I used to be the girl who never once thought she would be a part of Greek life. It’s not that I thought less of those in it, I just believed we were very different types of people. When my senior year of high school came, I began looking into colleges, or more specifically, one college that I desperately wanted to attend. It was at an event held at the college that I began considering joining a sorority. That fall, I went through recruitment and accepted a bid from girls I absolutely adore. Things started changing pretty quickly when I joined my sorority.

Even going through recruitment I noticed something was different. I was talking to more people and being more open. I didn’t shut myself off in public. Once I became a new member that became even more noticeable. I began doing things that would have been outside of my comfort zone. I talked louder, danced on the field for the spirit shout at homecoming, and all around tried to live more. I became more social when I joined my sorority.

I knew it wouldn’t end with that, and I began taking opportunities to meet new people and spend time with friends and their friends. I took my time and smiled at everyone. In someway I suppose I figured that if for no other reason, they would have smiled at least once that day. It was great compared to how I used to walk around with my head down trying desperately not to make eye contact. As it turns out, life seems so much lighter when you aren’t so concerned with what people are thinking of you. I became more confident when I joined my sorority.

I looked forward to meetings and time spent with my sisters. I got to know so many great girls and seeing them or talking to them would make my day so much brighter. I had a more positive look on things and tried my best to project that to people around me. I smiled more, laughed more, and spent time doing things other than playing video games in my room. My college town became a world to explore rather than simply live in. I became so much happier when I joined my sorority.

The girls in my sorority have a way of making me want to get out and do things. Whether it is a philanthropy event, volunteering somewhere, a school event, or someone’s birthday party, they make me want to be there. I know my friends will be there and, with these girls, I’ll have a great time. I have had incredible experiences with these girls in my first year alone. Without them, my life would have been so much more boring. I became more involved the day I decided to join my sorority.

You will change in college. You will be changing until the day you die. Sometimes life facilitates the changes. Something happens and we need to react accordingly. They aren’t always great scenarios. Sometimes we don’t get to choose whether or not we are altered, but many times we can decide how we are changed. On other occasions, we’re the ones to instigate the change. We notice a problem or something we decide needs to be different and we change to reflect it. Life is all about change. I know I’m a different person from when I graduated high school and I owe a lot of that to Alpha Xi Delta. I grew and, in my opinion, became a better person when I joined my sorority and I wouldn’t change a thing.