"I Never Thought I Would Join."

I am always shocked to find out how many fraternity and sorority members at the College did not think that they would join when they first arrived on campus. The phrase I seem to hear most from my friends and potential members is, “When I first came to College I never imagined I would join a fraternity or sorority.” This is a unique aspect of our community. I have noticed that visitors are always surprised when they poll the audience and realize that an overwhelming majority of students did not arrive on campus expecting to join a Greek-letter organization.

So what changes the initial perceptions of fraternity and sorority life for so many students? I know that when I first arrived on campus fraternities seemed completely unappealing. I didn’t have anything against fraternities per se, but I just didn’t really see the point. Looking back though, I don’t think I truly even knew what fraternities were. No matter what fraternities were (or weren’t) simply not knowing anything about them was enough for me.

Then like any good TWAMP, I signed up for a multitude of activities and started getting involved all over campus. As I started meeting new people, I realized that the leaders of most organizations were in fraternities or sororities. This couldn’t be a coincidence. I started to meet fraternity men around campus, and to my surprise, these men were not creatures form the black lagoon or toga-wearing partiers from Animal House. Fraternity men turned out to be amazing students and authentic friends. I suddenly wanted to learn everything about fraternities and how so many amazing individuals had been drawn to them. I believe that on some level most William and Mary student tend to go through a similar experience. Fraternities and sororities are just weird groups of letters and symbols until you actually meet the men and women in each organization. Before I knew it I wanted to join a fraternity as soon as I could.

Joining an organization may seem unusual at first. I think that on some level, anyone joining goes through the same debate of whether or not to join. Even if you can trace your family’s legacy back through multiple generations, everyone still has a moment of doubt. It’s not every day that you make a commitment to lifelong fraternal brotherhood after only a week or two of getting to know a whole group of men or women. It’s a difficult choice, but I strongly believe that fraternities and sororities have the potential to positively impact your time as an undergraduate (and life in general) more than any other group, club, activity, hobby, organization, or experience. There is more power and potential in the fraternity and sorority community than many of its members even realize. Fraternity or sorority life is a powerful experience that is open to anyone. I encourage any reader to take advantage of the opportunities that the fraternity and sorority community has to offer, even if you once thought that you would never join.