Fall semester of my Sophomore year of college was when I accepted my bid and plunged head first into pledging a sorority. I was both nervous and excited about what was to come. I knew nothing about Greek Life except what I had seen in on TV and in movies (incredibly inaccurate), but I used my better judgment and decided to pledge anyways. Despite my little knowledge, I knew I made the right decision in the house that I did. Here's why.

If any of you reading this are interested in rushing at your own schools I encourage you not to join for the letters, the colors, the symbols, the mascots, the reputations, the parties, or just as a resume builder. I encourage you to join for the girls that make up that particular chapter. Choose the house that has the girls you feel will help build you up and allow you to grow as a person. If you would have asked me prior to college if I wanted to pledge I would have told you not in a million years. I didn't think it could ever be for me. However, as I went through Recruitment, pledging, and now as a sister seeing new pledge classes come through, I know my sorority was genuine which sets us apart from many others.

You might think I'm lying, but I can honestly say the relationships my sisters and I share with each other are one of a kind. Now obviously, not everyone is going see eye to eye all the time. Like biological sisters, we all have our arguments. But I know at the end of the day I can go to each and every one of them for support and they'll be there indefinitely. Even better, because we're a local chapter at a small school we're able to get to know one another and build genuine friendships.

However, the line we're heard from many over the years since we were founded in 2010 is that because we're locally founded we aren't "real". Because we don't share letters with thousands of other girls nationally and internationally our letters don't matter. I've always considered this to be an extremely ignorant thing to say because I worked hard to earn my letters just as those from national/international chapters worked to earn theirs. Joining a local sorority has never held me back or made feel like I was missing out. Think what you want; everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But the burning question on my mind to ask those who feel this way is why, just because my sorority is local, does that make your letters, your traditions, your memories, your celebrations, your experiences, better or more real than mine? If anything, the fact we're one of a kind makes us special. It's not fair to say that one is better than the other because everyone has a lot of love for their own organization and each is special in its own way.

Through my amazing sisterhood I am a philanthropist, active in campus and community service, a leader, a friend, and most importantly a genuine sister to my fellow sisters who share the same unique letters as me. I am a better person today than I was prior to pledging all thanks to the incredible girls I am fortunate enough to share this bond with. So to all the other local sororities out there, keep doing you. Don't let negativity affect all the hard work you and your sisters put into what you love so much. You are 100% real and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.