The Greek Life

Iota Kappa Chi Omega Sorority Reunion 2014

Kids grow up fast, and before you know it they are going to college. I have several friends my age who have kids going to college this year. How can this be? I remember going to college like it was yesterday, even though it was 25 years ago.

I have to tell you a funny story about my first experience the summer before heading off to college. I got a call from a girl named Darlene, who was a senior at the college I was planning on attending. She called me out of the blue because she had seen my name in the paper, and read that I was going to Troy University in Alabama.

While on the phone, she told me Troy had a lot of Greeks on campus. Being naïve and not having parents involved in the college Greek life, I thought she was talking about Tarpon Springs, which has the highest percentage of Greek Americans in any city in the US. I didn’t know that she was talking about sorority and fraternity life until I got off the phone and told my dad there were a lot of Greeks in Troy.

Anyway, her phone call sparked my interest in what the Greek life was all about. I decided to go through rush, which is what students do the week before classes start to find out about the different sororities on campus.

I ended up pledging the Chi Omega sorority. It was a wonderful experience and one I would never trade. The sorority was my home away from home. You see Troy was about an eight-hour car ride, and I didn’t have a car at college, so I would usually stay at school on the weekends. It was also a smaller school. It didn’t have a huge student population. Being in a sorority gave me instant friends and helped make being away from family a little easier. The sorority also was like a family unit. The older girls watched out for us, made sure we studied and had good grades and helped us be women of good character.

Me and Darlene at the Chi O Reunion
 wearing our jersey's 

These girls in the sorority became sisters and to this day are still a part of my life. Darlene, who called me, is one of my close friends and a sorority sister.

Recently, some of my sorority sisters planned a reunion in Atlanta. I was overjoyed to see 65 of my sisters from Troy for the weekend. It was like being back at college. Some of these women I haven’t seen since college. Still, we were able to reconnect so easily. There is a special bond that is there no matter how many years go by.

I am hoping my girls are Chi O’s too one day, but I know sorority life may not be for everyone. I think that there are a lot of factors that go into pledging a sorority. Some sororities may be good at one campus and not so much at another. When my girls go to college, I hope they are open minded and if they do decide to join a sorority, I want them to choose the one that fits them best as a person. If they decide not to pledge a sorority, that’s ok too.

One thing I do know is that my girls won’t think going Greek is changing your nationality.