Keeping the Faith x Greek Life - Recognizing my Light in the Darkness

by Eva Lynner, DCHS class of 2022, University of Missouri class of 2026

Eva Lynner on her bid day, August 2022 at Pi Beta Phi at the University of Missouri.

I always knew I wanted to be involved in Greek life. A lot of factors appealed to me: the social aspect, being involved with philanthropy, the community, and as silly as it sounds, I wanted to be just like Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. I pictured sorority life as this beautiful bonding experience that came with friends, access to parties, and networking opportunities.

While all of that is certainly true, my experience in Greek life at Mizzou hasn’t been

without its challenges. Along with joining a sorority I decided to make my faith a priority in college. I kept a quote from JP2 in the back of my mind while making this decision. “It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you”. I was convinced Jesus would satisfy me, so I searched for him amidst Greek life. I eagerly set out to do both and anticipated fulfillment.

I prayed in between recruitment rounds and observed as much as I could about how the sororities dealt with faith. I overheard from a senior at the Newman Center that Pi Phi had a good number of Catholic girls. I already felt great at the Pi Phi house during recruitment, so it came as a relief that I would have support if I joined that house. God blessed my Pi Phi experience by giving me an amazing Catholic big, a couple great girls in my class with whom I could attend Mass and Bible study, and great role models in the chapter.

I joined a house I felt right in, the Newman Center was welcoming, my classes were fantastic, and I had a great dorm. Despite this, I still found myself alone many Saturday nights--resentfully declining invitations to go out since I chose not to get a fake ID. I spent quite a few nights crying myself to sleep. If seeking the Lord was supposed to bring me happiness and fulfillment, why did I feel so alone? I found it harder than I realized to find friends who didn’t drink, let alone chose not to for religious reasons. I didn't understand that choosing my faith as a sorority girl and college freshman meant not choosing the typical sorority lifestyle. The weeks were great, but I dreaded the weekends when the activity that bonded everyone involved going to the bars. I wrestled with this freshman year and could not wait to live in the house to have people around me on the weekends.

Living in the house sophomore year brought me joy, but new problems. Having to tell people I'm going to pray when they ask where I'm headed and starting a bible study with the class below me, started to feel like less of a win for God and more of an awkward reminder that I was different. I remember one rough day in particular last year. It was an overcast Sunday in November. I spent another football game the day before being sober at tailgates, planless on a Saturday night, and feeling overwhelmingly alone amidst thousands of people. I cried in the parking lot of the nearby church and journaled about everything I had missed out on. I was mad at God. I didn’t like how my social and extroverted self felt like an outcast. I didn’t like having an open calendar on the weekends. I hated feeling like my choices had led me to an unhappy life.

That JP2 quote printed in my room, “Jesus is the fulfilment of your desires. It is He who satisfies” felt like a lie. I chose to “follow Jesus” yet felt like all it got me was unfulfilled desires. I wrote in huge letters in my journal “IS IT WORTH IT?” It seemed that sacrificing worldly things was leading me to be friendless and insecure. It was a hard season of life, but seasons change. Change makes you grow. I grew from my first two years at college. Looking back, my suffering seems dramatic in comparison to the goodness God has provided me. I have learned to view my sorority as a vessel where I can give of myself rather than a social club I can get benefits from. I have found my place in the house and joyfully accepted that people know I live my life differently.

There is a lot of beauty being Catholic in Greek life. For example, I will be randomly

sitting in the Pi Phi living room and some girl will come up to me and ask why I don’t drink at social events, which turns into her sharing how she wants to get back into her faith. Once a group of girls ran up to my room, which I shared with my two other faithful friends, and asked about a book in the bible because they saw it on a boys Instagram bio. They said they knew our room was the one to go to “about that stuff”. At dinner someone asked what I thought of a current TikTok trend about the world ending from a faith perspective. It’s all because I live my life differently. It reminds me of that verse that says, “You are the light of the world, the salt of the earth" (Matt. 5:13). Salt is only good for adding flavor. If you had covid and lost your sense of taste you wouldn’t put salt on your food because the salt would have no purpose. As Catholics we are the salt of the earth. We

have a purpose to be the light in a world trapped in darkness.

Greek life has given me the opportunity to be a witness to the girls in the house. It has given me leadership opportunities to be an example to others. I had the pleasure of serving as Director of Housing and Vice President of Risk Management. I was able to plan social events and coordinate fun things while also being someone people could go to for help. It has blessed me with wonderful friendships, Catholic and not. I have also grown to love the fact that not everyone's the same. The beautiful truth is that Jesus is in everyone, and being part of this community has given me opportunities to recognize Him in each person. I view Greek life and my faith life as complementary: Pi Phi helps me grow in my faith and my faith helps me grow in Pi Phi. If you’re struggling with balancing faith and Greek life, I would say: keep fighting. It’s worth it. Every sacrifice and every challenge is an opportunity to grow in faith and to be a light in a dark world. And remember: you can do it. You are the light of the world, and your faith is not only for you, but for those around you.