In seven short months, my sorority has taught me more about myself and given me more perspective than I ever thought possible. The most important lesson that I have learned and will carry on with me for the rest of my life is this: you are always wearing your letters.

The older girls and members of exec have engrained it in our brains from Bid Day to new member meetings to weekly meetings at chapter. At first, I dismissed this reminder as a cliché sorority quote. But once it was explained to me and I realized the importance of this simple lesson, it changed my entire perspective.

People always say, “It doesn't matter what others think of you." This statement holds true in many cases. You shouldn't be afraid to be who you are and express yourself, and you're never going to please everyone. But it's not an excuse to lower your standards and treat others differently from the way you'd want to be treated. The somewhat exhausted saying really got me thinking about the impression I give others and the way I act.

The way you act on a daily basis, from the conversations you hold walking to class to the way you dance downtown, reflect on who you are as a person. Chi Omega opened my mind to this piece of advice. Every person you encounter, whether it be for thirty seconds or an hour, bases their impression of you off of that brief exchange. Once you're in a sorority, and especially in the case when you are literally wearing your letters, individuals base their impression of not only you off this one encounter; they also base their impression of your sorority and every single one of its members off of you. This affects how I talk to people, whether it's a waitress or a friend from home. It affects how I act at a grocery store or how I behave while out to dinner with my friends.

No one can truly understand how strong the bond of a sisterhood is or how deep sisters love one another until they join a sorority themselves. Sororities are often misjudged, stereotyped, and ridiculed by outsiders. That is why this lesson is so valuable. Not because we should be so concerned as to what others think of us, not because we need the approval of others, but because we are always wearing our letters. My sorority means so much to me. I know as time goes on and I get closer to my sisters and more involved in Chi Omega that this is only going to become truer. I want people to like me, and I want people to like my sorority because it has had such a positive impact on me and so many others. We are so much more than the scrutiny we face. The only way to make others realize that is to hold ourselves to a higher standard. No matter where you are, what you're doing, or who you're with, you are always wearing your letters.