Picture girls with fair Caucasian skin, any eye color, long blond hair, taller than 5’5 with a figure that wasn’t too skinny but wasn’t too curvy— “slim-curvy” I called it that look like future Victoria Secret models, along with extroverted personalities. These were the people I got a mental picture of when I thought about sororities. It’s a stereotype I know, but every time I saw a picture of female Greek life most of the members had this same general description. The only difference would be there might be a few brunettes, but the rest were just the same. The best term for this would be “cookie-cutter”. Many people like cookies, but having the phrase refer to a group of people isn’t a great connotation. The reputation was that all sorority girls were the same. But it doesn’t just stop with appearances. It goes for behaviors too.
Stereotypical sororities display young college girls in revealing pajamas having pillow fights and blowing glitter around. Chick flicks will be watched all night and gossip about guys won’t fade until the early hours of the morning. Outfit choices to the party for the next night will be another hot topic. That’s it. No substance. And it doesn’t even matter sometimes, because guys love it and girls want to be that. That was what I perceived. In high school, I had this notion going through my head ever since I first heard the word “sorority”. If the high school freshman version of me and the current college sophomore version of me met up at the same time, they would look the same, pretty much, but they would hold different views. Here’s where I am now.
As a personal anecdote, I stayed in my dorm room a lot last year. Most of it came from loving to take naps when I can. But that wasn’t all. I was easily bored, and I didn’t have much to do. My first semester had a lot of empty time. I was an introverted freshman who didn’t know many people and got a little anxious at socializing with people. I joined organizations, but I still felt like I didn’t get my fill. Joining a Greek organization screams socializing and time commitment. For these reasons, I couldn’t picture me in a sorority. Second semester took my mind of trying to “get involved on campus”. Spring semester was busy and I started my first real job, and I had to focus. Extracurricular could wait. I wanted to see how my first year of college went before I signed up for anything that involved big commitments. Freshmen year came and gone in the blink of an eye.
This fall I took the plunge. I went from not thinking I would do well in a sorority went to the Women’s Recruitment meeting. Before that, I found myself looking at the flyer advertising for Women’s Recruitment along with other flyers each with a sorority name and its own personal design looking for new members. “Maybe I could do this”, I thought. Why not? It’ll be an experience—good or bad. If I don’t try, I’LL REGRET IT LATER on, and it’s best to go through life with no regrets. If I don’t get accepted, at least now I know. I can’t stand not knowing. All of the ambiguity will build up and up until I can’t take it anymore. I went through recruitment, got a bid from an excellent organization, and I can say with full confidence, I’m going through pledge period. With only a few weeks left, I keep imagining what comes after when me and my fellow pledge sisters officially join the group. Naïve as it may be, I imagine a chill but enjoyable time, celebrating our success of getting through an overwhelming but great time. We can say “It was hard, but we made it.” We’re not the same people as we were before we met each other and became pledges. Nothing will ever be the same again…and that’s ok.
What am I saying? I’m saying my assumptions were wrong. You don’t have to be a certain way to be accepted into a Greek organization. They groups are much diverse than my previous notion. To combat, my opening paragraph, I’m black with brown eyes, 5’2 height, petite in shape, introverted, and let’s just say, I’m not planning on walking the runways anytime soon. I’m the direct opposite and I got a bid. I was accepted by an awesome group of people. We may not blow glitter around, but I can definitely see amazing times ahead of us.
That’s one of the weird things about college. It can change your perspective on just about anything. Life happens, your mind wonder, and you really start to think about possibilities. Yeah, I know. I sound a bit cliché, but it’s true. I didn’t think I would enjoy Greek life, but even when I feel a sense of overwhelming and stress, I’m still very glad I made this choice. It’ll all be worth it. I WONDER WHAT FRESHMAN ME WOULD SAY TO THAT…
