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My whole take on this:
There's a lot to be said for shared experiences - that, after all, is why we are close with friends up until the point when we join the Greek system, and why we have friends afterwards and during who aren't in our particular fraternity or sorority. There's no replacement for those, and things you do with those people/memories you have of those people will always create a special bond of sorts that can't be replaced. The guys who I'm particularly tight with in my chapter, I've had those experiences with. Whether it's going out and having a few at a bar together, or helping each other out through girl/family/school/whatever trouble, we have those shared experiences that we can look back on and make us tight. Yes, we're in the same fraternity, but those shared experiences make us even tighter.
However....there's also a lot to be said for the secrets and rituals that make me a Kappa Sigma. Not taking anything away from non-secret societies, but my preference was to join a secret society. It's those secrets, the Kappa Sigma ritual, that makes for a certain type of bond that can't be forged anywhere else, through any other means. It's not necessarily a better or worse bond, just a different one. Even if you're not the best of friends with a person, if I meet someone who is a Kappa Sigma, there's an instant connection the first time we meet. Sometimes, that connection makes for an easier time getting to know each other (talking about like experiences leads to conversation about other topics, thereby getting to know the person better, for example). Sometimes, that may be one of the only connections you have. That bond is still there though, and it's something that I really like - a connection forged over those secrets. It's something to be able to see someone from my chapter at school, and know that we took part in something like the Kappa Sig ritual.
Like I said, that's just my way of thinking. To each their own, if you're happy, that's the main thing, but I'm glad I'm in a secret society.
Collin
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