First semester seemed like another lifetime. There was so much that being a newly initiated member of AEPhi brought that I didn’t even know what I was missing first semester. I always heard that balance was a hard thing to achieve in college but never had that much of a problem with it first semester because my schedule was not too overwhelming.
Now in a sorority, I realized that there is no time to just sit on my couch and watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians like I would first semester. Whenever I have free time I use it to do all of my homework because my new calendar is filled with Greek events, such as philanthropy events, which I am trying to not let take a serious toll on my academics.
If it were not for being in a sorority I would not have been exposed to so many new people. I always felt as though I was at some sort of a disadvantage because of Freshman Connection and living in an apartment like the Varsity. I felt that living in the Varsity was isolating and there was no “open door policy,” like Elkton hall is famous for. Even though I had air conditioning, I was seriously lacking in the meeting people department.
Now that I am initiated my circle of friends has seriously grown in radius. Being in a sorority a way for me to meet people that I would never have been able to connect with before just because I was never given the opportunity. Through AEPhi I was able to connect with girls who are so much like me.
These newfound friends and I also had some serious events to go to. As a doe-eyed freshman looking into the intimidating world of Greek life I did not realize that there was legitimately something to do every single weekend. I never saw how much philanthropy was going on in the world of the Greeks. It has opened my eyes to how much young people can accomplish and how large our resources really are. It has also made me think about how many puns I can come up with that involve my letters in it.
One of my sisters, Nikki Ruderman, a communications major said that being in a sorority has made the campus feel much smaller.
“Everywhere I look I can always spot someone in letters,” Ruderman said. “It definitely makes me feel like I am a part of a community.”
I have to agree with Ruderman and say that the thousands upon thousands of students at the University of Maryland was definitely overwhelming at first and it was strange going from a high school where you knew mostly everyone’s name to coming to a place where everyone was a stranger. Now being in Greek Life I feel like talking to anyone from a different sorority is a good way to meet people and form things like study groups in large classes.
I have loved this semester so much and not that the one before was so horrible, it just felt completely different. My sorority has brought me confidence in my life at school and taught me that being far from home is not as hard once you have another home to spend your days in.