When I was a little girl, I desperately wanted to be a princess and live in a castle. I can vividly remember making plans to marry a prince and move into his 16 bedroom mansion with ponies in the backyard. It definitely wasn't a realistic dream considering there are only about 11 eligible royal men out there right now. So, I did the next best thing. I joined a sorority, and I moved into the big white mansion on the hill. Here's the truth about living in one of the most stunning sorority houses in America.
1. Yes, we have a chef.
And he makes the best food on campus. Homemade chicken and waffles, alfredo lasagna, curry bowls - I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. On Taco Tuesday we always have chips and queso, and on Fried Fridays you can expect curly fries and fried pickles. Smoothies are provided for breakfast, but my favorite may very well be the mornings I get to wake up to eggs benedict.
2. There's a study room in the house.
Contrary to popular opinion, we do care about our grades. In fact, scholastics may be one of the most important aspects of being in a sorority. We have to keep a certain GPA, and the sorority with the highest GPA gets an award every year. So having the study room in the house is really important. Personally, I use it a lot. It's nice and quiet, and I don't have to make the hike to the library.
3. I don't have my own bathroom.
We have shared bathrooms. There are two upstairs, with four toilet stalls, four shower stalls, and four sinks in each. Downstairs, we have a male and female public bathroom, and a bathroom with one toilet stall, one sink, and one shower. 64 women live in my house, so you might think the bathrooms would get crowded, but since we all have different schedules, they never get too congested. I've never had to wait on a shower or a stall.
4. No, we don't always get along.
Like I said, there are 64 women living under one roof, and just like real sisters, sorority sisters have their differences. It can make things awkward sometimes, but also like real sisters, we get over it. We settle our differences like women. Maybe I'm not suppose to tell you that part, but like I said, this is the truth about living in a sorority house. We're humans, and we aren't all perfect all the time.
5. No our rooms aren't big and grand.
They're actually a little smaller than the dorm room I lived in last year. The closets in my room are as small as the closets in the dorm room I lived in last year. Our beds are still twin sized (I think a full size bed is what I'm looking forward to the most when I move out). My room gets messy fairly often because I brought way too much stuff for my space. But that's a small price to pay for living in what's basically a castle on campus.
6. It really is great to live on campus.
I'm a few minutes from every class. Accounting starts at 11? I roll out of bed at 10:40 and start walking. Break from 1-2? Back to the house for a snack and a nap. The gym on campus is a ten minute walk. Chik-Fil-A is only five minutes away. Being on campus may be what I miss most when I get an apartment next year.
7. No, we don't have parties at our house.
In America, sororities aren't allowed to have parties in their houses. We rent out places like bars or banquet halls to have our events. These events range from swaps to formals to date parties. We wear crazy costumes and fancy, sparkly dresses. The only time we're at the house is for check in and to get on a bus, which is the only form of transportation we use to get to and from our events (for liability reasons).
8. Movie nights are definitely a thing.
And they happen often. We have two parlors upstairs and a living room type area downstairs. Each of these areas has a flat screen, and we put them to use. Not a day goes by when there aren't girls huddled up on the couch watching HGTV or rewatching "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". We pop popcorn and eat out of the same gallon bucket of ice cream. It's exactly like sleepers you see in movies, except it happens in real life.
9. We get free laundry.
It's a blessing. After paying $3 per load of clothes last year, free laundry may be one of my favorite parts of living in the house. I can wash my clothes for free any time I want. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but when you spend over $100 washing clothes a semester, it IS a big deal.
10. There are no boys allowed.
The two main rules of living in the house? No booze and no boys. They can come over for lunch and sometimes to study, but that's all. They do not come upstairs for any reason. Not even fathers or brothers (unless you're moving in). This rule is in place for obvious reasons and to protect the privacy of other sisters (community bathrooms remember?). Personally, I think it's been an easy rule to follow.
11. It's bittersweet to be moving out.
I move out of my big white mansion on the hill in May when the school year ends. Living in the house has been an experience I'm glad I got to have. It has taught me a lot about who I am as a person. Sure, it was trying at times, but it was also really convenient. It allowed me to make friends with girls I may not have gotten to know otherwise. Also, it was technically cheaper than an apartment. I'm ready to move out now, though, because I've realized that I've grown up. I'm no longer a little girl dreaming of meeting my prince and living in a castle. I'm a 20 year old woman getting her degree while working a part time job and pinning pictures of how I want to decorate my new apartment. Even though I'm ready to move out, I'm thankful I got to live my little girl dream.
