I went through sorority recruitment three years ago when I was a freshman. I knew I wanted to go Greek because, well, most of the people in my family have been Greek and I had heard how great Greek life was my entire life. A lot of people think Greek life is how it is portrayed in the movies, like Animal House, Sydney White, or even Sorority Wars (which no one has seen except me, even though it is on Netflix and has Lucy Hale in it). Greek life is like real life; you have your best friends, some people who aren’t the best people, and then the people you have yet to meet. In life there are always lessons to be learned, and Greek life is no exception. 

You learn a lot of life lessons when you're in Greek life. 

1. Greek life taught me that you never know who will end up being your friend until you talk to them. There are so many people I wouldn’t have met had it not been for Greek life. I have friends in Greek life from all parts of the U.S. and who have lots of different majors and interests. It’s really cool to see how easy it is to be friends with people who aren’t exactly like you.

2. You may have 200 sisters or brothers in your sorority or fraternity, but you don’t have to be friends with everyone. You’re not going to get along with everyone you meet, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. You’ll always have the group of friends in your chapter that you’re better friends with than others. Just because you’re not super close with everyone doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the effort to be nice to everyone, just know that you can’t please everyone or be friends with everyone.

3. Themes can be super uniting. There is nothing more fun than dressing up in goofy outfits and going out with your sisters/brothers. If you can laugh at yourself, and laugh with others about how silly you all look, life is so much better. It’s fun to just be goofy sometimes, especially when you’re with your closest friends. Those are the times you always remember and look back on with them.

4. You can count on your sisters/brothers to help you grow as a person. It’s never easy to stop and ask for help when you’re having a problem, but being in a sorority has taught me that I can call any one of my sisters at any time of the day if I need help and they will head over to be there for me. You never have to feel like you can’t depend on anyone, or have to do everything on your own. It’s an awesome feeling.

5. It’s not four years, but for life. That is the cheesiest saying, but it’s absolutely true. It’s also important to remember that you aren’t just a part of your own chapter locally, regionally, or nationally, but you are a part of something bigger and more special, and that is Greek life as a whole.

Your letters should never keep you from being friends with someone in another chapter. Being a part of Greek life is very special. Even if you aren’t wearing your pin, or a t-shirt with you letters, you are always wearing your letters and should always hold yourself to those standards. I know that even when I graduate and move away, I am and will always be a Pi Beta Phi sister, and I will always be a part of Virginia Tech Greek life. That is an amazing feeling and I will never let that go.