The House that Became a Home

I didn’t know any of the girls when I went through recruitment sophomore year. I was just showing up, hoping I would find a place where I felt comfortable and connected. College at that point still felt a little unfamiliar, and I wanted something that would make it feel more like home.

That’s when I joined Alpha Omicron Pi.

At first, it was new and exciting, but also something I was still figuring out. I was getting to know everyone, learning names, and slowly finding my place within it all. It didn’t feel life changing right away, but over time, it started to become something I genuinely cared about.

Then junior year, I moved into the sorority house.

And that’s when everything changed.

That year ended up being one of the most important and honestly hardest years of my life. I went through a really difficult personal time that I didn’t fully know how to process while it was happening. It made me realize that there are just some things in life you cannot control or change, no matter how badly you want to. And learning that was not easy.

But I was never alone in it.

My friends became my everything that year. We got so close in a way that felt natural and unplanned, like it was always supposed to happen. They sat with me when I didn’t feel okay. They listened to me rant, cry, overthink, and say the same things over and over again. They didn’t try to fix everything or rush me through it. They just stayed. Every single time. No matter what.

And that kind of friendship changes you.

Living in the house made everything feel more real. The good moments felt brighter, and the hard moments didn’t feel as heavy because I was never dealing with them alone. There was always someone nearby, always someone to talk to, always someone who made things feel a little more okay just by being there.

That house became more than where I lived. It became where I learned what real support feels like.

And through it all, I also found my people in the most unexpected but perfect way.