COLUMN: I moved into a greek house. Here’s what I learned.

As a freshman or sophomore  going through recruitment, the thought of living in a Greek house probably seems enticing. You walk by the houses on Third Street or North Jordan and wonder what it’s like to live in that giant mansion. 

I know, because that was me a year ago. 

And let me tell you, living in a Greek house is so much fun. It’s like a dorm, but where everyone you’re living with and all your neighbors are your friends. 

But before that, you need to think about what to bring for your room. Every house differs: sometimes you have 30 beds in a cold dorm or, like me, live in a six-girl room. Sometimes you have room for a couch and TV, and sometimes you don’t. But from both my personal experience and from my friends in other chapters, I’ve composed a short list of tips for moving into a Greek house:

1. Bring a vacuum cleaner. I actually got this piece of advice from a friend in a fraternity, so boys, listen up. There’s no getting around the fact that fraternities are not the cleanest places in the world. And that’s fine. But everyone has limits to the amount of dirt and grime they can deal with, and a vacuum cleaner is a great way to fix that.
2. Bring quarters. Some houses offer free laundry, but a few don’t. Unlike freshman year, you can’t use your Crimson Card to pay.
3. Bring some form of food storage. Living in a Greek house is a blessing and a curse when it comes to food. Having a chef means you get a variety of meals (we had curry, pad thai, BBQ chicken and a nacho bar one week), but it also means you have to eat what they serve you when they serve you, and most houses don’t offer three meals a day seven days a week. I would recommend bringing some form of a pantry to store food for when you miss a meal, don’t like a meal or don’t get a meal. 
4. Talk to your chef and live-in adviser. I have Celiac disease, or a gluten allergy, so I basically can’t eat anything involving bread. I had a bad freshman year experience with food, so I made sure to talk to my chef and house mom about my eating situation. Creating a relationship with them helped me get amazing gluten free options at every meal. Even if you don’t have a food allergy, having both of these people on your side can only help you. 
5. Ask upperclassmen for advice. For chapter, everyone buys a certain set of desk shelves. It's from Target and it’s three 12-inch by 12-inch boxes stacked on top of each other. My friend in another chapter had to buy a hutch for her desk. Each room in that chapter has one, just like each room in mine has the Target shelves. So be sure to ask the upperclassmen before you move in!

As cheesy as this sounds, make sure you bring an open mind when you move into a Greek house. Living in a house is not without drama, but sitting down to dinner with the same people each night and starting a quote wall on the back of your door are memories you'll have forever.

There are good times and bad times, and you need to learn to enjoy what you can, go with the flow and find a private place somewhere in the house to call your mom if you need to.