I am not a complicated person. I like black coffee, breakfast foods, socks, and sweaters. I have a routine. I have a group of friends that I like to spend my time with, and I try to keep most major things in my life the same for a reason: because I like them that way. I am not a complicated person. However, I did something this semester that’s really uncharacteristic, and I wanted to talk about it. I decided to sign up for formal recruitment to rush a sorority.

When I was in middle and high school, I had this stereotype of sorority sisters that can be traced mostly back to Legally Blonde. I thought all sororities were like Delta Nu—that although they were supportive sisterhoods, they weren’t for people like me, who didn’t wear a lot of pink or act stereotypically feminine. I hadn’t had much exposure to real-life sorority sisters (that I knew about) other than my mom (a Phi Mu), and I knew she had a wonderful experience with the women in her sorority, but for some reason, my Delta Nu-esque stereotype persisted.

Then I got to college, and everything changed. I met sorority sisters who defied the stereotype in every imaginable way—some by embracing it and showing that they were so much more than a one-dimensional movie representation. I began to see (and this should have been obvious to me, in retrospect) that being in a sorority was so much more than sparkles and pink—and that sorority women can be just like me.

So when formal recruitment time came around this year, I signed up. At first, it was on a whim, asking myself the question, “What’s the worst that could happen?” I figured I would meet a lot of cool people and end up with new friends at the very least, and maybe find a Greek house to call home. I didn’t think too much of it, good or bad.

Then I went to the first info session and started meeting women from the five houses on campus, and realized that each one was phenomenal in their own unique ways. I heard about the benefits of having a network of sisters to rely on, and in return, the loveliness of supporting a sister in return. A group of women, who, for better or worse, were linked to you for life through the good times and the bad. I learned how each of them made Greek life work for their individual lives and schedules, and realized that that could be me.

I realized that I wanted it to be me.

So no matter which house I end up in, I know that I’ll be surrounded by caring women of every kind imaginable. My personal goal is to become the best me I can be, and meet dozens of women who feel the same way. Whatever this ride has to offer me, I want to take it, learn from it, and grow as a person. Rush weekend? Bring it on!