All around campus, there are always girls wearing shirts with Greek letters on them. Once upon a time, I was one of those girls. Theta Phi Alpha was my home, or so I thought.

When you think about joining a sorority, there are many things to consider. You should make yourself aware of all the things the sorority requires from you. How much money is this going to cost, how much of my time this is going to take up and if you really want to devote your life to this sisterhood. These are things that are important to know and understand before you commit.

I always thought sororities were not for me, but as my friends started joining them, I became friends with many sorority girls also. 

Of all the exciting things the sorority had to offer, it seemed to attract problems. One thing I heard a lot in the sorority was “this is your home.” They said those words all the time, but once I got a bid and started participating, it was the furthest thing from home.    

After all the problems I had with the sorority, it came to the point where I needed to de-pledge. The person it affected most was my big. My big told me that just because I didn’t wear her letters anymore that she would never stop being my big. She was the one person that was always there for me. 

I de-pledged last April, and my big doesn’t speak to me any longer. This really hurt my feelings and it felt like she didn’t care about me anymore. I guess my happiness wasn’t her concern after I stopped wearing her letters. 

However, I will say that I still have friends in the sorority who do not treat me any differently, so this does not apply to everyone.

Sororities are for certain people. You have to be willing to dedicate your life to this “home.” Something I couldn’t do was dedicating my life to this sisterhood.

I couldn’t manage my time between school, having a life and Teacher Prep Academy. It was so time consuming. Someone told me I was no longer on my time; I was on Theta Phi Alpha time. I couldn’t accept the fact that they were telling me what do, where to go and they were basically changing who I was. 

Home should be a place where you can feel welcome and accepted. I thought Theta Phi Alpha was a place where I could be myself, but they just didn’t allow me to do that.