I’m in Greek life, and I admit that I pay for my friends.

Now, let’s take a step back before you send the pitchfork wielding mobs at me. I’m just asking you to hear me out because I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for saying this.

It’s simple. I paid and keep paying money in the form of dues to join and, subsequently, stay in an organization that has provided me with some of my closest friends. Truthfully, I can’t say for certain that I would have made these friends had it not been for my sorority. Maybe I would have seen them fleetingly as I walked past them in the union or ran next to them on the treadmill in the rec center. But had I not joined my chapter, I would most likely not know my friends from my sorority in the same capacity that I do today.

I think anyone in Greek life can attest to that. Don’t get me wrong, though. It’s still slightly frustrating when people tell me I pay for my friends because that’s not what my money is going toward. We all know it means more than that. However, we in Greek life have to acknowledge that we do technically pay for our friends.

But would it put your soul at ease if I say that everyone pays for their friends?

You’re all probably wondering, “Emma, how is that possible?”

Well, think about it for a second. Have you ever played a sport in your life? Have you ever participated in theater or choir? Have you gone to college? If you’ve done any of that – or really anything in your life – then you have essentially paid for your friends.

Still don’t believe me? Then here’s an example for you:

Basically since I was born, I have been playing soccer. When I joined the little recreation league for my town, my parents had to pay a fee for me to play. I’m assuming that costed somewhere in the $70-85 price range for a couple of months – for four to five year olds. Don’t forget to add in the equipment and gas money.

As I grew older, I played on a variety of advanced teams, each of which costed significantly more than $70. My equipment also became more expensive – I obviously had to have the best cleats, soccer ball and gear. On top of that, I started playing in out-of-state tournaments, which costed hundreds per weekend if you add in hotel, food and gas costs.

My life revolved around soccer, and, naturally, 90 percent of my friends came from playing on those teams. And that technically means that I paid for my friends. Fast forward a dozen years, and I am close friends with a handful of my soccer teammates.

Now, I understand that sports are just one example of how you can pay for your friends outside of Greek life, though I imagine most everyone has played a sport at some point in their life. So, if you still don’t believe me, here’s another example to prove to you that we all have paid for our friends in some way, shape or form.

I’m assuming if you’re reading this article now that you are either in college or graduated from college recently. So let me ask you this. Did you pay to go to your college or university?

If the answer is yes and you made even one friend from college, you have paid for your friends (if you said no, I am jealous of your free ride and debt-less future). I mean, yeah, you aren’t paying specifically to make friends when you go to college, but it’s an outcome of attending.

For my case, obviously I joined my sorority to meet some really amazing women, but it isn’t the sole reason I joined. Just how receiving an education or learning a sport isn’t the only reason why we do those things. We do them for multiple reasons – with making friends being one of them.

Ok, so you still don’t believe me? Well, then here’s my last point to sway you on why we all pay for our friends. This is because payment isn’t necessarily money itself. Payment is when you give something of value to someone or something else in exchange for a product or service. For example, when you make a friend at work, you pay for him or her because you are giving your work an item of value – your time – to be there in exchange for a paycheck.

Like I said, I get it. You do those things – playing sports, attending college or working – for various other reasons then to make friends. But even if you make a friend doing that, you’ve technically paid for them, and it’s not a bad thing that you did! Friends are amazing. Friends keep us sane and provide us with countless memories.

However, I'm not trying to make anyone think that we only have friends because we “pay” for them. Yes, we pay money or give up our time to be a part of something, but that isn’t why or how we make our friends. Time and money aren’t the real reasons. Truthfully, people are either going to like you or not, money be damned. I could give some people in this world $100,000 and they still wouldn’t be my friend. Just how someone could give me that much money and I’d rather not be friends with them.

So, that’s why I admit that I pay for my friends in my sorority. Because if I’m going to pay for my friends no matter what I do in life, I'm glad that I pay for them.