When a girl first goes through recruitment, she's usually looking for new friends, things to do and, most importantly, a sisterhood.

Some girls are in love with their sorority the minute they meet their new best friend, during big and little reveal, or when they get their first position in the chapter. For others, the year isn’t as easy and maintaining membership in the sorority can be a question mark.

It wasn’t until recruitment that I really fell in love with Alpha Xi Delta, and i had I heard similar stories from older sisters. I always had a good amount of friends in the sorority, but it had not yet made an impact on me yet. Once I went through recruitment, I really felt so lucky to be a part of this group of women. Girls going through recruitment wanted nothing more than to be in my position, which made me feel incredibly grateful. During Spirit Week we played games and went to lunches and dinners together, and it was a great chance to get to know sisters I hadn’t talked to too much before. Spending day in and day out with my sisters was just amazing, and it made all the personal problems that I went through both, as well as during, recruitment quickly slip away, and I felt like I was in a place where I was truly needed and wanted.

Joining a sorority is so much more than just meeting cute fraternity boys and having awesome socials, and it’s more than the pretty clothes and the ability to rock a pair of heels with ease. Joining a sorority is about so much more than the showy stuff. The bond that one finds within their sisterhood is not something that can be advertised, because it is different for every girl. I didn’t feel that bond until I was really truly invested in my sisters and excited to show off my sorority to the new girls coming through. Now, Alpha Xi Delta is not just something I joined, it is my home away from home. 

For the girls who have finally run home to your sorority, my advice is this: Don’t expect that every friendship you make immediately will last, or that it is the end of the world if you don’t get the first or even the second position you apply for. Many girls from my pledge class dropped before they could experience everything Alpha Xi had to offer, and I think that caused them to miss out on the true experience that sororities try to capture in the videos they show during recruitment.

The sisterhood is real. Sometimes it just comes slower to some than others, but it's always worth the wait.