Being a sorority girl, I have experienced and felt the judgmental glares and snarky comments that come along with my membership in a sorority. I have heard people refer to my social group as "buying your friends." I have heard people refer to sororities as "unintelligent." I have felt falsely stereotyped, time and time again. In today's society, sororities get a bad reputation. People think that we are valley girls who only wear big t-shirts and athletic shorts. They refer to us as robotic and mindless, but they don't know the truth. 

Sorority women on my University's campus have a higher grade point average than the average for non-Greek female students. Making good grades is difficult as a college student, not to mention being a college student who balances school work, philanthropy events every month, date parties, mixers, weekly meetings and any other activities outside of a sorority schedule. 

Another commonly overlooked aspect of the true sorority girl is our philanthropic passion and involvement. If there is one thing sorority girls do excellently, it is philanthropy events. The Greek community, as a whole, shows up and supports one another in everyone's involvement with local, and national charities. I am proud to be a sorority woman because I get to participate in something larger than myself. I am constantly given the opportunity to give of myself.

College is an easy place to be selfish. You make your own schedule. You get to decide when you go to class. You are responsible for your own well-being. Being in a sorority has given me a chance to look outside of my own little world and join together with women who desire the same thing I do -- to serve other people and work together towards a common goal. 

Maybe I like to wear an oversized t-shirt. Maybe my friends and I do the "sorority squat" in pictures. Maybe people will always think of me and my sorority, as a brainless 'sororistitute,' but I know the truth. I have experienced so much growth as a member in my sorority. I have been encouraged and challenged to become the best version of myself. I have learned to empathize with my sisters, collaborate with my sisters, and make sense of the confusing and hectic years that are at the core of my collegiate career. 

People may never quite understand what it really means to be a sorority girl, but I do.