When you joined your sorority, the seniors, alumnae, and advisors told you it was for a lifetime, and you believed them. Kind of. You added your pledge sisters to the wedding party you’d already mentally planned, you realized just how tragic you never knew you were when your big came into the picture to guide you, and it became clear that you are capable of being selfless when you met your little. Yes, you joined a sorority, and received a sisterhood that you’ll keep with you for eternity.
Here’s the secret: once you graduate, you’ll realize that while you’ll be a sorority girl forever, you’ll never actually be a sorority girl again. Live it up while you can, especially if this is your last semester. While there are obviously certain things you knowingly love about Greek life, like having 100 of your closest friends (and frenemies) accessible 24/7, you don’t realize that once you’re a moldy oldy graduate you’ll miss all of the stuff that used to drive you crazy. I’m not saying you’ll start wishing for another visit to standards, but things that seem beyond stressful now, like choreographing the most amazing Greek Week skit, and searching for the perfect boy for your upcoming date party, are a lot more fun than having deadlines and pretending to be happy for everyone you know that is suddenly getting engaged. Here are three things to appreciate while you still can.
1. Chapter Actually Doesn’t Suck (as much as you think it does)
Once a week, you drag yourself and your hangover out of bed for a meeting that seems more or less useless. Loaded up on regrets iced coffee and dressed to the nines, you pop on your pin and pretend you weren’t dancing on the pool table with a particularly regrettable gentleman caller the night before. You sit there during roll, wishing you could be texting (or better yet, sleeping). What you’re failing to realize is you’re never going to have all your friends in one place for a weekly recap session like this again. Brunch is fabulous and adult, but it’s a little bit early if you’re still coming to terms with getting out of bed after a particularly crazy Saturday night. Chapter is mandatory, brunch is not. You have to recap (and remember) everything that went down over the weekend, and who better to do it with than your sisters? The next time you’re able to hang out with such a big crew every single week, without a huge amount of planning, is when you eventually join the PTA, and let’s face it, you’re not exactly rushing toward a life of snotty noses and skid marks.
2. Learn To Love Mixers (and embrace them for what they are: shitshows)
You know you’ll miss these, but I need you to understand just how amazing they are while you’re still experiencing them. Obviously you’ll frequent even cooler bars as a post-grad, but unless you’re hanging somewhere particularly trashy, you won’t be able to watch things get sloppy in quite the same way. In the real world, DFMO-ing happens, but it’s just not as socially acceptable for “grown-ups” (although I may or may not be trying to make it a thing again). Mixers are the perfect controlled environment. Sisters know they can get crazy because they’re safe. Sure, they may be called to standards, but it’s not like you’re going to let your rival house know that every single girl in the chapter was covered in face paint from the boys’ 101 Dalmatians costumes after your Disney mixer. You can pretty much get as wild as you want, and it’s really the only time you can.
3. Recruitment Encourages You To Whip Out Your Dirtiest Insults (but it’s for the greater good, so you’re safe from karma)
When will you ever get a chance to be this catty constructive again? You’re basically given the opportunity to handpick your new best friends. You get to choose a whole slew of fabulous girls to party with for (at least) the remainder of your college career. In the future, judging people based exclusively on their looks, and five minutes of conversation, might be misconstrued as borderline malicious (GDIs just don’t understand). When you call a girl a javelina, your real world friends won’t get it. So get mean, get brutal, and get down to business while you still can.
Some of you are going into your last semester and embracing your SWUG (Senior Washed Up Girl) status. You’re stressed out about the real world. You’re having trouble getting the motivation to take off your Uggs, drop your bottle glass of Skinny Girl, and stray from the bars you’ve been frequenting since freshman year. My advice as someone older wiser who’s been through senior year, is to hop off your futon, trade in the readymade cocktail, and take advantage of everything before the opportunity passes. Hook up with the cute guy you’ve been eyeing for ages, even if you’re embarrassed you might see him in the dining hall. DFMO constantly (but not sloppily). Go to that bar you’ve avoided ever since you actually turned 21. Do the ice luge, despite the germs. Dance on tables, even if risk management tries to bring you down…literally.
In most situations, you can’t take advantage of your last times, because you don’t know it’s going to be your last time. College has an expiration date, and you know it’s coming. Once graduation day comes, the doors on this part of your life will close forever. Take advantage of all of the last times and pretend like they’re the firsts all over again, because the real world is great, but it’s different. So don’t let job applications, or the wrong boy, or paper deadlines, get you down. This will be your best semester yet, if you just let it.
Nice Move314
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Fleur de Lilly
Fleur de Lilly (@margaretabrams) is a contributing writer for Total Sorority Move and Post Grad Problems. When she's not corrupting her big's baby, she can be found decoding texts, gravitating towards raised surfaces, and spending time with her gentleman caller, Jack Daniels. She loves Lilly, Louisiana, and her lineage.
@margaretabrams
@margaretabrams
