I was never really popular in high school, except for the semesters I was homeschooled, and I beat out my twin for homecoming queen.

In fact, when I attended high school, I avoided football games, most social events and most of all the associated students. I loved community college because while there were some clubs, there was no predominant clique or issue with social activities.

I knew that Chico State had a Greek life so I worried what that kind of atmosphere would be like. I thought that there would be a large divide between sorority and fraternity life and those of us that don’t participate in Greek life.

I hate to say it, but based on movies and stories from friends, I was very anti-Greek. I avoided anyone with Greek letters on their shirts and would roll my eyes at the girls rushing.

Then something magical happened. I started talking to some of them. I had someone from a fraternity in a group project and he shattered all of my “Animal House” ideas of who joins fraternities. He was nice to everyone in our group, and he was intelligent too.

Another friend of mine joined a sorority this year, and she didn’t dye her hair blonde and become an alcoholic. She talks about the sorority a lot, but she is mostly interested in making friends and the charity work they are involved with. Sure, the sororities and fraternities have a reputation for a reason, but people evolve and the Greek atmosphere is not the same everywhere.

While I personally would never join a sorority, I’ve learned not to judge others who think that kind of thing is cool. College has opened my eyes to a lot of things, and now I know to always give people a chance.

Alyssa Dunning can be reached at [email protected] or @alyssadunning3 on Twitter.