When I moved in my freshman year, I thought there was no way I was going to rush. No way in Hell. That kind of thing wasn’t for me. The whole idea of spending my college days in a house full of 60 or more girls totally didn’t seem like my kind of thing. But here I am, exactly one year later, beyond excited to be moving into my house, with all of my sisters who I have missed way too much over these summer months.
I read another Odyssey article the other day, describing all of the reasons they chose not to rush. I am one for loving to rebuttal any subject I can, so here it goes. Surely I didn’t choose my school based on Greek life, although some people do, and that’s their thing. There were a few seconds before I went to the first day of recruitment where I thought I should just turn around now, but I am so glad I didn’t. So here is a list of why I would choose to rush again, if I got to go back and do it all over. Maybe this will help a soon-to-be freshman girl decide which side of the line she’ll fall on.
1. I knew I’d find my place to belong.
College is all about finding your place. Whether it is in Greek life or not is totally up to you, but don’t knock it until you try it. It seems as if some girls watch movies like “House Bunny” and “Legally Blonde” and immediately cut out the thought of going Greek. You don’t have to own several pairs of wedges, have waist-long blonde hair and be as skinny as a rail to join a sorority. Real life sororities are not like the movies show them to be, and I cannot stress that enough.
2. Sorority moms?
It’s really funny that this is even a subject on your list. All of the sorority mothers I have met are about all the same. They visit every so often, send their daughters little care packages every once in a while, come to our fundraisers to support us when they have free time from their real life jobs and most of them don’t even know who the hell Lilly Pulitzer is. Moving on.
3. It’s not all about the money.
Sure, I thought that too. If you’re anything like me, the idea of spending all of your money, or your parents money, by living in a sorority house can be scary. The numbers can be awfully big. But think of it this way, my darling. You will be spending just as much money by living in the dorms at your school with your meal plans. It evens out in the end. Plus, I like our cook; she’s awfully nice.
4. College is a clean slate.
No matter where you go, 15 minutes to eight hours away from home, college becomes your clean slate. It doesn’t make it any less clean by going Greek? We don’t prance around and act like we’re rich and happy all of the time. We’re all college kids. Most of the time we’re always broke but always seem to have change laying around our rooms to go get some $5 pizza.
5. The social gatherings are always a blast.
Mixers? Formals? This and that? It actually does sound like a blast when you’re surrounded by some of the people you hold very close to you. I know girls in my house who take more than 18 hours and keep that perfect GPA all while attending pretty much every single event we manage to hold. It’s possible, ya know? There’s no such thing as a sorority girl expectation, that’s all in your head.
6. The process of rushing.
Sure, you walk to every house and talk to girls in the house for about five to 10 minutes total, but if you get to chatting with the right girls and just open up about yourself, you know you’ll find yourself running home to them at the end of the week, and they’ll be glad you’re there. Even when I thought I should just turn back now, I thought about all of the friends that I made going through the recruitment process. I made so many friends just within that short week. Girls who chose my house, girls who chose other houses, and girls who didn’t even end up joining a house. It’s a great way to make some quick friends before you start your classes. Who doesn’t need some new friends on a campus where you may know nobody? Plus, I don’t know about you, but it’s fun to dress up every once in a while.
7. The stigma.
Let’s say I apply for an internship my senior year, and they see that I was a part of my sorority for all four years, they’ll totally get the person I am. Because who you are on Friday, Saturday or even those certain week nights, doesn’t matter to them (as long as you keep it off social media, as you should anyway). What they’ll see is everything your house has done as a whole for its community, its certain philanthropy, and they’ll see the positions you’ve held in your house. They’ll know that you can deal with women in a workplace because you lived with them for so long. You get my point.
8. Time commitment.
I’ll give you that; it is a huge time commitment. Between all of the social gatherings, mandatory house study halls and juggling two jobs, I get it can be tough. But I also know that you can do it if you just give it a try.
As recruitment is coming upon us, I would just like to give you a small piece of advice. Stop watching those "Greek life" movies and expecting houses to be like that. That’s not what we are or who we are. Yes, every house has expectations, but they are expectations that you are able to fulfill if you are willing. Things like keeping your grades in check, getting involved with your charities, helping out your community, etc. Easy stuff, right? It's not the expectations that you would think of after watching those movies. We have goals for our house and goals for the members inside.
It is completely up to you to go through the process of rush or not, but I would totally try to tell you it is so worth it whether or not you actually rush a house or decide it isn’t your thing. Go make some friends, make some memories, dress cuter than sweatpants and that old T-shirt for a couple days. The choice is yours, that’s the beauty of being an adult.
You are who you choose to be, and if you choose to be Greek, that’s great. If you choose that it isn’t your thing, that’s just as cool. But please stop giving us that horrible, rich and dumb title. Personally, I’m so over it. Give it a rest.
Either way, go have a fun school year! Because I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get back on campus.
