Ever since watching Legally Blonde [the musical and then the film] I’ve wanted to join a sorority to see if sorority life really similar to how it is portrayed in the movies. Now whilst I joined a sorority in Canada, they still had branches of my sorority in the US, members of which I did meet and spend time with, so I believe I have a good perspective of sorority life in both countries.
So I’m going to confront some sorority perceptions that I had before joining.
1. Joining a Sorority would be really difficult
I’m not going to lie – it wasn’t exactly easy but the process of joining certainly wasn’t the marathon that I had envisioned before-hand. Each sorority based on our campus had recruitment events and throughout the recruitment week you would attend 1 or 2 of the events they had on. Upon arriving the initiated members would eagerly try to get to know you – truthfully the English accent really helped to get me noticed – [even if it did get tiring after a while I mean everyone kept wanting me to say “water”] Now I didn’t know this at the time [I only found out when I got initiated as a member] but there is a through scoring system that the people talking to you will give you a score. They will judge how keen you seem to join, your previous leadership experiences, your grades and your appearance – now don’t worry! – This last part is judging ONLY whether you’re dressed appropriately for the event. Their scoring of you here has nothing to do with physical appearance [again this was the case for my sorority] – they’re so eager for you to join their sorority that so long as you’re keen they’ll be excited to welcome you.
2. I don’t look like Elle Woods
As a plus-sized and prone-to-pimples woman I was SO nervous about even going to ANY sorority event. However, as soon as I walked through the door I was so excited and comforted by the diversity of women who were present throughout the different sororities. I was relieved that they didn’t expected me to be or to transform into someone else to fit their mould they just wanted me to be myself and were eager to get to know me.
3. Sorority girls were only friends with each other
This was a big concern of mine before joining a sorority because I wanted to make loads of friends on my year abroad and didn’t want to limit my friendships or experiences. Thankfully I was again reassured on this count. The main reason how I discovered about sorority life in Canada was from one of my classmates. We were paired together in my first ever class in Canada [Canadian Politics 101 and tasked to discuss our current political views] – she was so interested that I was a study abroad student and we soon hit it off. I only realised she was a member of a sorority when I saw her at a recruitment event the next week. This completely disqualified my beliefs that sorority girls were only friends with each other because she had become my friend fully aware I was both not in a sorority and new to all aspects of sorority life. Even as I joined and was initiated I saw the activities outside of the sorority that my sisters engaged in and soon saw that my assumption that sorority girls were only friends with each other was completely wrong.
The only exception to this would be events put on specifically for the sorority. For instance, our sorority went on a trip to the Pumpkin Patch in the Fall that was just time for us to bond together as sisters. But other than this we were encouraged to join other clubs and do other things outside of the sorority.
4. I’d have to get perfect grades
Now this is partially true – the sorority has to keep their average grade score to around the equivalent of a 2:1 so work and grades are taken seriously. If girls aren’t meeting the required grade expectations, they may be given a warning or even time away from the sorority so that they can get their grades up both for themselves and for the sorority they represent. There are lots of ways girls can get help if they are really struggling. For instance, my sorority had an event called “Sister Studies” which ran three times a week and was three hours in which people could come and go but was specifically for sorority sisters to do work and help others where needed.
Overall, many of my expectations of sorority life were quite different from the movies I’d watching growing up. I found the girls thoroughly welcomed me into their ranks and encouraged me to be myself. They became close friends and people who I spent most of my year abroad studying but also travelling with. We went on fun daytrips and memorable nights out and even road-tripped to Nashville, Tennessee to visit our sorority Headquarters. I am so grateful to these women for making my study abroad year that much more special and as cliché as it sounds, I can say without a doubt they became my true sisters.
By Georgina Smith-Morgan – University of Waterloo, Canada
LeedsUniAbroad 