A Look Behind The Sorority Experience | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

A Look Behind The Sorority Experience

Not all sorority experiences are good on the surface.

21
A Look Behind The Sorority Experience
Sisterhood Agenda

Sorority experiences are mostly talked about as good and life-changing. They definitely can be, but that’s not the whole story. People don’t like to talk about the times that their sorority or sorority sisters failed them, but it happens maybe a lot more often than anyone realizes. Sure, there are the fun bonding nights, late night gossip sessions, and 3 a.m. Denny’s or IHOP runs when everything is going well, but what about when things aren’t going so well? Are those sisters who promised to be there through thick and thin actually there for you or do they leave you do deal with things by yourself? I learned a lot from my sorority experience - a lot of important life lessons that I’m glad I learned while I was in college and not later in life.

You can’t trust authority figures to care about you, even if they are supposed to care. That was an interesting lesson for me because although I kind of knew it from some of the activities I pursued earlier in life, I had witnessed authority figures who did genuinely care about most of the members.

People don’t change. There’s always drama and judgment between people. I was hoping that the petty drama about relationships, cliques and personal choices would have been left in high school, but I learned quickly that they persist through college and perhaps even into the workplace.

You can’t trust people to be there for you. This was a hard one for me to learn. I was going through a hard period in my life and needed people I could rely on to be there for me, but that wasn’t something I was lucky enough to have during the majority of my time with my sorority; I always felt like an outsider. I ended up leaving the school and my sorority chapter and eventually things got better for me, I got the support I needed by changing my environment.

It wasn’t until I distanced myself from my chapter that I realized I had been presented with these lessons. While I sometimes wish I had the sorority experience I had heard so much about, I am usually grateful for the experience I did have. I don’t take things at face value as much as I used to because I know that there is always more going on than I know about. The longer I’m an alum, the more I realize the lessons that I learned from my time as an active.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Relationships

10 Facts All People In A Large Family Can Confirm During The Holiday Season

The holiday season can be the best and most stressful time of the year, especially when more people are involved.

273
kids jumping

The holidays are full of lights, sweets, sweaters, and your favorite movies. There's nothing quite like this period from the beginning of December through January. Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years. The fun of it all.

I don't know about you but with my large Italian family something is always going on during this season. It can be the most wonderful time of the year while also being the most hectic. These are a few things you know if your family is anything like mine during this time.

Keep Reading...Show less
10 things that happen the second Thanksgiving is over
reference.com

To those who celebrate, you just spent an entire day cooking an elaborate meal with all of your favorite foods. You probably ate your body weight in pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. What happens now? Oh yea, Christmas. It’s time to take out all of the decorations and Christmas themed things that have been sitting in the attic since last year; it’s time to make a reappearance. So, here are 10 things that happen the second Thanksgiving is over.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

18 Things I Want To Do Now That I'm 18

I'm technically an adult, so I'm legally required to live a little, right?

3785
Happy Birthday Cake

For the entirety of my high school career, I was always seen as the goody-two-shoes. I never got in trouble with a teacher, I kept stellar grades, and when I wasn't doing extracurricular activities, I was at home studying. Even when I did go out, it was usually with a bunch of fellow band geeks. The night would end before 11:00 PM and the only controversial activity would be a fight based on who unfairly won a round of Apples-to-Apples when someone else clearly had a better card (I promise I'm not still holding a grudge).

Now that I'm officially an adult, I want to pursue some new things. I want to experience life in a way that I never allowed myself to do prior to entering college. These are the years that I'm supposed to embark on a journey of self-discovery, so what better way to do that than to create a bucket list?

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics

The holiday classics that shaped my life

2317
10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics
Flickr

The holiday season is full of stress, debt, and forced conversation. While we rush through the month of December, it's important to take a step back and enjoy the moments before they're gone. Most families love to watch Christmas movies, but these beloved films provide more than entertainment. Here are 10 life lessons that I've learned from the holiday classics we watch every year.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

201663
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments