Hanna Lindsay: If you think I payed for my friends...

I've seen a lot of things lately about sorority life, and it makes me think about my experience. Mine is much different from most. I wanted to rush a sorority from day 1 of college. But, I was dating Seth, and he did not think it was a good idea at all, so I just never did it.

Well, then me and Seth broke up. I had no friends aside from him. I had terrible roommates. I had moved Thanksgiving weekend of my freshman year because my roommate hated me. She wrote terrible things on my scratch off puzzle pieces on my door. She put gum in my bed. And, that's just two examples of the horror I went through. So, I moved. The next one wasn't much better. She never slept in our room, and when she did come in to grab her pajamas and brush her teeth every day, she would ask me how I was (since Seth had just broken up with me). I would tell her, and she would leave. Then, she would go tell the RA/RD/Director of Housing ridiculous stuff that she had never said a word to me about being bothered by. So, didn't find friends there. I finally found one friend who had moved out of the suite I moved into the same week. Except my new suite hated her. I decided to hell with it. I didn't care about their opinions as long as I had one real friend. She was wonderful. Got me involved in a bible study, and I made great friends with every girl there. Well, the part that sucks is this was all like 3 weeks before we went home for the summer.

We came back the next fall and things picked up where they left off. I had a better roommate. Not perfect, but I could live with her. I was really involved with bible study. But, in the back of my mind I still wanted to rush a sorority. My mom had said that we would find a way to pay for it if I found one I loved. Well, here was my dilemma: Sorority rush and Crusade's fall retreat were the exact same weekend. I chose to go to Fall Retreat since these were the only friends I had, and there was no guarantee I would find friends in a sorority. I had a wonderful time at Fall Retreat and came home feeling wonderful.

Well, about a week after that an e-mail showed up in my inbox. An e-mail about a brand new sorority, Kappa Delta. Well, I jumped on the chance and filled out the interest form. I remember turning around and telling my roommate that I had done it and she was like why would you do something like that? I said I didn't know, because it felt like she was judging me. Well, I went through rush with about 500 people. And, I kept getting calls to come back. I was by far not the best dressed rushee. And, I was so nervous. And, I really honestly never understood I was being judged the entire time. But, in September of 2010 I became one of the 134 member Alpha Class of the Eta Upsilon Chapter of Kappa Delta Sorority.

Being brand new, we did so many things differently from a well-established chapter. We didn't have bigs and littles. We had twins, because we were all the same pledge class. We had to elect a brand new council and be installed as a chapter and council all in the same weekend. We had to elect a council out of people we really didn't know that well. The first council never really got the chance to be sisters, as they started out as leaders. It's a different experience, but it was the one I wanted.

It took me awhile to tell my bible study members that I was in a sorority, but when initiation started to interfere with bible study, I had to let it out. Everytime I went to bible study after that the one friend I had made my freshman year completely bashed my choice to be a "sorority girl." She honestly hated them, and was not afraid to voice her opinion about it. And, she wouldn't always come right out and say it, but she would hint around the fact that I had made a stupid decision.

Well, in my heart I knew I had made the right decision. So, I quit bible study. I couldn't go to a place every week where everyone there hated my decision to follow my dreams. I joined another bible study created for KD. And, loved it. Everyone there had made the same decision. And, we all wanted both the sorority experience and to live our lives for God.

I ended up being treasurer and getting an RA job all in the same semester. I loved the responsibility of both, and am more than surprised I managed to juggle all of it and keep my grades up, but it worked. It was God's way of telling me I could do this. I could have everything I wanted, and still be fine.

So to everyone who believes the stereotypes don't hate it till you've tried it. And, if I paid for my friends I sure as hell didn't pay enough.