When people hear the word sorority they automatically think about the movie Legally Blonde or the movie House Bunny. Those two specific movies are your ultimate sorority stereotype.
I can definitely confirm that most sorority girls don't act like the characters that are portrayed in the movies.
Of course, there's always going to be a few of those girls that actually embody those stereotypes, they're the ones that keep everything interesting (in a good way of course). (Pro tip, don't tell a sorority girl she's paying for her friends, because we all know that's not true.)
Before I even considered joining a sorority, I most definitely made fun of them. My friends and I would always poke fun at them and say we would NEVER be those girls.
Well, we sure as heck were wrong.
This past fall I went through sorority recruitment, and I don't regret it for a second. One of my other close friends from home also ended up rushing a sorority. We became "those girls," and quite frankly, I am not ashamed of it.
I think the most surprised person was my dad. He knew I was going to go through the recruitment process, after all, I did use his credit card to pay for the registration fee. I think he was just shocked that I actually went through with it and stuck with it after all of the complaining I did throughout rush week.
Im about to get real honest, my rush week experience wasn't perfect. The one thing that most girls dread happening during recruitment happened to me.
I got dropped from every sorority but one, and of course, I was a little upset about it.
But now, I've realized that everything happens for a reason and God has a plan for you even when you're unsure about it. When everyone is telling you to "trust the process," listen to them, it sounds a little cheesy but it's true, everything will work out in the end.
Being a first year student in Greek Life has brought me many great opportunities. I've made so many great friendships that'll definitely last me a lifetime, and they aren't just the girls that I have bonded with in my sorority. I have a lot of friends outside of my chapter as well!
On my mid-sized campus its pretty easy to make friends with the women in the other chapters. We promote Panhellenic Love pretty well at Valdosta State University.
Along with all of the friends I've made, being in a sorority has helped me become more involved within the on-campus community and the off-campus community. Every sorority also works with their philanthropy, which is usually a charity or an organization of some sort.
It is the most rewarding feeling when you hold an on campus event supporting your philanthropy and so many people come to support and generously give to the cause, that's a for sure perk of being in a sorority.
You also learn leadership skills as well as communication skills. Sometimes, you have to go out of your comfort zone and talk to someone you don't even know about an event your chapter is hosting, or maybe even to a potential new member for your chapter.
I could go on for days about why being in a sorority is so great, but I'll spare you all. If there are any women out there reading this thinking about going through sorority recruitment their freshman year of college, or even someone who is already in college, you should definitely consider it.
You won't realize until you join that being in Greek Life will open so many doors for you and really help you become the best version of yourself.
Constantly having that group of women who are always supporting you and pushing you to become better is something that every woman should experience.