Where I grew up, Greek Life wasn’t very popular. I didn’t know any adult who had been involved in it, and none of my friends ever discussed it once we went to college. No one in my family has ever been a part of Greek Life either, so when I decided to go through recruitment, I got a lot of questions. How did it work? What made me want to do it? Originally, I thought I was going through recruitment because it was just the thing to do on my campus. It sounds bad to say, but if you aren’t in Greek Life at my school, it’s a little difficult to get involved. However, as I started meeting more people involved with the system, I realized there are many layers to sorority life.

1. I joined a sorority because my friends were doing it.

That may sound like I can’t think for myself, but that’s a lie. The more friends I had told me they were going through recruitment the more appealing it became to me. It was a chance to strengthen things I had in common with these people I already loved. Though we may not be in the same houses now, we are as close as ever. We support each other's philanthropies, go to each other’s formals and, while we may not have that sisterhood bond, we have a bond that cannot be broken.

2. I joined a sorority to get involved.

Like I said before, it’s kind of hard to get involved with things, like homecoming, if you aren’t in a house, especially on a campus where a majority of the students are Greek. While, yes, being in a sorority got me more involved around campus, the idea of getting involved in the sorority itself seemed like the path I wanted to take. I was able to help my house, which already means a lot to me, improve even more is so intriguing. "Leave things better than the way you found it," has been a little motto for me of late, and I carry that through every aspect of my life.

3. I joined a sorority because of the philanthropy.

There is not a week that goes by on campus where there are no philanthropy events for one of the houses. Many people tend to only hear about the bad side of Greek Life and clearly, that is not the only side. For a lot of philanthropies, Greek organizations are their biggest money makers. It’s easy to join a sorority for the parties and social benefits, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You get out of Greek Life what you put in, and I was looking for a meaningful experience.

4. I joined a sorority for the sisterhood.

Being an only child, the idea of having that kind of bond with someone was foreign to me. And while yes, no one in my house is really my sister, it feels good to call them my sister. My sorority has bonded me with people on my campus that I didn’t know before Bid Day. A girl that I had no clue existed before January came and cried to me because she was going through a rough patch with some of her friends. I'm not in a house for the parties, I'm in a house for the late nights in the kitchen, eating snacks that are not good for us. One of the most important things to do as humans is to connect with others, and being in a house has given me more of an opportunity to do that.