When I first arrived on Florida State’s campus, I was unbelievably overwhelmed, but also unbelievably excited. I grew up in a small town in southwest Florida, went to the same school for nine years, and had the same group of close friends since elementary school. The transition from such a small life to a school with 40,000+ students was a large one. How was I going to be known? Who will support me through my tough times, my struggles? Who will push me to be my best? It was during my sophomore year that I finally found the answers I was looking for.
As a freshman, I only knew a little bit about Greek Life. I knew of the Panhellenic sororities with the big houses scattered around campus, and of course I heard about (and attended a few) of the infamous parties hosted at Heritage Grove. I tried Panhellenic’s formal recruitment and dropped out after a couple of days (mostly because it was 95 degrees and I was so very tired of walking, like, 10 miles a day). At that point, I figured that Greek life just wasn’t meant for me. I decided to take the rest of freshman year to adjust to my newfound independence and found that although I had made some new friends, I wanted more out of my college experience.
I wanted to become more involved. I wanted to pursue new things and make some life changes that would (hopefully) better me as a young woman. The fall of my sophomore year, I attended the involvement fair and went around to some of the tables that caught my attention. I walked up to a table adorned with Carolina blue, lavender, and black decorations. The young woman sitting at the table (who would later become my sister and one of my role models!!!) smiled at me and told me about her sorority. A sorority that values diversity, scholarship, service, multiculturalism, and most importantly, each other. They valued the unbreakable bond of sisterhood. I put my name, number and email down on the “I’m interested” list, and the rest is history.
I crossed into the Exquisite Lambda Chapter of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc., in Spring 2017. In that time, I’ve given back to the Tallahassee community by doing service with my sisters. I’ve learned about various cultures through dinners and potlucks and long talks about our lives. I have a group of women who value their education, and that is always down to have a study date. I gained four of the closest friends I will ever have: my amazing, beautiful and strong line sisters. I now have a Big Sister who pushes me to be the best version of myself. And I now have sisters who will drop everything to help me out when I’m in need. Even though I’ve only been a part of my organization for a couple of semesters, I have learned so much. I’ve changed so much. I am more confident in my ability to become an effective leader. I’ve learned to manage my time more wisely. I’ve learned to be a good friend, a loving sister and a better Alana.
If you are even considering joining a multicultural sorority, or simply want to know more about the organization that changed my life, send an email to fsutnx.interested@gmail.com.