Written by Kirthana Iyer
So, this is one of the last articles I’ll be posting for a LITTLE while so I wanted it to be BIG. Just a little Greek humor for ya! ;) Well, if you didn’t know, I’m a part of Greek life on BU’s Campus. It’s a small community unlike many other college campuses and I just wanted to write an article about how I think it helped me get through my first semester here at BU.
I am a spring admit, which basically means that I joined after everyone had already made cliques and had friends. And, to be completely honest, assimilating into college life is hard, so that didn’t help my situation. I got here late, I was missing home, and I was missing people who knew every detail about me. Not only that, but recruitment started almost a month after I got here. So. Stressful.
I decided to give recruitment a try while remaining incredibly nervous that it would be like the TV show Greek. But, I walked into day 1 with my head held high, not knowing anyone very well, and I’m so glad I did because recruitment changed my life. I’m not going to lie, it was incredibly intense. But all these girls were going through the same things I was and they were helping to solidify a part of their future at BU and in Boston! I thought maybe I could belong to one of these groups. Each day, I felt as if I was having great conversations, but I never really had a “spark” with any group.
Then came Day 3. I clicked with someone and I can’t even begin to explain how amazing that feeling was. She talked just like me, we knew similar places, and she made me feel so comfortable in my own skin. After being so nervous, for once I felt relaxed and like I could be myself even in this unknown place.
On my way home that day, I honestly couldn’t wait to go back and talk to her again. And sure enough, the next day I got paired with her again. We talked for the whole hour and we probably could have talked for longer if there was time. It was non-stop, like those conversations you have with friends who you have known for a lifetime. And I had only met her a day ago! It was crazy; I had found someone who clicked with me in a brand new place. Who would have thought?
Then, bid night came along and I was so nervous. I needed to get my bid to calm me down because I literally had no idea where I would end up. I finally got my bid and I came “home” to all these wonderful people who I had seen and gotten to know throughout the weekend. For once, since I got to Boston, I felt safe and secure. I had found some kind of stability in this new place. I was excited for what the Greek community had in store for me. There was so much it had to offer.
Then, Big/Little Week started creeping up on us. While I loved all the girls, I was nervous about not having that click with many sisters. So logically, I decided to hang out with every girl possible. But by then, I had been texting my soon-to-be big all the time. She helped calm me down when I was stressed about who to put on my list. All I knew was that I wanted her at the top because, at this point, we would get boba together and she was already one of my closest friends on campus. So of course, I wanted her to be my big.
The whole Big/Little week, I had no idea it was her. I was convinced that she was just going to be one of my really good friends in our chapter and I was okay with it. But then came reveal, and honestly seeing her made me so relaxed. She had always found a way to keep me calm yet excited about the future. I’m a person who gets super nervous about academics so sometimes just getting a text saying “how did your test go?” calms me down. She would send me those texts, and we would talk whenever we had time.
My big honestly made my semester a lot more bearable because I was a little homesick at times, but she helped me form some roots in Boston. I found a new home filled with sisters and my first ever big sister. I don’t know how to explain what a big can do for you, but I will say this: you’re not going to find anyone else on campus who cares about you and your wellbeing as much as your big. She’s always there for you and helps you when you are down.
That’s why I love my big :’) She opened her BIG heart for her LITTLE. So yeah, Greek life isn’t as prominent here as it is at most schools, but the heart of a big and the amount of love the sisters in a sorority have for one another is incomparable.
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