Coming to DU my freshman year, I did not want to join Greek life. I thought that the whole process of being a part of Greek life is something that was not in any way shape or form something for me to do. And I have to admit I had my own biases based on what I had seen in movies and TV shows. I thought of it as a lifestyle that did not fit with mine.
Then I got to DU, and I was hit with a culture shock like no other, and I don’t know why. Culture shock was something I had not experienced or even thought of as a problem until I hit campus on move-in day. I knew I needed to find something that would make me feel at home again.
When I had moved into my dorm, MGC members came and helped me adjust to my new life on campus, and had started to even become my friends. I had stopped at Nelson to eat some breakfast all alone, and some of the sisters of Pi Lambda Chi, Latina Sorority Inc. recognized me from a time I was hanging out with an alumni from my high school, who is also a sister, and they decided to sit with me. Little did I know that the lunch I was eating with them would change my life forever. And honestly, they probably do not remember this moment at all, but the way that they became people I would talk to forever in the blink of an eye made that moment one to remember. The sisters were a blessing beyond compare. They are the start of my journey through MGC.
Now I knew at this point I wanted to join a sorority, but I did not know where to begin. So I started looking into all the organizations and began attending more events, asking questions of different organizations, and went back to what made me feel at home again. I actually did not realize this until my friend had her probate for Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority Inc. I saw everyone strolling and the bond that strolling created within groups of people and how amazing everyone looked. I turned to my friend next to me and said, “I’m going to do it, I am going to join a sorority like that, and I don’t care how or when but I will.” Then reflecting on how my year was going and seeing the impact the sisters had on me, I chose Pi Lambda Chi.
The fact that these sisters got to know me as person first and as a friend, before I even became a sister, was what made me reconsider my opinion on Greek life as a whole. However, I was still unsure that this was something I was willing to commit to, or perhaps I had made an impulse choice because what I saw on a stage looked cool and didn’t know what was really behind the letters.
In fact, I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into until I was hit with a ton of bricks in the form of thirteen line sisters. Those bricks are the biggest and finest blessings that I have ever received. They challenged me, accepted me, and had become the missing piece of my life. And I couldn’t imagine my life without any of them. Aside from my thirteen blessings of line sisters, I received a big who was an amazing student, a successful and strong Latina, and one of the most genuine people I have ever met. These people stood by me in the times that I had lost all hope and my life was a mess. The sisters of Pi Lambda Chi are the reason I decided to join Greek life, but the reason I have stayed is much bigger.
The MGC community is amazing, not just at DU but all over Colorado. This has given me the community that I very much needed my first day here at DU. In just my short time of being a new member, I have gained friendships, created a professional network, and have become a better person. When I attend events, probates, and whenever I stroll, I can see a sense of community that is bigger than what meets the eye.
I know this all sounds cheesy, but the truth is still there: I have bonded with people that I never thought I would ever bond with and have been given a new perspective to a side of college I thought was not something I would have given a second glance. Thanks to multicultural groups like Beta Gamma Nu Fraternity Inc., Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority Inc., Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Inc., Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc., Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority Inc., and last but certainly not least, the FIIIIIINEST ladies of them all Pi Lambda Chi, Latina Sorority Inc., my college experience is a million times better with them in my life. With that, I am more than proud to say, hi my name is Andrea Macias, I am the exceptional 8 of the Xtravagent Xi Line. I crossed in Winter of 2018 and am a part of the Elite Epsilon Chapter of Pi Lambda Chi, Latina Sorority Inc.