It was my first day of college, the day I had waited years for. I had been at Arizona State University for one week, and I was ready for the semester to commence. As I walked to my first class, butterflies engulfed my stomach. It was a record breaking 118 degrees, which didn’t help but add on to my already stressful day ahead. After my classes concluded, I walked back to my dorm to eat dinner alone in my room. My roommates were from Arizona, and they had their groups of friends here. They rarely met at the dorm, so you could say Netflix was my best friend.

I usually didn’t mind being alone, but this wasn’t my idea of how freshman year of college was supposed to be. Being four hundred miles away from my family was one of the tougher things about my first semester at ASU, along with my heavy workload. It was a drastic change for my family as well because I am the first to attend a four-year-university. The daily Face Times and text messages were not enough to fill the void. I tried to take my mind off my issues by staying busy, going out, and doing homework. As the weeks went on, I became more familiar with my peers and I was slowly adjusting to my new life. The nasty dining hall food made me miss my parents’ home cooked meals. I always looked forward to going home and eating my mom’s famous antipasta, or my dad’s grilled tilapia. The thought of making my parents proud helped me push through the rough few months away from them.

Coming to college, I expected to become best friends with all of my roommates and do everything with them, just like in the movies. Growing up, I never had a close group of girl friends so I always looked forward to college to achieve that. Even though I was making friends in my classes, it wasn’t quite what I was looking to get out of my college experience. The friends that I did make were involved in Greek Life. I never thought of joining a sorority because I didn’t think I would fit in. One sunny October afternoon, my roommate Juliet mentioned a new sorority coming to campus called Kappa Delta. As the first day of their recruitment approached, I was having second thoughts about attending. After conversing with my dad on the phone for a few hours, he had convinced me to go try it out. Walking into the room full of beautiful women was intimidating at first, but then I immediately felt at home. Talking to the first girl was comforting because she was very friendly, and reminded me of my best friend back home. As the recruitment process continued, I fell in love with Kappa Delta and all that surrounded it. As I began to realize how genuine and kind the girls were, I realized how badly I wanted to apart of the organization. After a few long days, recruitment finally finished up, and I happily accepted a bid into the chapter. With all of the stereotypes surrounding greek life, I was surprised to find that Kappa Delta was completely different. KD is full of such genuine, and kind-hearted girls that it changed my entire perception about sororities as a whole.

Being in Kappa Delta opened many doors for me in terms of opportunities that I could get involved in, as well as potential leadership opportunities. From the beginning, I was welcomed with open arms. I spent a majority of my spring semester getting to know my unique sisters, enriching my experience as I grew closer to girls with different aspirations and personalities. I became more familiar with the Greek community at ASU and made a bunch of different friends. Class became more enjoyable for me, as I noticed I had sisters in nearly all of them. My grades began to improve and I found myself spending less time sitting by myself in my dorm room. I felt that I was finally tapping into the college experience I had always dreamed of.

Throughout the semester, I became more involved in KD, and it soon took up most of my time. One area that I played a major role in was our recruitment process. Recruitment makes up the two most important weekends that determine a sorority’s success on campus. This tedious process lasted all day and consisted of talking to multiple girls, trying to convince them to join KD, and explaining how the organization had benefitted me as an individual. As the process came to an end, I had felt closer to my sisters than ever before due to our experiences in recruitment. The long, draining hours of recruitment had taken a toll as some sacrifices in other areas of my life needed to be made. However, the satisfaction of watching the new girl’s eyes light up as they received their invitation into the sorority made it all worthwhile.

Some of my future plans within Kappa Delta include taking up even greater leadership roles. One of my plans is to ultimately take up the role of the “Sisterhood Chair” which organizes retreats, and provides opportunities for sisters to connect and grow closer together. While this would take a large time commitment on my part, I feel that it would be worthwhile for a few different reasons. This position would be meaningful to me as I hope to show the girls who may be experiencing loneliness in college like I did a group of people to shower them with love and support.

Sisterhood is something that is important to me because it has shaped me into the person I am today by giving me that friendship I longed for. My sisters are always there for me, whether it is regarding boy problems, or if I just need some cheering up. My sisters remind me a lot of my dad because he was always there for me no matter the issue. Back in California, my support system included my parents and my close friends. Kappa Delta took me in as one of their own, giving me the home away from home I always wanted. Each sister provides me with the same love and support my parents give me, and always push me to be the best version of myself I can be. One of my best friends in KD motivates me to do better in school, and helps me reach a potential I was unaware I had. Without Kappa Delta, I would not be who I am today- an independent and confident woman. I also would not be as happy as I am today without the love they shower me with. Arizona is full of many opportunities, some of which I would never have known about if it weren’t for my sisters. Each day, I strive to be the best I can be not only to make my parents proud, but to represent my sorority in the best way possible.