Legendary baseball player, Babe Ruth, who hit 714 career home runs, once said:  “Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.”

I went through sorority recruitment my freshman year of college. I always knew I wanted to join a sorority, but I never truly knew what it was all about. Coming from a small catholic school in Connecticut to a huge university in West Virginia made me want to join a sorority to make the school smaller.     

To be completely honest, going through recruitment was the worst week of my entire life to date. I was beyond stressed every single day and wanted to drop out after the first day. I hated it. I stressed myself out way too much and in retrospect, I wish I would have embraced the challenged instead of fearing it.    

The first day of recruitment was brand new to me. My roommate and I spent hours curling our hair and picking out the perfect dress to impress the sorority girls. I liked almost every house and all of the girls I talked to seemed to make their sorority feel like a “perfect fit” for me. So much so, that I thought I could see myself in any of them. They all looked awesome. But, when I made it through the first round and discovered I was dropped by some of the sororities that I thought I loved at the time and thought I could see myself in, my self-esteem and confidence went down hill rapidly. Despite this set back, I continued on with the rest of the week.   

Alpha Omicron Pi was never high on my list. To be honest, I dropped it every single time. But, it always came back. Fate? I think so! The reason why I never gave Alpha Omicron Pi a chance was because it was the last house I had seen on House Tours day. This was the longest day ever. By the time I made it to that house, I was exhausted and everything basically sounded and looked the same to me. It was all a blur.

However, by the end of the week, after talking to some of the sisters of Alpha Omicron Pi, they really opened my eyes. I was completely shocked at how I hadn’t realized my love for this sorority earlier. Although, I was still not convinced that this was the sorority for me.   

My parents were so excited I was going through recruitment. They called and texted me throughout the whole week asking me questions and wishing me luck. I complained and told them that I hated it and didn’t want to go through with it. If it weren’t for my Dad, then I wouldn’t be a sister of Alpha Omicron Pi today. He pushed me to do it. I called him on the last day of Recruitment crying. He was away on business and out to dinner when he received my panic driven call. After hearing the intensity in my voice, his first instinct was that something horrible had happened. I then said, “I don’t think I can do this. I really don’t know if this is what I want and I am just so stressed and want to quit”.   

He calmed me down like he always does and told me, “"No regrets!" Live your college experience with no regrets. If you don't take a chance for fear of failing you will be missing out on an amazing opportunity.” He then added, “if you are afraid to fail now, that philosophy will carry into life after college”. The theme being don't ever let the fear of failure keep you from chasing your dreams or goals.   

This experience taught me so much so early on. Most of which can be applied to life in general. Chase your dreams and don’t let the fear of failing discourage or inhibit them. I will never forget that. And so, there I was, a new college freshman, completely overwhelmed with the process with only a few more minutes to make a major decision. I.e., Should I pursue this knowing full well that there was a chance of rejection or play it safe and walk away from the potential of the Greek life, which I so much wanted to be a part of?    

My heart was racing!  In a flash, I threw on my pretty dress, washed my face, and applied a little bit of mascara and ran to the PRT (Public Rapid Transit) to make it in time for Preference Night at Alpha Omicron Pi.   

Today, I am so thankful and blessed that my Dad pushed me to go through with Recruitment. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be in Greek Life and I wouldn’t have met my sisters, best friends & future bridesmaids. Finishing Recruitment and finding myself in Alpha Omicron Pi has been the best thing that could have ever happened to me. So please, if you are struggling with recruitment and feel like giving up. Don’t. Just stick it out and good things will come. Further, don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a bid from a house you had your heart set on because it just might not have been meant to be.   

For any girls who may find themselves at that same crossroad I was at on that stressed filled night, feel free to reach out to me for encouragement and support. Don’t be discouraged or afraid to fail. Embrace the challenge and rise to the occasion. If one house doesn’t work out, another will. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and I know you will find where you belong – I did.