Eine meine minne- You!

Pictured above is an ariel view of a Bid Day. Bid Day is when the new girls get their bids from the mutually selected sorority. Each organization is gathered around waiting for their new "babies" to come running to them. But before this picture is taken- how did the girls decide on which sorority is right for them. Or where their "home" is?

I found some good tips from this website on how to make your selection when joining a sorority.

Want my opinion?

I think 3 and 4 are among the most important aspects. I think all are very beneficial, but 3&4 are SO imperative in order to have a good experience!

The sorority after years

You've spent the past four years attending mixers, living in a sorority house, raising money for your philanthropy and wearing letters. Now you've got your graduation cords, your cap and gown and your diploma. How do sorority women maintain their identity after college after all those years of being a "sorority girl"?

Do you go on to join an alumnae chapter? Do you become a national officer or a leadership consultant? Do you become a general advisor for a chapter in your area? Or do you go on to have a family, get a job in your field or decide to travel the world?

During college, sorority women aren't brainwashed and our brains aren't reprogrammed to not think of anything besides Greek Life (although sometimes it feels that way). We have interests and goals for our future and we help acheive them together.

Whatever you decide to do, you have the support of your sisters and of your national chapter. Wherever you go, you will find SOMEONE that is in the same organization you are in. For example, I currently work with a girl who is an "AXP" at a different university. A recent graduate sister of ours met an "AXP" in California right after she got engaged, because the girl noticed her bag with letters on it. She had not been able to tell any of her friends that she was engaged yet, but she told the girl whom she had just met. It was meaningful to her because she had met a sister so far away from home, but she still felt connected in sharing her engagement news and introducing her fiance to her. No matter if you get to know the person or not, you will feel connected to them by the deep bonds of sisterhood and love for your organization.

Many people fear that the transition between being a sorority girl and a normal member of society will be hard. Why? It is no different than how you live your life now! If you are on executive council of an orgaization, you view it as your job- as a business. You can still maintain your personal identity alongside your inner-sorority woman all while doing your "job", no matter what it is. Your letters don't make or define you- they only made you stronger.

After college you may decide to leave your sorority years behind you and no longer partake in alumnae activities, but chances are you will still be connected to the sorority through the friendships you made in college. You will attend weddings of sisters, invite them over for margaritas, laugh over lunch, or even go shopping for baby clothes.

If you do decide to continue with your sorority involvement, it isn't hard to meet people outside of college! As mentioned, you can join an alumnae chapter. They are all over the country for every organization and are usually big contributers to philanthropic work and local chapter support.

Check out alumnae chapters if you think it is for you! You can contribute such wonderful things all while maintaining who you are and forming into a better and more mature being.

You've got questions? I've got answers!

Due to recent interest in this blog (thanks everyone), I have been given the idea to allow you all to ask me questions and post your own stories about Greek Life.

Please leave feedback, questions, comments, your own written stories, etc. and I will try my best to answer all of them and even try to do some featured guests on my blog and post YOUR thoughts! Obviously keep it within the theme of sorority life, or Greek Life in general- and keep it appropriate. We are poking fun at, but trying to better the perception of Greek Life across the nation! :)

You can find this new gadget under my bio on the right side of the blog! Sign in or follow me to comment or you can shoot an email to soroaholic@hotmail.com with your featured stories you'd like me to post in the blog!

I'm a sorority girl, in a Barbie world

Check out this video first: "I'm a sorority girl, I like to wear pearrrlsss. Life in dresses, they're the best-est"

So after watching that video, I couldn't help but laugh. The stereotypes in the Barbie Girl parody are strikingly apparent, but that isn't ALL of what sororities are about.

Yes, sorority members have a plethora of dresses and have a good set of pearls handy to dress up letters or badge attire. And yes, fraternity members love their brotherhood "bromance" and probably love their beer pong too- but that doesn't mean that everything is negative of Greeks. It sounds like normal college life to me!

We are sorority girls in a Barbie world. In society, women are told to dress and act a certain way and that applies to Greeks too. We get EXTRA criticized and harped on by the fact that people think we are fake and all look the same.

Most people think we are Barbie prototypes, but what would Barbie's body be like if she were a real person? We'd all look like this! Now I know that would never be possible, nor do we want our friends looking like that, but I thought it was interesting anyway!

We are essentially sorority barbies on the shelf of sisterhood waiting to be picked up and go somewhere with our lives. They even ACTUALLY made a sorority barbie in honor of the National Pan-Hellenic Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA).

We do spend a lot of time together and we all have 18 of the same shirts, but we don't all look the same nor are we the same on the inside. We have different majors, interests, taste in guys, music preferences, body types, skin colors, fashion sense, work experiences... (you get the point).

Next time you refer to a sorority member as a Barbie girl, please think twice. Barbie is only (and has only ever been) whatever personality and attitude the "owner" has come up with for her. Some sorority members are indeed ditzy, materialistic, blonde and fake tan, but so are MANY other people out there who aren't in a sorority. And it is not the sorority that made them that way!

Don't date me.

Generally speaking, women take it upon themselves to be their own private detectives when it comes to digging up dirt on their boyfriend or object of interest. But unlike the typical woman that does this, a sorority girl brings her "A game" and gets her sorority sisters to help as well. If you thought that one girl was bad, try having 158 watching you at all times of the day.

If you plan on dating a sorority girl, BE PREPARED. Don't think it is going to be easy or like any other girl you've ever dated before because there are a lot of social norms sorority members conform to that others do not.

Girls are good at talking, giggling, drama, and multi-tasking. Multiply that by 10 and you get your sorority girlfriend.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a sorority girl and would never actually wish upon myself or a friend to not be dated- but boys do need to know a few things before they jump into a relationship with one of us.

1. Be Patient. For example: don't plan on seeing your girlfriend at all for the weeks leading up to recruitment. She will be in a total zone and unable to do anything but live, eat, breathe "AXP"

2. Learn the language. Better know who her little is, what acronyms she uses and what their philanthropy is. She is going to use a lot of foreign words to you and she will probably abreviate all of them. So read up and ask questions!

3. Become a walking billboard. Don't be surprised if she gives you shirts to wear around campus, a button to put on your backpack, or sunglasses with her organization on the side of it. You are a male and probably a fine one at that. She knows if you have her organization written all over you, you will attract the attention of non-sorority members in hopes that they will notice the LETTERS, not the boy (yeah right). To her, you are a marketing tool and a walking piece of "AXP".

4. You don't have to be a frat boy. Yes, we DO like men that aren't in fraternities. Many girls choose to date fraternity men and others chose not to. No one MAKES you date a Greek, but sometimes it does happen because it is easy to meet someone in the Greek system. Don't feel like you can't persue the girl just because you aren't wearing letters like her. She will still notice you!

Ok, so don't NOT date us. Just don't date us if you don't know what you may be getting yourself into first. We may require a little more than the normal girl, but I promise you it is worth it! :)

Fabulous Philanthropies

Greek Life contributes millions of dollars each year to different causes around the world. However sorority philanthropic work does not only involve donating money. Members donate their time and effort participating in service projects that directly help the community, as well as get members personally involved in the community's needs.

Fraternities and sororities participate in national philanthropies chosen by their national office headquarters as well as local efforts. These include but are not limited to: St. Judes, AIDS Foundation, Breast Cancer Awareness, other cancer Foundations, Camp Fire USA, Autism Awareness, Red Cross, PUSH America, MADD, Boys and Girls Club of America, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Make a Wish Foundation, Arthritis, Cardiac Care, Habitat for Humanity, Firefighters of America and much more!

Organizations participate in service events such as: Relay for Life, gift wrapping for needy children at Christmas, putting boxes together for the military, visiting the elderly, collecting books and school supplies for local schools and shelters, visiting soup kitchens and MUCH more!

Here is a link that I found about a group of Greeks working together to raise over $34,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network and Huntsman Cancer Foundation!! This just shows how much work goes in to planning an event this huge and the success of an event like this.

If I paid for my friends, I didn't pay enough.

Many people think that joining a sorority means that you are paying for your friends for the next four years. Yes, Greek organizations do cost money- and at some schools a lot of it! But think about what that is getting you...

Your dues cover your initiation fees, badge, chapter programming (mixers, philanthropy events, sisterhood/brotherhood retreats, occasional merchandise), school-wide student activities participation and usually a lifetime subscription to the organization's magazine plus much more!

You do have to pay for formals, some t-shirts, etc. but a lot of it is covered within the chapter budget. Everyone in the organizations gets the same financial benefits of joining, not just a few people.

At schools with houses, you pay for the house and meal plan if you choose to live in it. That means dues will probably run around $2,000 a semester but that covers your housing and meal plans plus all the things mentioned above! I don't know about you, but at our school upperclassmen housing is $8,000 a year and meal plans are an extra $3,000. Essentially, you are SAVING money to be in an organization!

Just because sororities and fraternities cost money, it doesn't mean that everyone comes from a well-off family. MANY people (including myself) pay for their dues and extras. We work, have internships, receive financial aid to attend school and still feel strongly about paying for the continuation of our membership.

To us, it is worth paying the money to be involved on campus, contribute to service and community involvement, participate in fun events and to be surrounded by people we love.

Many people join an organization to "make friends" or because they want to be "involved" on campus. They don't join to "pay for friends" or to "live in the house". The financial issue comes second when initially thinking of joining an organization.

When you weigh the pros and cons of having to pay, most people find that if they are paying to be in an organization, it is worth the friends and connections they have made as well as the experiences they have gained.

These men or women are going to be the same people who will share with you your graduation day, engagement, wedding day, and someday, the birth of your children. The friendships that you make with these people will forever hold a special place in your heart and you will never give a second thought to the money you spent to share experiences with them.

We are kind of a big deal

Think Greek Life isn't popular? Think we don't do anything worthwile on campus? Think we are dumb and do not succeed in life? While on some campuses, Greek Life isn't the "it" thing, it is the ONLY way to go on some other campuses. I found these statistics on George Washington's Greek Speak page... and these are just a few!

-Over 800 campuses in the United States and Canada participate in Greek Life
-There are over 9 million Greek members nationally
-63 percent of the U.S. President's cabinet since 1900 have been Greek.
-Of the nation's 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity men.
-85% of the Fortune 500 executives belong to a fraternity.
-40 of 47 U.S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were fraternity men.
-76% of all Congressmen and Senators belong to a fraternity.
-Every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825 have been members of a fraternity.
-A National Conference report shows a high percentage of the 4,000 NIC fraternity chapters are above the All-Men's scholastic average on their respective campuses.
-A U.S. Government study shows that over 70% of all those who join a fraternity/sororitiy graduate, while under 50% of all non-fraternity/sorority persons graduate.
-Less than 2% of an average college student's expenses go toward fraternity dues. (U.S. Office of Education)
-Over 85% of the student leaders on some 730 campuses are involved in the Greek community.
-Over $7 million is raised each year by Greeks nationally
-850,000 hours are volunteered by greeks annually
-The Greek system is the largest network of volunteers in the US, with members donating over 10 million hours of volunteer service each year.

I was doing my research and found a bunch of famous people that I never knew were involved in Greek organizations. You can check out the list here, but here are a few I found to be interesting:

Andy Griffith, Amy Grant, Aretha Franklin, Ashton Kutcher, Bill Clinton, Bill Crosby, Brad Pitt (Sigma Chi produces some fine men), Carrie Underwood, Colonel Sanders, Condoleeza Rice, David Letterman, Dr. Seuss, Drew Brees (another Sigma Chi), Drew Carey, Elvis Presley, George Bush Sr., George Bush (they were in the same one!), Harison Ford, Heather Locklear, Nick Lachey, Pope John Paul II (cutteee), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (bet that fraternity is proud), Stephen Spielberg, Tim McGraw (ow-owww), Jimmy Buffett (wonder if he took them to Margaritaville), John Kennedy, John Wayne, Kate Spade (cute recruitment clothes?),Matthew McConaughey (mmmmm), Neil Armstrong.

Also the CEO of Disney, originator of the Peace Corps, multiple professional athletes, news anchors, reality TV stars, Miss Americas, co-founder of Microsoft, CEO of AT&T, the largest landowner in the U.S., owner of Walgreens, founder of the C.I.A., founder of Hilton Hotels, founder of Wendys, Nobel Prize winners, co-founder of Proctor & Gamble, U.S. senators and judges, Olympic Gold Medalists, University Presidents and the creator of Sesame Street.

You can take away what you want from this but the bottom line is that Greek Life is not a joke no matter how you view it. We contribute countless hours of service and raise millions of dollars for causes that are near and dear to so many of your hearts. And guess what, we actually like doing it!

We wouldn't want to be in an organization that does nothing for its' philanthropy. I would estimate that about 3/4of people who join Greek Life join for the service and philanthropic work of that chapter- I know I did!

Welcome Class of...

Welcome Class of 2014. May your Facebooks be blown up with Fall Recruitment 2010 invites, friend requests out the wazoo and random messages from girls introducing themselves and telling you that they are SOOO excited to meet you and that if you have any questions, you can ask!

Get used to it. It is going to happen until you join a sorority in the fall...or at least sign up for recruitment. Why? While most of these girls are genuine in telling you that you can contact them, their main goal is to promote Greek Life, specifically their sorority via a Facebook invasion.

Have you noticed the number of pictures on the University's Class of 2014 page steadily increasing each day? **Response inserted here** Yup, me too. Us sorority girls are intensely competitive and our organization has to be the first one anyone sees when they log onto the page.

Again- why? Well, while we all front the "Panhellenic" (council under which most social sororities fall)image, the bottom line is that we all think that each of our own organizations is the best. We claim to all love each other and get along- which for the most part is true- but we have no problem running off a million and one reasons why DXZ is better to join than AXP.

Check out this link our recruitment director sent to our executive council. She said to us "Let's pray I don't get like this in the fall, and if I do- kill me." It speaks for itself and I am able to vouch that NEVER IN MY LIFE have I seen ANY sorority member on this campus act like the writer behind these recruitment guidelines.

Of course we all want quality girls with well-rounded lives to become part of our organization in order to further it and make it stronger, but recruitment is all about a mutual selection. We can't make little Polly join just because her backpack matches the letters we wear on Tuesdays or that she would look totally awesome in pictures with "Sister A" as her big.

To all you Sister A's out there, I encourage you to withdrawl the claws and re-humanize yourselves for recruitment this upcoming fall. It will make the Polly Potentials more comfortable and more likely to want to be your friend and not your doll.

We came to this University to become better individuals academically and socially, and that should be the main focus. We can do that while having fun in a sorority if WE just give these girls a little of credit for figuring out where they "belong."

To all you Polly Potentials, sign up for recruitment! Not just to keep the wolves at bay, but because it truly is an enriching experience. Yes,it is intimidating but you will go through 4 days of finding yourself and where you want to go with your next four years in college.

The decision is ultimately up to you to join at the end and chances are that you will be happy where you end up. Go into recruitment with an open mind and don't say that you want to join DXZ or APT without checking out what each has to offer. I promise you'll be surprised.

A "Soro" what?

Hey everyone! I am excited to get this blog going and see the progression that it makes. I basically want to share with you all something that interests me and hopefully you can take away some interesting things from day to day.

The name of this blog was inspired by a friend who is insistent on calling sororities "soros" . This irks sorority girls just as much as calling a fraternity a "frat" does.

Didn't know that bothered us? Well, it does! A "frat" is something that you see on T.V. pounding back beers at all hours of the day, and not in real life. A "soro" just sounds like a sloppy name for a group of sorority women- who overall are not sloppy at all.

"Aholic" comes from no where else besides people assuming all Greek members are alcoholics or addicted to some sort of negativity. Personally, my addiction is my sorority itself.

Sometimes I feel like I am a "soro"-aholic because I am so involved and always have something to do pertaining to it. This is generally a good thing but sometimes can be a bit overwhelming when I find myself putting school or work on the back burner.

What I hope to bring to this blog is a sense of humor and shed some light on the ridiculous portrayals of Greeks around the nation. I hope to bring some positivity to your mind when I tell you that I am a member of the Greek community.

I do not want you to assume that I have bad grades or that I've slept with an entire fraternity pledge class in order to get initiated. I want you to see me for my contributions to Greek Life and the impact that we have made on universities across the nation.

I will be posting links, stories, pictures, etc. to show you all funny things I have found and we will analyze them together. For those of you new to this, I will introduce you to my world and help you understand it a little better. For those veteran Greeks out there, you may find my findings relatable, funny or new to you.

Spread the word and get ready to become a "soro"-aholic! :)