I, along with other women, should not be defined by stereotypes and "restrictions," society has put onto us, sorority women. We, as a group, deal with the constant adversity because of our looks or how movies portray us, and because of that WE question other people's questionable judgments. I am an alumnae of my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, and I am proud. I am overjoyed by all the young women I see at universities, excited to go through recruitment and find their new home away from home. I have read multiple articles about why going through recruitment and joining Greek life was the best decision. I've even read some articles completely bashing sorority women and the recruitment process, or simply stating why they chose not to go Greek (which is OK). I don't know the circumstances of other girls, why they did or did not decide to join Greek life and I will not pretend that I do, because everyone has their own, personal reasons which is no-one else's business but their own. Even some of my closest friends still think the door chants, glitter and over-sized t-shirts are ridiculous, but they don't consider my decision ignorant or stupid, they respect it.

I wanted to leave a definition here that I found for sorority girl:

"A female college student belonging to a social sorority. She may or may not live in a sorority house. She will normally be seen wearing Chanel sunglasses, a Northface jacket, and bag representing her sorority's letters. Sorority girls are typically high maintenance and very uppity. Most are white middle and upper middle class girls that are spoiled and extremely materialistic. These bleach blondes are extremely loud and spend most of their time shopping and partying with frat boys. Often confused to be sluts, sorority girls are most often teases. Sorority girls are sometimes extremely protective of their sorority sisters and can only be distracted by a professional wing man." (I had to delete a few inappropriate words).

Whoa. Stop. Rewind. Freeze. Let's start again. No one likes being stereotyped. Blonde women are thought to be airheads, Latina's (like me) automatically thought to be illegal immigrants, all British people have terrible teeth, the list goes on. The same goes for sororities, and the wonderful women in them. I will admit, there are some women in sororities that do fit certain aspects of the stereotype; they are blonde, they are skinny, they have wonderful hair, they are from a wealthy family, they are snobby (some even are rude), I'll admit that. But do not put all sorority women in that mold, a mold which is not realistic. My chapter was a diverse one; from different countries (Paraguay for me), Philippines, Russia, different majors, spoke different languages, etc.

In terms of education, I am getting my masters in Human Rights and Global Ethics, on the road to (hopefully) law school in Humanitarian law. I am also not afraid to call out people on their pre-conceived notions about me. In my opinion, I am in no terms "ditzy," and have no concept of the real world. I've worked for a Congressman and a Representative in government offices. My personal life has helped me become very aware that there are bigger issues outside of my sorority girl bubble. ALL of my sisters are brilliant nurses, teachers, work in advertisement, continuing their education. They are devoted to pursue their education and learn more, and pursue their careers in which they are passionate. If that is considered ditzy, then I will never know what intelligence is.

In previous articles, I've read some people drag mothers of the sorority women into their articles. Saying that they raised them, rather poorly. Now, when it comes to my mother, who was also a sorority woman (Chi Omega), she's a one-of-a-kind, amazing woman. She is one of the strongest, smartest, kindest, thoughtful, persistent woman I know. She has a Master's from the University of Houston, she's an artist, if she lived in the 1940's she could have worked for Bletchley Park because she is that intelligent when it comes to puzzles and creativity. She even put up with me for 22 years! That's a lot that a sorority woman has accomplished, at least I like to think so. She raised a respectable woman, and I know many others are proof.

Let me combine two stereotypes into one paragraph, wealth and party's. Some sorority women do enjoy going out, I was not one of them, but that is their decision and that was mine. A majority of my sisters ended up "partying" at Whataburger because 11:00 pm hit and that meant Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits were ready. We are dedicated to many other things than Margaritas and Queso (even though a little never hurt anyone). Now when it comes to wealth, we all don't use daddy's plastic to go shopping, or have the latest Porsche. Like I said before, some girls do have those things and that's OK, that does not make them any less of a person. I was lucky enough to have parents buy me a new car! However, I worked and paid part of my dues to my chapter, I paid for my textbooks, I pay for extracurricular things I want to do. Also, there are scholarships for school. Newsflash, to receive scholarships you have to be smart as well!!

After everything I have written and you're still convinced that every sorority woman you meet is Barbie, watch my favorite movie, "Legally Blonde." That movie shows everyone to look past stereotypes, rather look at the person behind the mask you painted. I love getting my manicures, others don't. I love going to yoga and then getting a smoothie after, but I don't do that whole kale diet. I'm a size 10 in clothing, because I LOVE food! That is who I am. Yes, I even have pearls and designer bags, but those things aren't me. They're objects. 'Sorority girl,' is just another adjective connected to my name. Be careful next time you see a girl wearing Greek letters on a t-shirt or bag.

Who knows, maybe the sorority girl you made fun of will be your lawyer, doctor, child's teacher, in the future.