As you move in on Thursday, August 20, you’ll meet lots of new people on campus. One question you’re bound to get asked is whether or not you plan on joining a sorority or fraternity.

You may have thought about this before — or maybe not. You may be dying to join Greek life. You may be dreading it. Or, you may be someone like me, who had thought about it but was not sure whether or not Greek life was for me.

Before I moved into my dorm at Oglesby Hall two years ago, I had considered whether or not to sign up for formal recruitment. I had seen movies with sorority girls and never considered myself one of them. But my older cousin who was in a fraternity at the University of Dayton urged me to consider registering for recruitment.

He promised me that the vision of a sorority girl I had in my head was inaccurate, and that there is no “stereotypical sorority girl.” I agreed to keep an open mind and at the very least go through recruitment and drop if I didn’t think joining a sorority was for me.

I followed through with my plan and registered for formal recruitment. As the first round began, I met girls in different houses and realized how right my cousin was. No two girls were the same, and none of the girls I met fit the stereotypical mold we often see in the movies.

I continued with recruitment and joined a sorority that I knew I wanted to be part of the first time I walked through the door. As I begin my junior year, I could not be happier with my decision to register for recruitment freshman year.

All of my sisters are incredibly unique. No two of us are the same, but we share similar ideals. There’s a common perception that sorority girls are always focused on partying, but I would ask people who think that to meet the girls in my house who study for more hours than I think I could ever physically handle.

Living in the house gives you a chance to live with 50 of your best friends, a concept that terrified me, as I am an only child who’s not used to living with that many people. As I moved out at the end of this past semester, though, I left wishing that I could do it all again because it was truly one of the best experiences of my life.

Although I am happy I chose to go Greek, I know plenty of people on campus who did not make that choice and still have great experiences at the University. Joining a sorority or a fraternity is not for everyone, but you really don’t know until you try.

Any young woman can sign up for formal recruitment. At any point during the process, a potential new member can drop. Registering for recruitment does not bind you to joining.

You may realize you want to join a sorority, or you may realize you don’t want to. Either way, give it a try. You might find yourself a home away from home on campus and a house of girls who inspire you each and every day.

Angelica is a junior in Media.

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