Now that you're in a Greek organization, many people - hometown friends at a different college, friends of your parents, family members, etc. - are going to ask you why you decided to go Greek.

I was asked this question by many different people throughout the summer before I began recruitment. My answer was simple: to meet new people and be a part of something great.

I went into recruitment and fell in love with my sorority. It was the first house I looked for when I received my schedule each round and it was the only name I wanted to read on Bid Day - only to suddenly realize on the big day that I knew no one there. None of my friends had chosen the same sorority. Though I was surrounded by hundreds of excited girls, I just felt awkward and alone. Most people had one or two or even ten close friends surrounding them, laughing and having fun, while I was just thankful we were assigned “Bid Day buddies” so that I wasn’t completely by myself.

I had heard that Bid Day tends to be awkward so I didn’t think too much of it at the time. But in the following weeks I still felt alone. Of course people welcomed me and talked to me, but not enough time had passed for me to become extremely close friends with some of these girls. I had only known them for about a month, and I’m not exactly an extreme extrovert.

I began to question if I’d made the right choice or if I should’ve gone where all my high school friends went. I’m not particularly shy but I’m also not one to throw myself into a new, random-ish close-knit group of friends. When someone would ask me why I chose Greek life or specifically why I chose my sorority, I didn't know what to say. It was a little embarrassing, to say the least.

Thankfull, after some time passed, I discovered that I was definitely not the only one feeling that way. I soon found that close group of girls I’d been looking for and realized that I was exactly where I needed to be; there was no other sorority that I needed to be a part of.

Moral of the story: go with your gut. If it's telling you to choose one house but all of your friends are choosing another, choose the one you want. It’s an extremely personal decision. Every chapter has a variety of girls and you’re bound to fit in somewhere. Though choosing a house that my friends didn’t choose left me feeling awkward and vulnerable, it forced me to branch out, become more outgoing and step out of my comfort zone - qualities I dearly needed to improve on.

No matter what sorority or fraternity you choose, you will find some of your best friends and you will know you chose what was best for you.Now when someone asks me why I decided to go Greek, I tell them it's because I was searching to be a part of something bigger than myself and to find people who would make me feel loved and important and hold me to higher standards. I think of the friends I've made in only one year and tell people that they are inadvertently the reason I chose my sorority.