Dancing my way out of my comfort zone

Dancing my way out of my comfort zone

by Cindy White

Last year, I wasn’t so sure about this whole sorority thing. I had close friends back home that weren’t super supportive of Greek life, my parents didn’t show a whole lot of enthusiasm for my sorority, and I hesitated to embrace this new group. After all, sorority girls are just rich, stuck-up, party girls, right?

WRONG. These stereotypes are completely false. At UE, Greek women are on Dean’s List, take on huge leadership roles on and off campus, and carve time out of their busy schedules to serve others. Just like everyone else, we are here to gain a valuable education and build meaningful relationships. Who knew sorority women were just normal college students? UE Greek life gives me the opportunity to be one of these strong, driven, inspirational women.

Unfortunately, I let those preconceived ideas alter my view of Greek life last year. I didn’t get involved in philanthropies and social events as much as I wanted to. I was afraid to step outside of my comfort zone. So I stuck with my close group of friends in my dorm and didn’t broaden my horizons.

This year is so different. I mentioned in my bio that my main goal for my sophomore year is to get out of my comfort zone. I’m going after that goal headfirst and experiencing college in a totally new way. I’m joining exciting clubs, getting involved in philanthropy events, and meeting some pretty awesome new people. Without Chi Omega and UE Greek life, I wouldn’t be able to do that. Everywhere I turn, there are opportunities to get involved with Greek-sponsored activities.

Recently I’ve made huge strides in accomplishing my goal. A couple weeks ago was Rock for Riley, which is Phi Mu’s philanthropy benefiting Riley Children’s Hospital. It’s a dance and lip-syncing competition, where Greek groups and student organizations perform and the top three groups have to improvise a dance.

To give a little background, dancing is not my strong suit. I’ve been in musicals since I was little, but I always faked my way through the dance breaks. When sign-ups came around for Rock for Riley, I thought here’s my chance. What a better way to step outside my comfort zone than to dance and lip sync in front of a hundred of my peers?

So I did it. I actually performed in front of peers, professors, and total strangers. I had a blast! We were so nervous before the competition started, but one of my friends, who is a Lambda Chi Alpha, made a good point. He told us it’s silly to be nervous because yeah, we’re putting on a show, but we have to remember why we’re getting up there to dance- for the philanthropy. That really put things into perspective and helped calm our nerves.


We had a blast, two out of our three Chi Omega teams got second and third place, and Phi Mu raised a lot for Riley Children’s Hospital. While I still can’t believe I danced in front of so many friends and total strangers, I’m so happy I did it. Philanthropy events at UE get people together to help raise awareness and money for a great cause, all the while having a blast! Who knows what philanthropy I’ll participate in next?