Have you ever put yourself in a box? Deciding that you are or are not a certain type of person before ever trying it out.

If yes, then have you ever precluded yourself from participating in something because of this box? Well I have. There was a long period of time where I told myself I had to graduate in four years, but I let go of that and traveled for a year (oddly enough I am still graduating in four years). You think after stepping outside of one box then it would be easier to step out of another, but as I returned to college for my Junior year I was telling myself that I was a certain type of college student, one that got good grades, traveled, and one that definitely was not in a sorority. I put myself  in a box that told me going Greek was bad … and then I went through recruitment.

The reason I went through recruitment is hard to explain. I think it started from a place of fear; fear of not having friends and honestly, fear of not experiencing everything. I just had taken this big leap and moved to Australia for a year and then I was back on campus. I wanted to push my comfort zone. So there I was joining a sorority and I could not have been more wrong about what I had expected, and why I put myself in the “no sorority” box.

I didn’t immediately have a BFF when I joined, but I did immediately have a group of girls who wanted to see me succeed and be happy. It was weird to have such a strong bond, but we did. We were in this whole college experience together and we all wanted to see each other do the best that they could. I wasn’t competing against girls, but I was being pushed to study more, laugh harder, and most importantly, to be whoever it is that I wanted to be.

Here are a few of the ways my sorority wasn’t what I had expected.

There was no one way my sisters looked. If you fall down the internet hole of sorority videos you will be extremely surprised after you join.

Instead of hazing there were gifts. I didn’t think there would be hazing, but I definitely didn’t expect the amount of gifts and love we got. It was nice after a rough week of midterms to find a bag filled with my favorite flavored chips outside my door.
I don’t have to “fake” get along with people. You will find your best friends in your house and I found mine, I didn’t have to fake it, and I don’t feel the need to be everyone’s best friend.

These girls show up. They will be there for me no matter what. From my best friend to the girl who I occasionally sit next to at chapter dinners, they will come when you need them. These are the people who are up late studying with me during finals just because I need someone to help me stay awake.

Most importantly there is nothing more fun than throwing what you know and singing along to sorority chants. I spent so much time thinking these were the silliest things, that I forgot I loved being silly!

Joining a sorority has taught me a lot of things but most importantly it has taught me that there are people in this world who just want to see you happy (besides your mom) and that it’s okay to be #alittlebitsilly.

Photos taken by Oliver Bingham.