When I decided on attending Indiana University as a senior in high school, one of the questions a lot of people asked me was: "so are you going to rush?!". It's no secret that greek life is pretty prevalent here at IU, and I'm not going to lie... I was really hesitant about rushing and the potential of joining a sorority. I would consider myself a pretty outgoing and social person, but it always takes me a bit of time to warm up to people. Not to mention, I had no idea if I would be able to handle living in a house with over 100 girls. (I'm not sure how other schools do it, but most houses here have a 2 year live in requirement, so nearly all of the 22 chapters have sophomores and juniors live in.) Since recruitment doesn't take place until January here, I decided to not really think about it and instead see how first semester went. Fast forward to December of freshman year, and I honestly could not have been in a happier place. I loved my girl friends, had made some really awesome best guy friends and absolutely loved living in the dorms. I wasn't sure I really wanted to rush, but since all my friends were doing it, I decided to give it a try too. I didn't know many girls in houses here, so I went in super open minded (aka I didn't think much into the "tier system" at all). After the frozen tundra, little sleep, and health nightmare that was recruitment, I ended up in a chapter that I absolutely love. I already knew a couple of the girls in my member class, and we all became friends pretty quickly. However, even though I loved spending time with all of the girls, being able to come back to the quiet dorms with my friends from first semester was really nice. As someone who needs alone time and a break from all the craziness, it was perfect. That being said, I was super nervous to move into the house as a sophomore and be around over 100 girls every day. Now that I'm over half a semester in, I can confidently say that I'm just as happy but in a different way!
Honestly, living in the house has really surprised me in the best way possible. I am not only more social because I have my sisters around all the time, but I am actually even more motivated than I was last year. Constantly being around my friends that are really productive and focused on their classes, clubs, etc has been a great way to keep myself on track. All of my friends are really involved in a bunch of different clubs, so it has encouraged me to get out and try new opportunities too. We live really close to two different libraries, so it's so easy to get a group of girls together and walk to and from the library every night. As far as working out, we live near two gyms as well, so a bunch of us will go workout together too. I think what has been so nice is how my friend group has kind of fallen into a routine of studying together, eating together, working out together, and then going out together. I've always been a really independent person who loves doing things on my own, but having other people keep me accountable has been a unique change that I think I've actually benefitted from. Plus, how often do you have the opportunity to live with so many amazing girls for two whole years?!
I'm curious to hear your thoughts on being in a sorority... Comment below! I'd love to hear what you think.
xoxo
