Sororities are filled with pretentious, entitled, narcissistic women. Women in expensive dresses paired with excessive amounts of make-up and hairspray at the expense and judgment of slightly older women with excessive amounts of make-up and hairspray. Once you rush a house you essentially sign your life away to years of wearing heels that make you want to saw your feet off while smiling for ridiculously posed pictures in flower crowns or body glitter. You don’t get to participate in a sport, club or other activity, much less eat anything besides raisins or nuts.

These were my precise thoughts on sororities and the women in them all throughout high school and my freshman year of college. To say my definition of it was slightly exaggerated would be understatement at the very least.

If you asked me if I wanted to be in a sorority, let alone the “notorious” Kappa Kappa Gamma at Dartmouth College, I’d smile politely before stating that I would rather stab myself in the eye with a pencil before claiming my undying love and loyalty to three random letters of the Greek alphabet.

Now, sitting here in Los Angeles after coming back from one of the best summers of my life, I’ve had some time to reflect on exactly what made my summer so great. In these reflections, I have found that the majority of my adventures and people I have met are in large part due to Kappa.

While I can’t say that the Greek Life has been my entire life since becoming a member of Kappa, I can say I have many things to thank this sisterhood for in 16X.

For acceptance. To be able to walk into a sorority that I once believed to be the most stereotypical, exclusive, and arguably “blonde” house, and not feel a single wave of judgment pass over me is one of the best feelings in the world. As someone who grew up struggling with their racial identity as an Asian-American, being a part of Kappa should have presumably only added to the fire. Instead, being a part of Kappa has allowed me to be a part of an incredibly diverse group of girls. Not just in terms of racial diversity, but in all things social, economic and cultural. This exposure met with the understanding and compassion found in every woman I have met is a level of acceptance that most people don’t believe could be fostered in a Greek House.

For new outlooks on life. The amount of times I have been absolutely blown away by one of my sisters is innumerable. Every time I had the chance to sit and talk with one of my sisters brought be another way of looking at the world. Everyone’s past experiences has made them who they are today, and their courage to share these stories with me and with the rest of my sisters bonded us together in ways I am forever grateful for.

For the rants. Yes, we are women, and yes, we are human. So inevitably, we’re going to have those days we want to break everything and anything in sight. There is truly something beautiful about walking into a kitchen at 2 am and hearing other girls confide in each other and plot their revenge over half-baked ice cream or take-out. Often times they’re about small stuff, like about some dumb boy or a bad grade, but then sometimes they’re about big stuff. The personal, tell one or two people in your life-time stuff. What I’ve come to find is my sisters are there for the big stuff and the little stuff. Being a person for another person is super f*cking important.

For the crazy. Or… Krazy. Amongst the sentimental moments of getting to know one another on a personal level and comforting each other as we cried about that stupid boy who we were too good for anyways, we have also shared less sentimental moments. The moments where we throw on ridiculous costumes to fit the theme for night. The moments we jump in the air right before our feet hit the floor and the beat drops to a song everyone knows the lyrics to. Where we shotgun to our accomplishments (which is usually the fact you made it to your 10 am class only fifteen minutes late) and decide that we’re going to have a hell of a night together (whether that ends in stuffing your faces with EBA’s or table-sliding your way out of a basement). We’ve got some Krazy type of loyalty too. And not the typical, “I’d help you hide the body” kind of way. It’s actually more like a “I’ll murder them for you so you don’t have to get your hands dirty” kind of way. Yep, you’ve been warned.

For proving the stereotype wrong. To say that we don’t fit certain stereotypes of being a Greek house, or you know, being girls, would be extremely naïve of me. Yes, of course we have a song to sing. Yes, we **insert three heart-eye emojis** our jock-wear and rep our letters on First Floor Berry. Yes, we do like coffee (who doesn’t?) and often pick our sisters up some orders when we get our own (if you don’t do this, you should). God-forbid we’re proud to be a part of our house (we have every reason to be) or believe in random acts of kindness (bless you all who buy me Starbucks). But besides all of that, I have had the privilege to get to know my class of sisters on a level that has shown me that we are more than just our letters. I’ve seen sisters go on to professional sports leagues and big-time city jobs. I’ve seen sisters who truly care about the culture we create at Dartmouth as they seek ways to make it better. I’ve seen sisters who value the person you are far more than your socio-economic status. If that makes us the “typical” house, then thank God because I’m in the right place.

To the lovely ladies of 16X, this one is for you. Thank you for the paint wars, and the painting. Thank you for the nights we stayed out way too late and the morning afters where we ate way too much. Thank you for never letting me dance alone on a Friday night and never letting me watch a Netflix series alone on a Saturday night. Thanks for the hiking trips, the Organic-farm trips, and the trips (in whatever form or capacity that may have been). Thank you for proving me, and others who might think like me, wrong.

Rushing Kappa has been one of the best decisions I have made at Dartmouth. Being a part of a sorority has not limited or asked me to sacrifice who I already am, a student-athlete, but has rather introduced me to an entirely different network of friends that I would have other-wise over looked. And for that, I could not be more thankful. So now, when people ask me if I can “throw what I know”, or more-over what it’s like to be in a sorority, I can smile and say that this house has made me incredibly happy. In an “I’m so happy that I amma” kind of way.