One of my favorite poet’s Robert Frost said in The Road Not Taken, “I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.” My road home to Alpha Epsilon Phi took longer than most girls I know, but this has made all the difference. I know what it was like to not have this strong sisterhood, and now that I have found it, I love and cherish it more than I could put into words.
I was accepted into UF two years ago. After all the celebrating died down, my dad asked me if I had considered going through sorority recruitment, and told me about the strong brotherhood and great memories he had in his fraternity, Sigma Pi. While I appreciated my dad reliving his glory days to encourage me to try recruitment, I wasn’t convinced. I did not sign up for formal recruitment my freshman year and spent the next two semesters isolated from the UF community and all it has to offer. I would drive down 13th and see the grandeur sorority houses and think to myself “What if I had gone through recruitment? Where would I be? Would I have found the community and sisters I so wanted?” After my freshman year, I decided to turn my “What If?” question and into reality by signing up for formal recruitment as a sophomore; in all honesty, I think this was the best decision I have made as a Gator. During recruitment, I instantly clicked with my now sisters, even finding my big during Round 3. I clicked so well with my sister Becca Henry the first round, it felt like we were already best friends. On bid day, I was so overjoyed when I opened my bid card and ran home to Alpha Epsilon Phi and Becca, who was my bid day buddy. Some people may think that going through recruitment as a sophomore leaves you as the odd one out since your MC is primarily younger freshmen but the girls in the MC above you are mostly your own age. This could not be more wrong; in fact, I think it’s a blessing in disguise. As a sophomore in my MC, I get to be an older sister figure for some of the younger girls in my member class. Despite being in a separate MC, I still have such a special bond with the girls in the member class above me, especially my big. Even though she is my age, my big Sydney is more like my twin best friends than a guiding big sister; we are both way too chaotic for either one of us to be a guiding figure, but that is the best part of our relationship. I get to be friends with both so many phams like my friends Jill and her twins Alexa and Alexa, who give me such great laughs and memories. If there are any current freshmen out there reading this who were just like me last year, I promise you, no matter your age, you can and will find your forever sisterhood. Joining Alpha Epsilon Phi gave me the best of friends and sisters I could ask for, and the last thing they care about is my age.
With Love,
Emma Heck