Years ago when I was applying to colleges, something I researched was how prominent Greek Life was on each campus I was applying to. Even before my research and applications, I had come to a pretty solid decision of not wanting to join a sorority. However, some of the universities I applied to seemed to have a heavy sorority/fraternity culture on campus. I would go on college tours and love the campus and school itself, but the culture seemed a bit different than what I was seeking out. Knowing that I did not necessarily want to participate in Greek Life helped me to make my decision to come to Temple, as what I read online and saw on TikTok described the school as having way more to do on and off campus if you did not want to join a sorority, opposed to other larger state schools.
Based on this and many other factors, I chose Temple. I have loved my experience here and being in the city in general. I feel very satisfied with the life I have made for myself here. However, I do remember at the beginning of my college experience, I couldn’t help but see through social media the people I went to high school with who went to a large state university, joining a sorority and having so much to do right off the bat. It wasn’t necessarily envy, rather I was just taken aback at how fast it seemed like people made close friends and had endless functions to attend (I know social media is deceiving, but on surface-level, this is what I saw).
I began to think about how different my college experience was about to be compared to many of my hometown peers. I did not regret my decision to come to Temple at all, and I was secure in my reasoning behind not wanting to get involved in Greek Life on campus, but it was interesting to see the stark differences in what college life was like for me versus them.
I have friends who are in sororities both here at Temple and at other colleges, and I respect the time and dedication it takes to remain an active member in a sorority. However, I feel like not joining one has done what joining one may do for some. I was able to really find my interests, discover what type of friends I wanted to have and keep in my life, and simply just learn so much about myself. Not joining a sorority also pushed me out of my comfort zone, as many of the girls I was friends with in high school had solid plans to do so. I knew it may feel easier to just join it and have a packed schedule right after coming to college, but deeper down, I knew that staying true to myself and the college experience I wanted meant stepping out of my comfort zone.