When people hear the word “sorority” they think of how sorority girls are portrayed in movies. We are girls who can’t pass their classes and spend every night getting drunk. A sorority girl is tall, skinny, and abnormally pretty. The typical stereotype, right?

WRONG!

When I first came to college, I didn’t really know anyone. I went through recruitment in the mindset to find girls of similar values to be friends with. One day, my councilor told our group, “Pick the house that you could walk into with no makeup on and your hair up in a bun and not feel judged,” and that’s exactly what I did.

I went through recruitment hoping to find friendships, the kind that everyone always hears about through sororities. After I rushed and got a bid from my chapter, it turned into so much more. I chose my chapter because I felt it was the place I was meant to be in. Going through recruitment, it already felt like home. That’s what I really wanted; I wanted a home away from home.

Being in a sorority is more than just getting matching shirts or going to functions. I get to be a part of something that’s so much bigger than me. I am 1 of the thousands upon thousands of other girls in the same sorority nationwide. I have gotten so many snotty remarks about being in a sorority, but I wouldn’t go back and change my choice. I couldn’t imagine going through college without my sorority and sisters by my side.

I have gotten the opportunity to meet some really great women and I can’t wait to meet even more as the years go on and new memebrs get initiated. Everyone in my sorority is so uplifting and always cheering me on. I’ve made connections that I wouldn’t trade for anything. They say a sorority is more than for just four years, it’s for life, and that couldn’t be any truer. I’ve met some really great friends that will follow me for the rest of my life and be bridesmaids in my wedding years from now. Even though we may go our seperate ways, our sisterhood ties us together for life.

Through my sorority, I get the chance to be a part of another family. I have an entire support system. I will always have a connection with my GrandBig, Big, and Little that people outside of Greek life will never understand. We’re not related by blood, but we’re as close as a real family.

Although I love my sorority, I also love that I get the opportunity to meet people from every sorority and fraternity on campus through their philanthropies and functions. We may have different letters, but that doesn’t affect friendships! Even though we may get a little competitive during Greek Week, we’re still cheering for each other in the end.

Through my sorority I get the opportunity to participate in our philanthropies and community services, not because I have to, but because I want to. This past semester I got the opportunity to coah Girls On The Run East Central Illinois who partnered with the Mattoon Area Family YMCA. At the end of the season our group did a community impact project and donated over 100 cans to a local food shelter. Thorough my sorority I’m helping people and changing lives; and they’re changing mine. I’m becoming a better person by being in my sorority. I’m learning to be a leader, to have patience, and to realize how fortunate I am. It’s been an empowering experience and I can’t wait to see where else my sorority takes me.

“These letters don’t make me better than you, they make me better than I used to be.”