A sorority isn’t for everyone, but for some of us it was everything when we started college. This doesn’t mean that when we walked on to campus, we immediately thought “I’m totally joining a sorority like Elle Woods.” It’s true that for some girls, they knew they were joining a sorority, whether it was because they were a legacy or their friend was in a sorority and told them to join. Everyone has their reasons for how they ended up in a sorority. For me, I was just a freshman last year that wanted to fit in and make friends.
I was walking through the quad after finishing my classes when I saw all of these different booths with weird letters on them and realized that it was the Meet the Greeks fair that I saw on a flyer the week before. At first, I didn’t want to look at any of the booths because I immediately thought of all the stereotypes, but then again, not all stereotypes are true, so I decided to give it a try and went to the booths. I was immediately surrounded by a ton of energetic girls, who didn’t seem like the sorority girls I imagined. I decided to learn more about the sororities by going to their ice cream social, and was surprised to learn they had philanthropies and focused on grades. I saw the sisterhood bond between them and knew then that I wanted to rush.
The only problem was I had no idea what to wear or what to say these girls and had less than a week to get ready for recruitment. I went on Pinterest to see what was the typical outfit worn for each day, even though they had given me a description of what to wear. I looked in my closet and realized I had nothing like the outfits on Pinterest, so I just had to hope I didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. Sadly, I did stick out because the other girls rushing had the outfits from Pintrest on. They had on wedges, while I had on Converse. I thought to myself, “Hey, at least you stand out and look unique.” At the end of recruitment, I got a bid from my sorority and couldn’t be happier!
My sorority has changed my life. Every sister will tell you this, but it’s only because it’s the truth. We do not all have the same stories of how we joined a sorority, but we will tell you how it has changed us. I can’t imagine not having them at the library with me for late night study sessions. I can’t imagine not having Netflix nights and eating ice cream with them on their couch. I can’t imagine not having downtown adventures with them whether it was to the Art Institute, shopping, Insomnia cookies, or just because we wanted to go exploring. I can’t imagine not singing throwback songs with them and dancing around in one of their apartments. I can’t imagine not volunteering with them and making a difference in others lives and giving back to the community. Most of all, I can’t imagine not being a sister of my sorority. My sorority has and continues to change me for the better. They are my support group, study buddies, friends, and sisters. My sorority is my home. So yes, a sorority is not for everyone, but if you decided to join, you wouldn’t regret it because I haven’t!