If you had told me freshman year that I would end up joining a sorority, I probably would have laughed at you. I’ll admit, I believed the stereotypes set out by Hollywood and they made me not want to join. However, I was lonely and wasn’t really involved with anything in school. I figured that I would have nothing to lose by going through recruitment. It turned out that this was one of the best decisions of my life. Joining a sorority has changed me for the better and has taught me so many things about myself.
It gave me some of the best friends I’ve ever had.
This almost seems obvious, but as someone who didn’t really have any friends as a freshman, this was huge for me. I find the whole idea that you’re just buying your friends ridiculous, and a bit insulting. I didn’t buy my friends, but my sorority helped introduce me to people I may not have met otherwise and gave me a chance to become close to them. Now, I have people I can talk with easily and have fun with, whether we’re just hanging out in the dining hall or going on an impromptu Menchie’s trip at 9:30pm. Most importantly, though, my friends accept me and my quirks wholeheartedly.
It showed me new ways to be a leader.
I hate being the center of attention. The idea that everyone is looking at me and listening to everything I say is enough to make me want to cry. At the same time, I want to be able to lead. I want to be able to look at something and say, “I did that. I helped make that happen.” At first, I thought that being a leader meant you had to physically lead a group of people in something. Since joining a sorority, I’ve found other ways to be a leader, from being one of the first to volunteer to help with something, to being a pillar of support, to helping plan events. It may not be the kind of leadership everyone aspires to but, for me, it’s perfect.
It has allowed me to give back and help others.
I love being able to make a difference, no matter how small it may be. The issue was, I could never seem to find ways to volunteer in high school and freshman year. Joining a sorority and being introduced to many ways to volunteer and give back to the community was probably one of my main reasons for rushing to begin with.
It has inspired me to be the best that I can be.
I can honestly say that rushing was one of the two most pivotal points in my life, thus far. I cannot begin to imagine where I would be without it. And, frankly, I don’t want to. My sorority has brought out sides of me that I didn’t know existed and helped me to do things I never imagined I could do.
While Greek life may not be for everyone, it ended up changing my life. Unfortunately, not everyone may have the same positive experience that I did. However, that doesn’t mean Greek life is inherently bad. Just like everything else, it has its positives and negatives and has the potential to make a huge impact on someone’s life. I know it did for me.