Joining a sorority has been a weird experience, to say the least. My roommate Rylee wanted to join a sorority, and because I’m a supportive friend and a pushover, that meant I was joining too.

Being a good friend meant walking into a room of overly enthusiastic college girls and trying not to have a panic attack. When we walked in it felt like I got caught stealing something, because everybody turned to look at us. Everyone staring at us made me wish I didn’t forget to take my anxiety medication like I always do.

The first night was super awkward, but it could only go up, right? So, funny story, the next day when we met up we had to do a scavenger hunt, which consisted of running through the student center and embarrassing myself.

Part of that included running through the cafeteria and taking pictures with strangers, making a human pyramid in the lower gag, and asking random guys what their best pick-up lines were. Though I almost cried from cringing too hard, my group won and we all were given a bag of gummy worms.

After a week of rushing, we had to go through an interview. So, I walked into a dark room, and was led to a seat in the middle with everyone else sitting around me in a big rectangle. Everyone took turns asking me questions about my personal strengths and weaknesses— while we were still sitting in the dark, by the way.

Shockingly, I made it past the creepy interview and had to go to the induction ceremony. Keeping in mind, I had bronchitis, but went to this ceremony anyway because I couldn’t get out of it. I wore a dress even though it was 12 degrees outside and I couldn’t breathe because of my illness.

This was now my second time walking into a dark room and standing in a circle. Candles were passed out to all of the new people, and they were lit as poems about friendship and the sisterhood were read. Reminder: I still had bronchitis, so I was trying not to laugh because I couldn’t catch my breath, and was afraid I would accidentally blow my candle out.

I’m now considered a pledge, which just means that I’m officially a new member. Though, so far, I’ve been uncomfortable seven out of the ten times we have had meetings, it’s actually been a fun experience. My biggest reason behind joining was so Rylee wouldn’t have to go alone, but I also thought joining would help me become less anxious in social situations.

Even though the introduction stuff is embarrassing, everyone’s really nice and I would recommend joining if you need something to participate in on campus or just want to make more friends.