Future sisters,

I would like to welcome you to the best years of your life! I know that I can speak on behalf of my entire chapter when I say that I am so happy you are here. I knew from the moment I talked to you that I wanted you to be a member of this community, this chapter, and this family. I can’t begin to explain how excited I am to get to know you and how lucky I feel to be a sister of yours.

I’m sure you’ve heard that saying: “It isn’t four years, it’s for life.” I’m here to tell you how in a short amount of time, you are going to learn how true that statement is. By you accepting this bid, you are vowing to be loved forever, cared about forever, and accepted as the wonderful and unique person you are forever. You have made the conscious decision to join an amazing group of girls who truly want to get to know you, be your friend, and make memories with you.

We are thrilled that you chose this chapter to be a member of and we can’t wait to show you how much that means to us! At first, you are going to be overwhelmed by how many of us there are and how many people you will meet, but you will soon feel more comfortable and at home with us than you have ever felt.

This chapter will not only provide you with the memories and experiences that come with being in Greek life, but it will value you in a way that you will find yourself talking to potential new members about when you are able to recruit. You will talk about how some of the girls you met in the house are now your roommates, best friends, and future bridesmaids.

You will laugh about the time you woke up ten minutes before you had to leave for recruitment because you forgot to set your alarm. You will make fun of the friend who always seems to lose her keys, the one who hates girl talk, and the one who re-downloaded her Tinder for the fifth time. You will remember the one who always volunteered to get Starbucks for you and take advantage of being able to constantly ask the one who works in a nursing home if you’re going to die from a bug bite. You will admire the one who can always go out and have fun, no matter how many nights in a row she has already spent out.

You are going to make more memories here than you could never imagine. You are going to be loved, cherished and you are going to find your home away from home here. You will find yourself telling people about how your time at college has been completed by being a member of this sorority and how you can’t imagine your life without it.

You will think about the moment you accepted your bid—how your stomach dropped with excitement as you sprinted over to what is now your home. From that moment, you will feel how amazing, unique, and special it is to be a member of this sisterhood. You will forever remember that saying, “It’s not four years, it’s for life,” and how much seven words changed your life in the best way possible. You will say these exact same things to people when you explain how you fell in love with this chapter and you will want them to experience that love too.

Most importantly. You will always know, no matter what, how this chapter allows you to be yourself, and how being you is something that they have loved and will continue loving about you for the rest of your life.