College is an experience to say the least. Growing up, my parents often told me stories from their time in college and I couldn’t wait to make my own memories at UA. While Alabama is known for its academics and fabulous programs, it is widely known for its large Greek community. I ended up joining a sorority at the start of my freshman year, and although my mom had prepared me by sharing her own experiences, I had no idea what I was in for.
I spent my childhood as a pre-professional dancer, meaning all of my time was either consumed by dance classes or schoolwork. I never got to partake in the normal activities that my friends from school were doing such as going to football games, attending concerts, and hanging out on the weekends. When I got to college, I was thrown into a sea of experiences that I had never heard about or done before. One of the main appeals to Greek life is the array of social events hosted throughout the semester, typically swaps and date parties. While I enjoyed dressing up in accordance with the funky themes, I soon realized that I didn’t care for the actual event. I continued to go to the date parties to be with my friends, but I decided to stop attending the swaps because I wasn’t a fan of the atmosphere it fostered.
Fast forward to now, my first semester of sophomore year has been interesting. While swaps and date parties are beginning to fill up the social calendar (following COVID-19 guidelines), I have now where my feelings lie in regards to these events. I personally would rather stay home and watch a movie with my favorite snacks instead of getting dressed up and going to a date party. To anyone who shares my same feelings, do not feel obligated to attend anything that you feel uncomfortable being involved in. To be totally transparent, I have not been to a single college party outside of attending swaps and I can’t ever see myself wanting to attend them. I have my limits of what I want to surround myself with, and I’ve found that the “party” crowd just doesn’t fit me.
Everyone has different opinions about events and what they’re comfortable with, and it’s okay to not be interested in the same things as everyone else. My friends enjoy going to parties more than I do, but something we like to do together is to get dressed up and go to dinner somewhere downtown. I really enjoy getting to do this with my friends and it makes me happy. If my friends decide to go out one night, I’ll put on one of my favorite movies and make some delicious treats and have a quiet night by myself. Honestly it has been challenging to find a group of friends who feel the same way I do about parties, but my friends are extremely supportive of how I feel towards these events and they make every effort to ensure that I feel included. I am looking to expand into more clubs and organizations across campus and I know that I will find a group that shares the same views as me. Ultimately, it is important to remember to stay true to yourself and not change your stance on things just because others don’t share the same opinion. It’s okay to stand out, and that’s what makes everyone unique!