If you had asked me a year ago if I was going to go through sorority recruitment, I would have turned my face and laughed.

Out loud.

Absolutely not.

I grew up in an area that everyone knew everyone and everyone knew what everyone else was doing all the time. It was as though I was stuck in some sort of community, trapped within the constructs of two state routes and one major highway. I couldn't stand the smallness, the gossip. It tore people down, it didn't build them up.

That was my preconceived notion about what a sorority was. A bunch of girls, gossiping and creating a facade for those girls who yearned to be actualized by someone that wasn't themselves. It was against everything I was about.

Man, was I wrong.

I tend to think I am pretty good at making first impressions, but this turn in my life proved me wrong on so many different levels.

Towards the end of the summer, before I left for college, I was feeling like something was missing about the endeavor I was about to embark on. I felt as though I wasn't taking a far enough leap of faith. I mean, yes. I was going to school 344 miles from home, with no car and no friends. That should have been enough, right.

A little voice told me to push myself, so that evening, I registered for Panhellenic Recruitment at the University of Kentucky. Oh boy.

The process was not easy. Ten days of talking and smiling and answering, "Where are you from?" a thousand times, but they are right in saying when you know, you know.

I ran home to the sisterhood at Alpha Delta Pi on September 4, 2019, and it was by far the best choice I could have made. Plus, it wasn't anyone else's choice, it was mine. As an adult, as a student, I had found a home.

Now you are probably wondering, "When is she going to get to the point? What changed?".

Well, it isn't something I can answer in one profound sentence. I have to break it down.

First, the girls. Also, these people are not girls, they are women. I feel as though people are placed in your life for a reason. That the universe is in charge of one's future and the individuals that are going to be apart of it. On Bid Day, I knew not a soul on the front lawn. Some I had met in passing, but for the most part, I was alone. Except, I was the furthest thing from alone. Strangers I had never spoken to ran up to me, hugged me and called me 'sister'. I had to take a second glimpse to see if they were actually talking to me. But, they were and it was genuine. Not a fake nice, a real bond that had been created by the instantaneous opening of the bid card.

Next, the philanthropy. During recruitment, the explanation about service to a certain charity is explained and the feeling of, "Oh, I could never get involved, I'm not good enough", comes across the minds of so many. Yet, I walked into my first philanthropy meeting at the Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass and it was as if I had been working with them for years. It was welcoming and appreciative. Not only that, it was a room full of women wanting to work, as one, for the greater good.

It gives me chills just thinking about it.

Finally, and I think the most valuable is your chapter. Each sorority is different and has different processes and rules to follow. For my chapter, we went through initiation towards the end of the semester. I had found my crew and my place and now it was time to become official.

You can never express gratitude until you truly feel apart of something.

I had found a home, a family and was apart of something much bigger than me. A chapter of women waiting for me with open arms and open hearts.

You might not agree with the ideals of sororities and sisterhoods, and that's okay. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Trust me, I was a doubter for the longest time. It wasn't until I took a leap of faith that I was truly fascinated by the response.

Loving and caring.

If you are trying to find your home and your people and are just lost in the new world of college, I would suggest perhaps looking into your school's panhellenic, interfraternal, or multicultural. It could be the next step that your plan might be looking for.

Take that leap, it could be the best choice of your life.