to college to make friends. Paying to put yourself into situations where you're likely to meet people does not mean you're buying their friendship.
2. All sorority girls do is party
This statement really couldn't be more wrong. Sure, some sorority girls party a lot, but most don't. I'm pretty sure the non-greek girls living in the room next to me, blasting old Justin Bieber songs at 11:00 p.m. on a Monday night, party way more than I do.
3. We only support our philanthropies because we have to
I'm confident in speaking for all of the sororities on my campus when I say that we all genuinely care about our and other chapter's philanthropies. My chapter's devotion and emotional connection to our philanthropy was actually the deciding factor for me on our last night of rush. It's still amazing for me to see how passionate all of my sorority sisters are about our causes.
4. We only date fraternity men
I have a little spoiler for all of you: in my experience, frat men don't date. I'm not trying to hate on all you brothers out there because I'm sure some of you are decent human beings, but frat guys fear commitment.
5. You won't have any non-greek friends
This one is only true if you make it true. If you tend to only hang out with your greek community, then it's a no-brainer that you will only have greek friends. Personally, I have several friends that aren't greek; it just depends on whether or not you put yourself out there.
6. Sorority girls are superficial and girly
Disclaimer: I adore Legally Blonde, and aspire to be Elle Woods. That being said, Legally Blonde gave all of us sorority girls a bad reputation. Some girls are going to be superficial. It happens, but I've never made friends with a girl in my sorority by ogling over tanning, bikinis, and the latest hair trends. The girls in my sorority are some of the most genuine human beings I've ever met. They inspire me to be a better sister, student, and even a better person. There's nothing superficial about that.
7. Sorority girls judge non-sorority girls
Let me keep this one simple: no one cares. Most people drop their egos when they get to college. They realize that everyone is here for the same reason: to get a degree. We all just go about it differently.
8. If you join a sorority you will be hazed
I actually had the opposite experience while rushing. This used to be true, but times are changing. People have realized that hazing is backward and pointless -- so most campuses just stopped doing it.
9. We're only in college to meet our trophy husbands
This is the most anti-feminist bs I've ever heard in my life. Sororities actually have GPA requirements to stay in the chapter. The average GPA of a sorority woman is generally higher than that of a non-greek woman.
We also have various programmes to help members that aren't in good academic standing. My sorority likes to constantly remind us that we are students first and sorority always comes second. Sorority girls don't have time for anything else.
