Sometimes you're the first in your family to go Greek, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, sometimes explaining things can be harder then it looks because there are things that aren't normal to the average college student that you participate in.
1. Mandatory Events
No matter if you live close to your school or far off campus, you know that if there is a mandatory event, you better stay on campus. Formal meetings, recruitment workshops, or ritual events are the end-all-be-all of chapter attendance points. Yes, there are other events that are optional, but there are some that you just know you can't miss. No matter who has a game or wedding shower you cannot miss events just because your sister is graduating 5th grade and going to middle school. If you do, the fines can be more than your monthly dues and that's just not going to cut it on a college budget. Don't worry though, this is how we really feel about hours or meetings we cant miss:
2. Big/little Connection
Every time I refer to my big, I can feel the theoretical eye roll. If you live with non-greeks they just don't understand that the bond with your sorority family tree is almost as strong as the one with your real family. If you're mom is like my mom, you have to explain everything, from big to g-big to twittle, but it's all worth explaining it cause I love my fam.
3. How exciting bid day is
Being home for the summer and shopping for recruitment outfits, my mom feels the stress. She also gives me very strange looks when I randomly start a chant I've been practicing. She doesn't understand that it will all be worth it when I get to see 100+ girls beaming because they get to run home across campus to our front yard. (*insert lots of flash tats, girly jams, and glitter here*)
4. You aren't best friends with everyone.
I know a lot of girls who's parents assume that they know everyone in their chapter personally. Is it awkward when they ask you about someone you don't know? Yes. But do you still wave to the familiar face walking by you on campus in your letters? Yes. It's all about supporting each other and finding your home. It's almost impossible to be friends with everyone in a chapter of around 200 girls.
5. Homecoming is very serious.
This one hits really close to home because my high school takes homecoming very serious but coming into college, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This homecoming, your mom will be very confused and slightly terrified when you send her a picture with the caption "greek recycling competition for homecoming got me like" while surfing on card board, in a sea of card board, holding a card board box full of card board, in a frat basement that was so full of cardboard that when you opened the door card board fell out...
If your parents ask why your bags under your eyes are so bad at the homecoming tailgate, it's probably because you haven't had any sleep for about 48 hours.
6. Greek week is even worse.
Greek week is everything homecoming is, with the revenge or motivation to beat who won homecoming, or keep the title. Add in a pageant, a dance routine with frat guys, community service, field events, and sports and you have a "week" long battle. My mom didn't quite understand why even though it was traveling with my team and missing it, I was still posting about it all over social media.
7. T-Shirts are made for everything.
Now that I'm home and have a break from doing my own laundry (God bless you mom, sorry I shrunk all my clothes) she has noticed that I have accumulated an obscure amount of T-shirts with my letters on them. It is not always that I have bought them either, I have shirts and sweatshirts from 2012 that seniors have passed down to me. Not to mention all the shirts I got from formals, crush dances, new member dances, bid days, and fraternity events. All shirts that are way to big for me and to many to fit nicely in my already full drawers. Enough it enough, but you just can't help yourself but to keep getting them though.
So if you're like me and your mom or parents weren't Greek and don't understand these things, you're not alone. Thank them for supporting you anyways, and remind them that it is only giving you a better home away from home support system. LISK Momma, here's to my little sister being a legacy.
