Going Greek: Benefitting Lives Positively

It has nothing to do with drinking or partying. It is way more than simply wearing letters across your chest and always having that smile on your face. Some people may judge your decisions or tell you all you are doing is just paying for your friends, but being in greek life is way more than that and is way more than the bad reputation that is starting to be associated with it. These organizations have been around for hundreds of years and were founded upon something stronger than just friendship, they were founded on common values and a bond that tied these members together. Although some may doubt it and others may make fun of  participating in greek life, it is something that can benefit your life personally and forever.

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As I’m sure most of you are either rolling your eyes right now or nodding in agreement, I can’t imagine my college life before I decided to make the decision to become greek. Its offerings come in life lessons learned to help you in every aspect of your life, through this time you can learn how to become a leader. With all the positions that are offered in these organizations it makes taking a role of authority easier and also gives you a safe, encouraging environment to learn and grow. We will all have those times in life were one day we will have to become a leader of something or another and learn how to be a team player, and while you can learn these skills in other place, having somewhere that others have gone through the exact same thing you have and help give you those resources to turn to and not have to struggle to learn can be extremely encouraging in itself.

With this, these organizations help you learn how to communicate better by teaching you ways to be a diplomatic thinker and speaker. They teach you how to work with these groups of people that you normal wouldn’t have met other wise and guide you in how to communicate with them so that, as a whole, you can come to a shared meaning. Consider going out into the work force, or if you’re already there think about how you have to communicate with different groups of people; now imagine what that would be like or feels like if you never learned the social skills to be able to handle that and make those lasting connections. It would definitely make life a lot hard than it already is.

As for those connections, going greek also throws you into a huge network that spans across the world. You have brothers or sisters that have been where you are now and have grown with the same values that your chapter was founded upon. These social and professional networks help advance your life in ways that are incomparable to life without these networks. And yes, being in a greek organization may be a little costly but the money that you are paying is all coming back to you, which is something that I’m not sure most people really know and don’t really understand.

In the end, being greek is way more than just “paying for your friends” as some people like to say. It is way more than going out. And it has nothing to do with drinking and partying. When you really get down to it, being greek is meant to help you build your life skills and give you a place to be with people who share your values and beliefs. It is meant to give you that home and that family that you otherwise wouldn’t have when coming to college. Basically, it is for you and the betterment of your life and the things in your life.