Sororities are becoming more and more popular to join once you enter college and are sometimes, almost expected when you attend a small liberal arts school where there aren’t many other things to join.

At my school, most females are either an athlete or are in a sorority. There aren’t many other options for the rest of us who do not fall under one of the two umbrellas of social interaction. However, my college experience so far has still been amazing.

I am not in a sorority and that’s okay.

Here’s why:

• 1. I am still friends with people in the sororities! I am in no way opposed to sororities at all!! I have so many friends involved in them, that I cannot even count them all. We still see each other and go on late night chicken nugget runs together. Just because they are in a sorority and I am not, doesn’t mean we aren’t allowed to hang out.

• 2. I just didn’t have the money Honestly, it’s a lot of money at first and I just couldn’t afford it. I am a struggling college student who has to save up her money for a trip to McDonald’s. I understand why there are costs (t-shirts, dues, different events), but honestly I’m not sure if I could ever justify spending that much, but we’ll see. (Also, I do NOT think it’s “paying for your friends” don’t even get me started on that dumb rumor. That’s a whole other article.)

• 3. I just didn’t have the time. Sororities take up a lot of time and that’s perfectly fine! It’s just hard to commit to that when you’ve already committed to several other things already (like I have). I have so many other responsibilities and things to take care of, not to mention class and the homework load. I want to enjoy my college experience and overwhelming myself would not help me enjoy it. Maybe, one day, my schedule will be a little more calmed down, and I can fit it in, but until then, I’m not going to spread myself too thin.

• 4. I’m still involved on campus! I still do community service work and connect with professors and accomplish things without the “resume builder” help of a sorority. Without a doubt, a leadership position in a sorority definitely teaches you important skills and responsibility in a special way. However, it is not the only way to learn leadership skills or be assigned an important role.

• 5. It’s not because of the stereotype. So many girls are so opposed to sororities because of the “sorority girl” type. That is ridiculous. Sure, there are the girls that party and dress up and can be kind of snotty, BUT that does not mean every single girl in a sorority acts like that. In fact, very FEW do.

• 6. I am only a freshman!! I have at least three years left on campus! I don’t have to join all of the things and make all of the choices now. I can choose to join next year, or the year after. It is completely up to me. That is the joy of it all, you can choose what you do and how you spend your time when you’re at school.

I love my friends that are in sororities and I love my friends that are not in sororities. I am not “against” them. There are different interests for everyone and everybody has different things they want to dedicate their time to. As long as you are happy and enjoying your college experience safely, who am I to judge?

I love the way I have spent my first year at college and I am not in a sorority and that is totally okay.