When I began college, I was excited for a fresh start, meeting new people, and experiencing a completely different environment. I was excited to learn about things I was interested in, going to football games, and having an amazing time. I never really knew anything about sororities, fraternities, or any other types of Greek life.

Don't get me wrong, I would watch the movies about the raging fraternity parties or the glamorous sorority recruitment, but I never found that it was something I belonged in.

However, when I stepped foot onto campus, I met many people who were in sororities and fraternities. The claimed to love it and always seemed to have such a fun time with their brothers or sisters. Taking a chance, I participated in sorority formal rush just to see what it would be like. In the end, I could not afford it but I met some great people along the way that made the process really special.

Not long after formal recruitment, I had a class with some girls who were in a service sorority. "A service sorority? What's that?" I asked. A service sorority is exactly as it sounds: a group of women who are united in the bonds of sisterhood, dedicated to volunteer with organizations and in the community in the spirit of service. I decided to rush the sorority and immediately found my place.

In my service sorority, all are welcome. There is a "rush" process but anyone is able to join. Because there is no formal rush process, you are surrounded by a diverse group of women who are united by service. Instead of having a bunch of girls who were similar to me, I have sisters who are from all sorts of backgrounds and with different beliefs and ideologies. Our fun events such as big/little or pledge class games help us bond and we have a blast doing it.

My favorite part about my sorority is the service events we have. I first believed it would be boring and mundane to just do service hours. However, we volunteer or raise money for organizations in a fun way. We raise money through things like cookouts and kickball tournaments. We play bingo at the nursing homes and volunteer with Special Olympics. Any kind of fun service event you can think of, we do it.

It frustrates me when people think service sororities are not real sororities. Yeah, maybe we don't have our own house and are not part of the formal rush, but the woman I have met truly become my sisters. Our impact in our community and in each other's lives can never be replaced.

I love my sisters. If you feel that formal sorority rush is not for you, don't be afraid to reach out to a service sorority. You will not regret it.