This past year has put Greek life into a bad light. There were numerous scandals with fraternities, sororities were criticized for being superficial with recruitment videos, and so on. However, despite all the negatives people choose to highlight, being a part of Greek life is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

With recruitment lurking around the corner it is important to understand what you truly get out of joining a sorority.

You Meet Your Best Friends

On bid day you may not know a lot of the girls around you, but in just a few short weeks these girls will become some of your closest friends. You will always have someone to talk to about literally anything. You find people who are like you and will be your best friends for life.

You Can Give Back

Being on a large campus, it is sometimes hard to find ways to get involved and help your community, but philanthropies are a major part of being in a sorority. You get to have fun while giving back and experiencing firsthand how big of an impact your chapter can have.

You Get to Experience New People

A lot of people have a belief that sororities are cliquey and you don't socialize outside of your sorority. This is very far from the case; when you join a sorority, you are joining in Greek life. You participate in events such as Greek Week and help participate in other sororities' and fraternities' philanthropy events. Without Greek life I wouldn't have met half the people I know now -- you truly get to expand your social circle outside of your own pledge class.

You Are Motivated to Do Better in School

There have been countless times where I have had an older girl in my sorority help me with a difficult class she had previously taken or have had someone cram till the early hours in King library with me. Besides gaining a strong academic support system, you are required to keep a certain GPA in order to go through recruitment and stay in your sorority, so you are required to stay focused on school and working toward success.

You Can Gain Valuable Leadership Experience

There are endless opportunities to get involved in a sorority even if you don't want to have a demanding position such as president. Being involved in a sorority gives you great experiences, but taking the opportunity to gain experience as an officer will be very valuable in the long run.

You Establish Professional Connections

I have heard of several people who have gone to job interviews where their potential employer was in the same sorority as them. You get to meet and network with alumni that could potentially help you land a job post college. People love to meet girls in their sorority and having connections across the country is extremely beneficial.

You Make Amazing Memories

Whether it is the late nights spent in your sorority suite together, the sisterhood events to Butterfield farms, formals, or Greek events, you have the best times with each other that you will remember forever.

Recruitment can be intimidating and you might second-guess yourself, but in the end you will always end up where you are supposed to be. You meet amazing people throughout the process that help you grow and better yourself.