A Fresh Start

[reborn22]

Hello Ladies,

I need some help here and I wonder if any of you can give some advice? I'd like to ask as specific a question as possible, giving as much background as possible without allowing anyone to possibly learn my identity.

I'm 21 years old and spent 2 very unsuccessful years in college. I'd always wanted to join a sorority but kept having setbacks. The fall semester of my Freshman year, my parents convinced me to sit out to make SURE that I really wanted to go to the college I chose to attend. That spring semester I started school and earned a 3.7 GPA with 17 hours. The next fall, when I would have gone through recruitment, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. My world literally shattered at my feet. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and most of all.... I couldn't attend classes. Her battle with cancer lasted roughly a year and I'm happy to say that she's now cancer free.

Through this struggle, I realized how important it is to follow your dreams and how fragile life really is. I'd always dreamed of being a makeup artist and wardrobe stylist for theatre and film and I decided to follow that dream. I am now halfway through cosmetology training. I plan to complete my theatre degree starting Spring semester of 2008. I would also like to follow my dream of being in a sorority.

So, finally, here come the questions:

* Am I too old? I'm currently 21. I know this varies largely school to school. The school I plan to attend is a small public university in the midwest. I'd be happy to give more details in a PM if you'd like to know more.

* Will those 2 AWFUL semesters count against me majorly? I know that grades are definitely taken into consideration. I had such a great start and then fell flat on my face due to my mom's illness. I'm not looking for sympathy points by ANY means (I HATE it when people do that) but I do feel that I need to explain this academic drop. I'm a smart girl and a hard worker at that.

* Though I'm not enrolled at said university yet, should I start talking to girls and diving into the greek system at that particular school?

Any advice would be MUCH appreciated. Feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to go into more detail in terms of location and such. Thanks!