Now, you've read the news articles and heard all of the personal stories on how Greek Life is not like what you see in the movies. We stand for empowerment, leadership and academics. We raise thousands of dollars for philanthropies that we care about deeply. We don't stand for hazing, but rather for lifting each other up in a positive way. Our society is finally realizing that sororities and fraternities are portrayed in a highly false way in the entertainment world. Greek Life can be incredibly life-changing, and this is my personal story of how my sorority has shaped me into the person that I am today.

When I first came to college, I had a deep desire to start over. After experiencing some hardships in high school, I was turning into a negative and lonely person. Coming to college was my chance to finally be the girl I always wanted to be. During the first semester of my freshman year, I had a hard time trying to figure out how to make this step. I would look up clubs online and join intramural sports, but nothing seemed to stick. Then, one day, I looked up Greek Life on my campus and started to creep around. If someone had told me a year before joining that I would be a sorority girl, I would have thought they were absolutely crazy. A bunch of squealing girls and loads of obligations was the last thing I wanted. But I could not have been more wrong.

My second semester I decided to rush and join a sorority in an attempt to get out of a very dark place I had been in. What happened after that was the most surprising and incredible experience of my life. Now, when most people picture a sorority in their heads, they think of glitter, loud chants, girls posed perfectly for cameras and an excessive number of T-shirts with letters on them. This is only a fraction of what I experienced. I immediately gained 40 new best friends who would drop everything if I needed something, who already loved me in the first 10 minutes of meeting me. I specifically remember getting the flu in the first few weeks of joining, and one of the girls immediately came to my room with medicine, orange juice and soup. I was amazed that, even though these girls didn't know me that well, they welcomed me with open arms, no questions asked.

It was only a few months into sorority life, and I had already seen a huge change in myself. Before, I used to dwell on every bad thing that would happen during the day and would spend a lot of time worrying about pretty much everything going on in my life. After joining, I turned into an extremely positive and enthusiastic person. I got involved with the sorority by going to many events and getting to know each girl on a personal level. Soon, I began applying for large leadership positions. I started to feel more confident about my body, mind and soul because my sisters helped me believe in myself (so cheesy, but so true). My life became instantly better not only because I was busy and involved, but because I was something I hadn't felt in years: happy.

Now as a senior, I have achieved leading large philanthropy events, trained and helped put on recruitment, and have held two large executive positions. When I look at pictures of myself before joining my sorority, I can honestly say that I don't recognize the girl in the photos. There have been many people and situations that have helped shape me into the confident, positive, ambitious woman I am today, but my sorority is definitely the biggest contributor. I would recommend joining Greek Life to anyone who is searching for something that is life-changing in the best way possible. I know that I will be forever thankful for what it has done for me.