The movies do not quite get it right when it comes to a sorority. Most of the notions you had about Greek Life are way different, trust me.
In many ways it is what you think, but for the most part, we are just chill people who casually have our letters on our cars, laptops, clothes and anything else you could think of. And people who also occasionally get to obnoxiously chant and make a huge scene when it comes to recruitment. Oh, and people who talk nonstop about that said sorority. But hey, we are still average people, just like any athlete or overachieving student in college. Here is why we are not the movie version of a sorority!
1. We are not a cult of "best friends"
Do not get me wrong, my sisters (so srat) mean the world to me and I love them, but there are a solid 100 people I still do not know the names of. We have our friends within our friends just like anyone else.
2. We legitimately have a purpose
Contrary to what you are thinking, sororities do a lot for the community and their school. You want to raise $ 5,000 in a week? Call us up and I promise you it will get done and then some. Countless hours spent on community service, philanthropies, resume building and planning for future opportunities are far from only "buying t-shirts and taking artsy Instagrams on Bid Day."
3. We do not all live in the house.
Sororities are not a prison — we do not have to be with each other all the time. It is not always a required task to live in the house. Most sororities actually make sisters put in a lot of extra work to have the privilege (yes, it is actually a lot of fun/a privilege).
4. We do own shirts that do not have our letters/events/fundraising on them
It is a very rare occasion, but, yeah, it is true. We own clothing that does not require the Greek Alphabet. I was just as shocked as you are.
5. We do not get to do whatever we want
There are rules and lots of them. It is not a free for all. We hold ourselves to a high standard and are expected to follow that regardless of the "reputation" of a sorority girl. We get in trouble just like any other organization.
6. We actually love having friends in other sororities
This is not "House Bunny." We do not hate every other girl who is not wearing our letters. Sororities constantly have events and mixers with other chapters and many of our good friends are in those chapters. It's probably for the best — we wouldn't want us to be matching our friends all the time.
7. Connections are a very real thing
Walk into a store, bam, a 50-year-old woman is telling you where she went to school when she was in your chapter. Meet anyone and tell them you are in a sorority and it usually goes "Oh wow, my mom is a 'insert greek letters here.'" You now have a person willing to help you in any way that they can, just because they are your sister. Making connections rock and is just another thing that makes a sorority amazing.
8. We have guy friends outside of a fraternity
Listen, and this is probably the most important. We have friends outside of Greek Life. Yes, we love our fraternity friends, we have events with our fellow Greek lifers. But, we are friends with all boys — boys in campus mens organizations, boys in our classes, boys on the bus who also participate in events. I know you aren't going to listen to me about this, but it is a real thing.
9. We are not angry with you putting us in a small percentage of our colleges
I am not writing this out of anger, I totally understand the side that most people see is the side of the spending money and not making an impact. I also understand that Greek Life is smaller in some colleges than others and will be subject to judgement. But, if you listen to us about our philanthropies and the things we stand for, you may change your mind.
10. We have lives outside of sorority life
I study just as much as the next person; I have a surplus of friends who do not participate in being in a sorority. I leave the house long enough to see what it is like outside our world. I absolutely love my sorority and it means the world to me, but we do not eat, sleep and breathe it all the time (well, for the most part).
Writing this article kind of makes me question whether some of you are right about your notions. I guess in ways you could be for some people, but that does not mean that sororities are in any way less than other organizations. We give back to the community, we raise awareness, we raise money and we do it all with a smile on our faces. I hope that you can find something that makes you as happy as my sorority makes me and countless other girls. Because once you find something you are that invested in, you will never look back.
