Frequently, Greek life makes the news when a party gets out of control for instance what happened at University of Michigan. This is a take on the positives of the Greek system. Samantha Giedris from the Setonian reports.

Home away from home found in Greek life

When I was in 4th grade, I went to sleepaway camp for a week. It was my first time away from home for more than a day and everyone in my family wrote me letters daily to make sure I didn’t get homesick. I wrote home once, with only one sentence: “Mom and Dad, I’m having so much fun! Sam.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t miss my family—I love them more than they could possibly know. It was simply that my parents had always encouraged me to be independent and I embraced that independence from a young age. On top of the constant encouragement to do my own thing, I‘m 11 years younger than my sister and eight years younger than my brother which helped me achieve independence early on in life.

This comfort I felt being on my own was part of why I didn’t hesitate to go to a school almost 2,000 miles from home—in fact, I didn’t even apply to any schools in my home state of Texas. I knew it was time for me to branch out on my own.

When I got to Seton Hall I didn’t know a single person. That didn’t frighten me or make me nervous, but I knew things would be easier if I found a group of people to make me feel at home.

The first semester of my freshman year I joined a plethora of clubs and became friends with some people who are still my best friends today. But I knew I could achieve more.
In the spring I went through formal recruitment and joined a sorority. Despite all the negative stereotypes surrounding Greek life I grew up hearing, I was able to find my second family.