With most colleges and universities starting classes soon – if they haven’t already started – it’s also recruitment season for Greek Life on campuses. My own campus’ sorority recruitment week just came to a close and having participated in the recruitment, I can’t help but think about how much my life has changed because I joined a sorority.
Like plenty of other girls, I never saw myself joining a sorority. My head was filled with wrongful assumptions about Greek Life and the people who participate in it; I also lacked the self-esteem to believe that I would actually receive a bid from any sorority. However, in the second semester of my freshman year I decided to participate in informal spring recruitment for a new chapter of Delta Gamma that was being established at my school. Upon receiving a bid for Delta Gamma, I immediately felt a change taking place within myself.
I know I’m not alone in the ways that being in a sorority has changed my life. The following is a list of only a few of the many ways that my life has been forever changed as a result of joining a sorority:
1. Gaining confidence
With the stereotypes surrounding sororities and the types of girls who chose to join them, many Greek organizations are becoming increasingly selective in their recruitment and selection process. Girls must meet GPA and extracurricular requirements, as well as demonstrate that they have a well-rounded character and values that align those of their sorority. My confidence was immediately boosted after my fear of not being good enough to join a sorority was conquered; this confidence boost soon flourished as I grew to know my new sisters. I have always struggled in making friends, and knowing that so many girls truly valued me as a person gave me the confidence that I had been lacking up until then.
2. Forming unbreakable bonds
In order to grow closer as a chapter, my sisters and I participated in multiple team-building exercises throughout the year. Some of these activities exposed our inner struggles and insecurities, while others worked to remind or inform sisters just how much they are valued and loved. To say that these activities failed to strengthen our bond would be a lie. Knowing that despite all of my flaws and weaknesses that I am still cherished by so many girls is positively priceless. Moreover, knowing that I am not alone in my struggles has brought me profoundly closer to the girls in my chapter. On the larger scale, I know that there are an immense number of girls and women who share my sisterly bond through other chapters and have many shared experiences with me; because of this, I can call women that I have never met my sister and know that they can do the same.
3. Growing closer to my own family
As a legacy, being able to share
experiences with not only my Delta Gamma family but also the family that I was
born into has been absolutely irreplaceable. Shortly before the start of my
recruitment process, I learned that my mother’s mother – whom I called Grammy –
was a Delta Gamma. Since Grammy died when I was seven years old, I wasn’t able
to get to know her the way that I wish I could have. Knowing that we share a
sisterhood has given me the feeling that I have finally been able to form my
own relationship with Grammy – one that isn’t shared by anyone else in my
family. This summer, my story of learning that I am legacy was featured in the
Delta Gamma magazine,
Anchora. Filled
with excitement over being able to share my story, I wanted to immediately tell
my mother that I would be featured in the magazine; however, I chose to keep it
a secret until I the
Anchora issue
was mailed to me. When I showed my mother the story – which featured the above photo of her parents from their college years – she was close to tears. This
only affirmed that my joining the same sorority as my grandmother was something
that was cherished by not only me, but my family as well.
4. Improving social skills
On my chapter’s first Bid Day, I found that the girls whom I was calling my sisters were complete strangers. I knew I had to change this. I had never been good at meeting new people, so forcing myself to truly get to know these girls greatly improved my ability to talk to people that I don’t know as well. Furthermore, participating in recruitment and having to get to know complete strangers well enough to determine whether or not they would find a good home with Delta Gamma only further improved my social skills. I now feel more comfortable asking other people questions and holding conversations with people whom I’ve never talked to before. During Recruitment Week, I found myself having to relate to complete strangers on rather deep levels, allowing me to be all the more comfortable not only relating to people I’ve never met before, but also admitting things about myself to people whom I’ve never met before.
5. Increasing awareness and cautiousness of behavior
When you join a sorority, you become a constant representation of that sorority and your own chapter. No matter what you do, your behavior not only impacts yourself, but your sorority as well. This may be quite a bit of pressure, but I’ve found that it has taught me to be all the more aware of how I act and how I carry myself because I never want to misrepresent Delta Gamma, my chapter, or my sisters. I never want to be the reason that the word “sorority” is associated with partying, air-headedness, or reckless behavior. I push myself to be the best version of myself not only to improve myself, but my sorority and my sisterhood as well; this also allows me to draw strength from my sisterhood as well.
Although there is at times a negative connotation attached to sororities, the stereotypes of sorority girls are far from true. I can honestly say without a shadow of a doubt that joining a sorority was the best decision I have ever made while in college. Joining a sorority has allowed me to meet some of my best friends – girls whom I never would have met had it not have been for our sisterhood. Being in a sorority has also helped to give me the strength to grow into a confident woman who is brave enough to chase her dreams because of the love and support of an amazing sisterhood of women. For this, I am eternally grateful.
