The Seven Best Things about Greek Life

After a long recruitment weekend, I began thinking about my life before Greek Life. Everyone sees Greek Life as a group of girls and guys who party and have crazy themes. Or they see it as it is viewed in movies such as Legally Blonde, Sorority Row or The House Bunny. As Green Day says, “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.” Joining four years ago, I wasn’t sure I would love it; but now I have sisters who are there for me in good and bad times.

My Seven Favorite Things about Greek Life

Community Service: Every year, my sisters and I plan a Home Run Derby with the baseball team to raise money for breast cancer. We have traditional community service projects that have been going on for years, but we also add new ones if a project means a lot to a sister.
The New Member Process: During this time, I learned a lot about myself (especially what I liked about myself) and then tied it in to the values of Theta Phi Alpha, which is the sorority I joined. I valued that their three core values are Honesty, Loyalty, and Faith.
Bigs and Littles: Each new member gets a “big sister,” who I now consider to be my best friend. I could tell her anything and she would be there to help me or have a solution. Leading up to the ceremony, girls play tricks on their soon-to-be Little saying, “It would have been awesome to be your big, but I know your actual big is beyond excited to have you in their family line!” I love being in the cafeteria or in the hallway and yelling “I LOVE YOU BIG, or I LOVE YOU LITTLE!”
Crafting: Crafting lets a girl be creative and make crafts for a secret sister, herself, her big or her little! Especially if you are becoming a big, crafting can take weeks and there are so many ideas and too many ways to craft to decide.
Recruitment: Recruitment is my favorite part of Greek Life. It’s a long and stressful weekend, but we’re spending it with the girls we love and call sisters. It is an opportunity to show girls how much the organization means to you, and how it has helped each person grow individually and in a group setting.
School: My grades improved drastically since I joined a sorority. I feel like there is always something to strive for! I would punish myself if my grades were slacking; I wouldn’t allow myself to go to a movie night or party.
Friends for Life: My favorite memories are when we go apple picking together every fall, or we can dance the night away together. Even something as simple as sitting in a room with pizza and a movie. We refer to each other as family and truly believe in the phrase, “Ohana means family and family doesn’t get left behind.”