Thursday, November 20, 2008

Positives

When I started college, I swore I would never join a sorority. I'd fallen into the trap of believing everything I'd heard, from hazing horror stories to the high cost of being part of these groups. Besides, I wasn't sorority material. I'd never been the popular girl, nor was I even the pretty one. Yes, I went to college with a great many judgments, but sorority and fraternity life had never been portrayed to me as anything but a big party that only those higher up on the social ladder were a part of.

In my first year of college, I found out that I wasn't completely right about the whole thing. As a founding member of my own sorority, I was given the chance to mingle with other Greek organizations on my small college campus as well as sororities from other colleges in the state. What I found was quite surprising to me. Fraternities and sororities weren't all bad. Granted, there were a few stereotypes that were met quite well. They did throw some good parties after all. But my predetermined impression was all but shattered and I spent my college career reaping the benefits of being in a sorority.

To any parent worried about their student joining a fraternity or a sorority, or to any college student unsure if a Greek organization is for them, the following is a list of the positive benefits of joining. You won't see these on a movie or a reality show, but they are just as real and can make for a great college experience.

So you've made the decision to rush. Depending on the Greek System at your college, that might mean meeting hundreds of girls in anywhere from four to twenty-four sororities. No, you won't remember everyone's name. Yes, you will be torn between a couple of sororities. And possibly, you might not get asked back by your first choice. Take a deep breath, be true to who you are, and remember, there is life after rush.

One of the highlights of crossing into a fraternity or sorority is gifts. After all the hard work, you finally get to show off the organization that you labored to enter. The gifts become a part of you and your experience.

Out of all the gift that you could receive, the one of the most popular ones is a paddle. Wikipedia says that paddles are "commonly exchanged between 'little Brothers' to 'Big Brothers,' or as a gift from 'little Sister's' to their 'big Sisters'. It is a symbol of their induction to the sorority or fraternity." You honestly can't go work with presenting someone a paddle of a gift in this situation. They make great gifts, especially for deans. A common practice is for an entire line a line is the group of people that the dean brings into the organization. People how have been deans numerous times usually have paddles from the various lines they've brought in. Paddles are really fun to make and are also very easy to make.

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