I know that a major thing girls going to college in the fall are thinking about is joining a sorority, my sister included. I always knew that I wanted to be in a sorority and actually for a while after I did, I was still in disbelief that I had actually done it. A few of my friends are in other sororities or fraternities and it honestly brings you closer and gives you one more thing you have in common. I know that most girls join because of the functions or the super cute t-shirts, but it's much more than that. I figured I should give some insight on somethings that happen in a sorority.
1. You meet your "forever" friends
This is the most true statement that I think has ever been said. When I first walked in, I talked to one girl and I knew in that moment that we were going to be friends forever. My roommate for next year and the girls who live down the hall and the ones who I hangout with during the week are people I know I will be friends with forever. When we say the saying that "it's not just four years, it's forever", we mean it. When you join a sorority, you aren't just joining a group of girls to hangout with for four years, you are joining a sisterhood that is in every state, and maybe one day a sister in every country.
2. Your sorority is your family
This is another true statement because they really do become your family. While you are school, they're who you can count on. They are the people you call when you need a friend to cry with, or someone to go hike with or figure out life with. The coolest thing is that just like in your family, you have a mom and a dad and the crazy aunt or whatever, you get that too. The greatest thing about being "adopted" is that you get a family as soon as you join and then you end up joining other people's families too.
3. All we do is party
This is a very false statement. We do have functions, but only five a semester, if that. Majority of our time is spent doing community service or something else benefiting our school or philanthropy. Also, majority of us don't even go out on the weekends because there is more to college and being a sorority than going out. We enjoy hanging out together and taking day trips to towns close to us and all sorts of things.
4. Just anyone can join a sorority
This is true, anyone who wants to can join a sorority, but you have to have a certain GPA and community service hours and sisterhood hours and all sorts of other things to stay in. I never thought I would be a sorority girl, but I realized that none of the girls in my sorority are sorority girls and neither are any of them. We are not "sorority girls,” we are just girls who are in a sorority and in a sisterhood together. You can come from any background or be in any major and still be a sorority.
5. They're more than just letters on your chest
It may seem to people that the letters we wear on shirts and backpacks and everything else are just cool decorations, but they're not. They are what makes us who we are. They are what makes us different than all the others. Every sorority has different values and that can be seen in their letters and colors and mascots. They represent what we stand for as an organization and as individuals. They are what connects all of us, whether they're in our chapter or not. It's also true that when you join, you are just a part of it, but overtime it becomes a part of you.
I know that when you hear "it's more than just four years, it's forever" it can be scary to think about joining something for the rest of your life, but that's the point. When you declare your major, you are saying that you want to study that subject for the rest of your life and the same is with a sorority. When you join and get intiated, you are saying that you want to be a part of something and support something you believe in. I honestly couldn't imagine my life without it, so I highly encourage that every college girl at least give it a try.