In preparation to eradicate all previously conceived notions of what a sorority girl supposedly does when not at the house, I will prepare you dear reader, with a statement – don’t judge a book by its cover. Behind all the pink, glitter, and thousands of remarkably executed Instagrams, everyone is just a student. All of the girls on Greek Row are held at a higher standard than the average student, yet Greeks are speculated far more than any other organization on a college campus. Of course, media portrayal and horror stories can lead incoming students to believe that Greek Life will not now, or ever be something worth enduring. I was indeed, one of those students.
As an entirety, University life is never what a high school student would expect. This also can be said about rush. It’s an extremely intimidating process if the only reference you have has digressed from the heresy your parents instilled on your young mind. However, every college student should have the motto “Don’t knock it ’til you try it” and I for one, live by that full-heartedly.
Spring semester comes along and rush occurs – an extremely friendly, exciting, and new experience, where for once you actually feel so welcomed. Joining was an easy decision, sticking with it is what had me extremely nervous. In what world would I balance 5 engineering courses, a job, and a sorority that expected me to participate in all the bubble-blowing-hair-curling events they had to offer? Answer: the world I wanted to live in.
Classes progressed and at first, the only thing I wanted to do was be at the house. It became a constant debate in my afternoons whether I wanted to implement ‘improved naïve gausse elimination method’ into my coding homework, or attend an exchange with the next-door fraternity. The decision was always difficult and sometimes got the best of me, but I am on this campus for a reason and there is no reason you can’t finish your homework then head down and meet up with the group. Balance is key my friends, something a STEM major has to gain control over extremely quickly or they will have issues. Miss me with the accusations that sorority girls are all Strategic Communications majors.
The greatest thing about my house is that everyone supports me. School is no laughing matter – we are in fact, not here just to get our MRS degree. Even though I want to be a serious engineer in the future developing rockets, there is nothing wrong with wanting to gain these best friends and amazing memories on my way there. Everyone should get out of their comfort zone – whether that mean applying to the most challenging major they found, stepping on Greek Row, or both. Find what makes you happy and don’t let anyone judge you even as you show up to Partial Differential Equation’s at 7:30 A.M. as the only student wearing Greek letters.