People talk. People talk about us all the time. People stereotype “sorority girls” as all the same. There are millions of sorority girls across the country. So why is it that no one ever has anything good to say about us? How about Alpha Phi becoming the first sorority to speak out against The Safe Campus Act?
Or what about the Alpha Sigma Alpha chapter giving a bid to a woman with special needs? What about the Zeta Tau Alpha chapter at Indiana University raising over $200,000 for Breast Cancer Education and Awareness? As an active sister in a sorority myself, I have had enough. Let me tell you why I didn’t go Greek:
1. I didn’t go Greek to pay for friends.
Let me be the first to tell you, I am not crazy about forking out thousands of dollars. But that’s not paying for friends. That’s paying for the fun that you get to enjoy with your sisters.
2. I didn’t go Greek to be popular.
This isn’t high school. At most universities in the south, quite literally everyone you know from high school goes through recruitment. It’s meant for you to find women that are like yourself and that will help mold you into the woman you want to become.
3. I didn’t go Greek because of TSM.
Yeah, TSM is fun to read. But that really doesn’t refer to most chapters. It’s almost like a sorority girl fantasy. Most of my sisters aren’t even like that.
4. I didn’t go Greek because everyone else did.
I’m not about hopping onto bandwagons. Being from the Midwest, I wasn’t born and bred to be a legacy. Heck, I was the first of anyone in my family to go Greek, and I made that decision on my own.
5. I didn’t go Greek to party.
College is fun. I could be here forever. However, I am here to learn, make lasting friendships, and make job and alumni connections. Yeah, being Greek gives you invites to some pretty awesome parties, but that’s just a bonus to be able to go out with your friends on a Friday night after finals to cut loose.
6. I didn’t go Greek to meet frat boys.
Sure, the ones I have met and am friends with are amazing and the formals are always a good time. But I remember in the weeks leading up to recruitment being told not to go to any frat parties because it makes you look like that’s why you want to rush. Sororities are about meeting women. The guys are a bonus, but not my priority.
7. I didn’t go Greek to make it look like I give back.
Not only does every sorority have their own philanthropy that they consistently raise money and awareness for, but they also actually care about their cause. My chapter is required to be in an organization outside of being a sister. This helps make us well rounded and not just let our chapter be our identity. We are required to do service hours and learn the “nobility of serving.” We don’t just throw money at our philanthropy, take pictures, and call it a day.
8. I didn’t go Greek to be called basic.
Yeah, I am one of the most basic girls you will ever encounter. However, I don’t let the fact that I made the choice to go Greek be the only defining factor in that.
9. I didn’t go Greek for the T-shirts.
Ha! We are all obsessed with Greek T-shirts. Comfort colors with a frocket are my personal favorites. I even steal my boyfriend’s from time to time. I don’t look at them as, “Hello world, look! I’m in a sorority!” I look at them as memories. Every time I put one on, there’s a story about that event that comes to mind. Like the time my Grand-Big and I tried to find our way through a corn maze, or the semi-formal when I won “Future Trophy Wife.” Every shirt is a memory.
10. I didn’t go Greek just to say I’m affiliated.
Let’s be real. If you did that, paid all of that money and invested all of that time, just to throw what you know, that’s dumb. I say my affiliation because I am proud of it. When people ask me and I can state why I joined my chapter and how I knew the first day of recruitment, that I continued to think about my chapter all throughout visiting other chapters, and that when I tore open my bid card with my roommate, I cried and ran the wrong way and that I’m home.
11. Lastly, I didn’t go Greek because I didn’t want to.
I made a choice. I have made lifelong friends. No matter what the affiliation, going Greek was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I would recommend it to any young girl who asked me about it. There is always a home for you, and the feeling you get when you find it is indescribable. Going Greek will be the best thing you do in college.
I am not saying that those aren’t valid reasons that have made some want to go Greek. What I am saying is that there is so much more than that.
