The sorority recruitment process is an overwhelming, emotional, and even wonderful experience for potential new members and recruiters, alike. We all dress to impress as we master the art of small talk and conversation. We remain on our best behaviors as we strive to impress our rush crushes and we know that the long week is worth it in the end.
This week ended on a positive note for a lot of women, and this is not just because everyone ended up where they were meant to be. Finally kissing recruitment week goodbye means we are now free from seemingly impossible expectations and stress. Now that this taxing week is over, there are numerous things we can all finally do that we have been missing out on through the recruitment process.
1. We can walk around without makeup on.
I bet you thought I meant going out on the weekends, didn't you? Well, no. I mean the little things, like having the option to wear no makeup whatsoever. Throughout recruitment, no makeup is unheard of. I wore more makeup during that week than I am used to, and it made getting ready in the mornings so much work. Now we can all kick back and not worry about anyone judging the way we do our eyeliner.
2. We can walk around with our hands at our sides.
Having to walk around with our hands behind our backs in blades became difficult when you just really needed to brush your hair out of your face or you really needed to pull down your shirt. Although this was drilled into my head during recruitment and I sometimes still do it out of habit, we can now walk freely and itch our noses as we please.
3. We can sleep in.
Waking up early every morning definitely made recruitment more taxing. Having to look our best and be awake enough to talk to a million girls in one day required a very early morning wake-up call, and now we've had the weekend to recuperate.
4. We can walk out on the porch freely.
Not only were we not allowed outside (in case a PNM was outside), but when we were allowed to, we could not talk or fidget or fall over (which was the hardest thing for me to control). Now we can walk out on the porch without a care in the world.
5. We can have our voices back.
From screaming porch songs over and over to talking to girl after girl, many of us sounded horrible by the end of the process. Now, we finally have time to rest our voices.
6. We can wear Norts and big T-shirts.
Dressing up every day looks fun and flirty in all the Instagram pictures, but I know we would all prefer our casual clothes, especially after having to look nice for an entire week.
7. We can stop frying our hair every day.
The same goes for our hair. It looks nice when it's all done up, but doing it every day completely inconvenient and damaging. It's nice not having to wash and straighten it every morning.
8. We can let our true emotions show.
Recruiting means smiling, and I mean a lot of smiling. If any of us were having a bad day, we had to come up with ways to pull ourselves together before talking to potential new members. We obviously don't want to be anything but happy, but now if for some reason we are, we don't have to fight so hard to hide it.
9. We can eat what we want, and without a bib.
Eating meals in recruitment outfits is the ultimate struggle. I found myself eating less during the week because I was so anxious about recruitment -- and I like food. A lot.
10. We can actually get to know our amazing new sisters.
The recruitment process is very small-talk oriented, and we often don't get to have deeper conversations with some of the girls. We, obviously, all saw immense potential in those who read our chapter's name on their bid cards, but now they can really become our best friends.
Although recruitment gives us a lot to complain about, it also leads most of us to our best friends. Now that it's over, we can live every day more casually with our lovely new sisters.
