To the girl who claims she's not a "sorority girl",

I'm not either.

But I was in one.

I almost completely avoided sorority recruitment because I "wasn't the sorority type".

I'm not a "sorority girl". I'm Jen. I wasn't the most popular girl in high school. I don't like Lilly Pulitzer one bit. I never partied in high school, I don't wear bows in my hair, and I'm not a spoiled little daddy's girl.

In fact, I played sports my whole life. I spent the rest of my time drawing and painting. I wrote, I took photographs, and I had a strong interest in music. I went to church three times a week. I worked and I spent time with my few close friends and boyfriend. I have tattoos. I don't do my makeup everyday. I like to fish and be outdoors, camp, and get dirty. I never have nail polish on my nails, and I would rather wear blue jeans and converse than heels and a pretty skirt any day.

But I was in a sorority.

My grandma was an Alpha Phi at Michigan State University. My mom was a Kappa Kappa Gamma at Michigan State. My older sister wasn't really into sorority life, but she thought I might like it. Neither Alpha Phi, nor Kappa Kappa Gamma had chapters at Central Michigan University, and just because I was a legacy to those sororities didn't mean I was interested in them anyway. I was always one to do my own thing. My mom and grandma didn't pressure me into joining a sorority, but I did feel like I had to give recruitment a try just to see what it was all about, and if I didn't like it, I could at least say I gave it a shot.

So I signed up for sorority recruitment. Total leap of faith at this point in my life because I just didn't see this all working out. I thought to myself that regardless of whether or not I actually joined a sorority, I'd learn a lot about myself through the week of recruitment.

When the week was all said and done, there I was holding up my fingers, intertwining them in this weird, confusing way that apparently looked like a crown (I never quite saw it, but I totally pretended I did), calling myself a Zeta Tau Alpha.

I wasn't a sorority girl. What was I doing?

I was so wrong. Everything that I thought about what it meant to be a "sorority girl" was so off base. I based my idea of what this meant on the movies, the tv shows, the stereotypes, the gossip. I thought I knew what it meant to be in a sorority, but I was so wrong.

When I joined Greek life, I met hundreds of women who completely destroyed the stereotypical image of "sorority girl". Yes, I met girls who liked pink, bows and probably dreamed of being a Disney princess when they grew up. But I also met girls who appreciated the arts, wrote music, painted, and crafted. I met girls who camp, travel, and explore. I met philanthropic women who work hard to meet the needs of others. I met girls that were fun to go downtown to the bars with, and girls who were fun to binge watch "Making a Murderer" with (we finished the whole series in about 3 days by the way). I met girls who liked working out and girls who could sit and eat the entire pizza to themselves (and even some that could do both). Girls who were extremely scholarly and girls who had difficulties in their studies. Girls who I could tailgate with and girls who I could cry to when my heart was broken. Such a wide variety of women with completely different personalities, but what ties us together is that we have the same core values.

Why do we even use the phrase "typical sorority girl"? What is a typical sorority girl? Because I have yet to meet a sorority girl who fit the stereotype I had in my mind before I even joined. I have met such a wide variety of Greek women that I will never again put anyone in the confining box created by the label "typical sorority girl".

So I challenge you, if you aren't the "typical sorority girl" to rethink what that means. If you're avoiding sorority recruitment because you just don't think it's for you, you might be right, but you also might be missing out on an experience you never could've imagined in your wildest dreams. When I found out what a real sorority girl was despite what I thought a typical sorority girl was, I didn't want to be anything else more. Don't close any door that you haven't yet walked through. Test the waters. Give it a try. It might surprise you.