Like hundreds of young hopeful girls at GCSU, I recently went through formal sorority recruitment, more commonly known as rush. I lived to tell the tale… but barely. We moved in a week early and the madness began very quickly. We visited each sorority house back to back on the first day and sometimes had to sprint to get there on time. Less than fun. My feet are still recovering.

The chaos in each house is unexplainable unless you’ve actually been through it. There’s a maze of chairs and people to get around in order to sit down and the noise level is unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. Imagine a heavy metal concert but instead of screaming and electric guitars, there’s peppy and chatty sorority girls.

I went through my week the best I could and tried to keep a positive attitude, but I felt like I was the only girl going through this who wasn’t having a good time. Two of my roommates and one of my good friends had decided to drop out of recruitment a few days in, but I had one sorority that I had really clicked with, so I decided to stick it out just for them. Then finally, the last day came and we had to choose two sororities we would accept a bid from and then rank them. I decided I was only going to put down that one sorority because I wouldn’t want a bid from anyone else. In Greek life, that’s referred to as “suicide.” I’m not in a sorority, so you can guess how that worked out for me.

I was heartbroken at first because I felt rejected more than anything. I completely took off and left campus to go back home for the day. It was so hard to see my friends and other people joining their new sisterhoods when I didn’t have that.

Now that I’ve had some time to reflect on it, I realize that this could have possibly been the best outcome for me. Sorority life isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. There are so many ways to get involved and meet people on campus, regardless of what school you’re in. It may seem like everyone is involved in Greek life, but for every one sorority girl there are so many other awesome girls on campus doing other awesome things.

Greek life is a great opportunity to get involved in campus life, but it’s not the end all be all. It’s okay if you decide not to do it. It’s okay if you don’t get a bid from who you want. Don’t limit yourself to this one aspect of college. Explore all your opportunities and take advantage of what interests you. You’ll find your home.