Why I Love my Sorority

When I first headed off to college, I knew, without a doubt, that I wanted to join a sorority. I actually caught quite a bit of grief from friends and family about this because no one saw me as “a sorority girl”. I was slightly oblivious at the time that sororities had reputations of privileged, partying and other less than pleasant names and associations. To me, I was looking for a family away from home. And that’s exactly what I found!!

When I headed out to Sorority Recruitment at the start of my freshman year, none of the other students on my dorm floor came. In fact, most of them gave me a difficult time about it. But, I went through the recruitment process and spent several nights with the ladies of Chi Omega, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta & Pi Beta Phi. I made some great friends that week and while some of them joined the same house as I did others initiated into other sorority houses, and we still remained friends! Even after I joined the Greek System, Recruitment Week was still one of my very favorite parts of the year.

 

 

I didn’t realize that I would spend my collegiate years rolling my eyes and defending sororities to ignorant people who truthfully had no idea what it is actually like to be in a sorority. People began to assume I was partying and drinking and staying up all night. Okay… one of those was true & still is – I’ve always been a night owl, haha. But, for the rest of that, nothing could be further from the truth. If you were to ask any of my sorority sisters they’d wholeheartedly back that up. Still, others would give sorority girls a hard time for ‘buying their friends’. Oy, now this one really gets me! YOU choose your house & THEY choose you! Unlike the dorms where you pay even more money to live with people and are forced into living with people who you have no say so about. The irony of this buying friends concept is that you actually are spending less on housing, food, and activities than you are if you live in the dorms.

During my time at Montana State University I found a group of women who inspire one another, encourage one another, support one another, and genuinely love being around one another. There is nothing like having a house full of friends who will go on random 2 AM Walmart runs, make Ramen Noodles for you because you can never get them right, will take Spring Break road trips to Oregon and Colorado, cheer you on during halftime shows at football games, play dress up with you from the house prop closet, and binge watch entire seasons of tv shows in 1 sitting.  When I left school, the only thing I regretted was that I wouldn’t be living with these amazing women any longer.

Now, is the week that I have quite literally been waiting for since I first initiated. The Alpha Phi Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi is officially turning 100!! That’s right, my beloved house has been on the Montana State Campus for a Century! And today I arrived in Montana and am spending the next week reminiscing with my sisters, laughing until dawn, and even doing a little bit of work while I’m here! Hello Boho Mountainside Styled Wedding Photoshoot! I’m pretty lucky that I have an amazing husband who has stayed home to watch our fur babies. I can’t wait to share photos from my AOII Centennial trip!