Something I never thought I’d ever do was join a sorority.
I, like most people, bought into the stereotypes surrounding Greek life and just didn’t want to be apart of that. From an outside perspective, all I heard about was all of these huge parties that sororities at other schools would throw and how big the organizations were and I just knew that I couldn’t do that. My mom was apart of the Greek community when she was in college and even though all of the stories she had told me were positive, I could not get the stereotypes out of my head.
Not only was it the negative connotation associated with being in a sorority that scared me, I’d also consider myself and introverted person so the thought of being around that many people for so long was honestly exhausting to even think about. When I came to Winthrop however, my perspective on Greek life changed a lot.
My first year at college was pretty lonely. My best friend who also happened to be my roommate moved out after the first semester and I didn’t really make any other friends. I found myself locking myself in my room when I wasn’t in class and just staying in and watching Netflix or Hulu. I was incredibly lonely and wasn’t sure how to get out of that rut.
As I would walk around campus though, I’d see a lot of girls in sororities just looking like they were having the time of their lives. The people I saw associated with sororities didn’t match at all what the stereotype was. There were girls of all different kinds that were in sororities, and that’s when I got to thinking about the fact that my “knowledge” about sororities was all wrong.
So, I decided to go through recruitment.
Recruitment was just about the most exhausting thing that I have ever done. I met so many people and tried to remember so many names and talked about so many different things, it was crazy. As an introvert, some might consider that literal hell. Before I decided to go through recruitment, the thought of having to do all that was terrifying and honestly made me tired just thinking about it. But as soon as I got into that first party, I knew I was in the right place.
The girls I met were all so different, yet all so kind and uplifting. I found it easy to talk to most of them and really clicked with some. I’d get back to my dorm every night and be absolutely exhausted, yet also feeling very fulfilled and happy. At the end of the weekend, I finally got to run home to my new group of sisters in Delta Zeta and I could not be happier.
I’m sending this out for the world to read because I think it’s important for people to realize that all of those stereotypes about sorority girls are just not true.
Each campus and each sorority has a different group of unique girls, so some generalized stereotype does not even begin to fit with what it’s all actually like. So please, consider going Greek! Even if you’re scared and shy, I promise you it’ll be worth it. Getting to hang out with and see my new sisters around campus has given me a bigger purpose for being at Winthrop and has kept me excited day after day. You have to go out and experience things for yourself instead of holding onto those stereotyped beliefs. If you get out of your own head and finally see what you’ve been missing, I guarantee you’ll find a new love in a new place.