By lwilliams
Article by Melissa Pope
So, by now you must be wondering what it’s like to live in a sorority house. Well, lucky for you I’m here to tell you about living in a sorority house! In short, living-in is the best. Sure, there’s drama sometimes. Yeah, you have to share a room with multiple people. But hey, when in your life will you ever get to live with so many of your friends again?! Probably never.
At first, I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy living with 50+ women considering I didn’t know what it’s like to live in a sorority house. I didn’t know anything about them when I joined, I grew up with boys my whole life, and holy shit that’s a lot of estrogen under one roof! So, naturally I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing – living in a sorority house. But, much to my surprise, I liked it! There was always someone around to get coffee or lunch with, or just walk to class with. That many women in one house also means multiple closets at your disposal (if they give you permission to borrow something, that is). Actually, I didn’t like living-in. I loved it! Meals were cooked for me, the dishes were done for me (definitely not the case in a fraternity…sorry boys), and the house was cleaned for me (except my room; every member has to clean her own room. Also, the boys typically don’t get this house-cleaning luxury either…sorry again); oh, did I mention that my house was GORGEOUS?! Yeah, we even had a home gym…you can see how moving back in with my parents after living in a huge, beautiful house with all my friends was kind of a buzz-kill.
Something that made the living in a sorority house extra beautiful was all the holiday decorations! Once my brother and I got older, my family stopped decorating for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the other holidays. But, lucky for me, I was able to satisfy my need for holiday cheer at my sorority! Even for the “smaller” holidays, too, like Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day. Unfortunately, the perks do come with some obstacles. During holiday breaks and summer vacation, the chapter house closes to all members; so, essentially you’re forced to find alternative housing. That makes it hard for out-of-staters who have to move their stuff far distances or maybe can’t afford a plane ticket home multiple times a year. However, it’s possible that certain accommodations can be made for outstanding circumstances. My chapter definitely tried to make things as easy as possible for out-of-state members by allowing them to leave certain things at the chapter house over breaks or allowing them to stay an extra day or two if needed. You know, I miss living-in A LOT and often reminisce on certain memories in living in a sorority house. Like that one night when a bunch of my sorority sisters and I had a water fight with the guys from Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) across the street in the middle of the night. I don’t remember how it started, but soon it seemed like everyone who lived-in was involved. It was a blast! The material perks of living in a sorority house are great, but it’s the random, spontaneous, fun nights I spent with my roommates/sisters that I miss the most. Living-in means getting to know your pledge class sooo much better and building some truly great friendships. Driving and making plans to see my friends is certainly not as cool or easy as living with them. So, if I could only give one piece of advice about joining Greek life it would be: make sure you will be living in a sorority house. You will regret it if you don’t.