What Not To Expect When You Join A Sorority

There is always a lot of speculation about whether joining a sorority is a good idea or not, and while both sides typically have a few good arguments, I thought I would go ahead and throw out my stand on the subject. As a disclaimer, I will say that I am an affiliated woman currently, and if you think that makes this post biased, you may be right, but I would encourage you to read it either way and soak in the information as you wish.

1) Don't expect sunshine and rainbows all the time.

A common misconception about sororities is that they are the happiest place on campus, all chants and smiles and Starbucks, but that's just not how the cookie crumbles my friends. There will be drama, as there is in any situation with 2+ women in the same room. There will be times when you fight like siblings and think that you hate each other, it's just inevitable. However, you are the only entity that can choose to stop those things from happening. This is when the whole "going to college to be a big kid" thing kicks in. You're not always going to like everyone, but you can always choose how to handle yourself, which typically is either like a functioning member of society (adult) or like a screaming baby (child).

2) Don't expect everyone to run up to you and be super duper excited to be your best friend.

While every affiliated member is always excited about a new group of sisters, friends, and littles, they can't do all the work. It's true what they say, "you get out what you put in" and if you're standing in a corner with your arms crossed, talking to no one and convincing yourself that you're having a miserable time, you're probably not going to get much out of it. The truth is, these girls will go out of their way to try and make you comfortable, but they can only do so much. Believe it or not, some of the responsibility does fall on you. So make an effort to talk to someone you don't know, join in on games or group conversations, get out of the corner and have fun for yourself, don't expect someone else to do it for you.

3) Don't expect to hate it.

If you come in with a bad attitude, you're not going to have a good time. Simple as that. Whether you got into a chapter that wasn't your first choice, or you don't like Sally's face, or you think that sororities are a government conspiracy, whatever your reason is, leave it at the door. Because if you come in with a bad attitude, it will effect your experience, and the experiences of those around you which isn't fair to anyone.

**What you can expect, is to find a group of women with similar interests. A group of girls who all probably need a support system in one way or another. So just be nice, try to enjoy yourself, and don't over think everything. No one is out to get you, you're just in a club, one that raises a lot of money for philanthropies every year, but if you slap a "no boys allowed" sign on the door then it's really not that different than everything you've been doing with your life up until this point. There's just more singing.**