As I walked around campus in my purple and gold shirt last week, I noticed in a state of paranoia the abnormal amount of glances shot in my direction. I couldn’t help but think to myself, is my hair weird today? Is it my makeup? Do I have something in my teeth?
It took me about a full minute to realize what it was: my shirt. The shirt that now symbolized my membership as a sister of Delta Phi Epsilon- yet it was this same shirt that now stereotyped me as just another “sorority girl” to all the people on the streets.
I’ll be the first to admit that my whole life I never understood sororities. I would always wonder why someone would want to constantly be with a group of girls and have to make such a commitment. What I never would have guessed was that within my first semester at Pitt, I would decide to rush for a sorority, never look back, and subsequently end up in an amazing house, happier than ever. Everyone asks me why I wanted to join a sorority, and what the benefits are. What people don’t understand is that being in a sorority isn’t just about the social life- which we all know is a typical stereotype- it’s about forming a bond with a group of girls that is unlike anything else. I was skeptical in the beginning of the rushing process, nervous about if I’d find the right place for me, but the second I came back to my sororities’ house on bid
night, I never felt more at home.
Becoming a sister, you feel like you were just blessed with sixty-something new older sisters that you never would have dreamed of having- which, at times, fuels a panic attack at the thought of having to remember so many names. Everywhere I go, whether it’s Dunkin Donuts, class, Panera, or just to go eat in Market, I’m always stopped by girls in my sorority, who, sporting huge smiles, immediately embracing me in a hug. It may sound cheesy, but it truly brings a smile to your face; you feel like everywhere you go, you’ll always have someone there.
When my friends and family would spat at me “YOU’RE joining a sorority? You don’t seem like a sorority girl” I never quite knew how to answer. I was afraid of being branded with the sorority girl stereotype. Throughout this whole process, I’ve come to realize that it’s true when people say you can’t really understand something until you experience it. Through the craziness of recruitment, the rush of emotions, and the sleep deprivation, I’ve come to realize the true friendship and feeling of worth that comes with joining a sorority. Everyday, I wake up knowing that if I’m down, I have seventy-eight other girls to rush to my side and cheer me up- which in the end, makes any doubt I ever had nonexistent.