Yes, I'm a girl and I'm in a fraternity and sometimes that turns a lot of heads. But does it bother me at all? Never. Today I'm here to talk about something I'm passionate about and that means the world to me. To start off, I'm in a fraternity called Theta Delta Sigma. It is a multicultural and gender inclusive fraternity that breaks the norm of many Greek life organizations. Theta Delta Sigma is not located at every college campus across the states, but I am definitely grateful for the siblings I have, each and every one of you.
Being a sibling of Theta is an amazing thing. It means that there is a group of people with the same passion as you, it's having diverse friends who you will call your siblings for all of eternity and, most importantly, it's having people that understand you.
While being in Theta is a new adventure for me, I love learning new things about my siblings and helping each other learn and grow over our college careers. While I'm sure there will be challenges just like anywhere else, it will help us learn and grow closer together. Nobody will share those moments except for the people in the fraternity and someday you will look back and smile about all the times you have together.
In addition to having the support of those in your chapter, you have support from others in chapters from different colleges as well. In just the past several months, I have met people that are like myself. I have met people with similar interests and who I could ask any question without a flinch or a moment of awkwardness. It was amazing to come to terms with people who accepted me for who I was as I did with them.
Not only is being in a fraternity fun and games, but it definitely helped me continue to challenge myself. Being in a fraternity (or sorority) is not like how people portray it on TV or in movies. You and your siblings rise to the challenge of being all around good people. From getting better grades in your classes to improving your health, you and your siblings will be there to support and challenge you in the best ways. It's not always about who can drink the most beer in one night.
A fraternity doesn't always improve you and your group, it helps to improve the community as well. From the events you do on campus to the service you give to the community, your organization is impacting people in the community. Even though your chapter (or colony) might not be huge, when you think about the other chapters around, you are impacting individuals in different areas and states and that can truly be a beautiful thing.
I look forward to all the events and bonding that is to come with Theta over the upcoming year. I think it is amazing to be a part of something bigger than yourself. After these days are over, I will certainly look back on it with a smile on my face knowing that I impacted others as much as others have impacted me. You learn to think about things from a groups point of view and not just what's beneficial to you and that is definitely something that many people don't learn over their years of life. I will forever be thankful for being a sibling of Theta Delta and for those that paved the way for myself and all of us.