Dear Potential New Member,

I wanted to write this to give a little bit of honest advice that I wish I had been given when I was a PNM, not so long ago. If you haven’t already started getting butterflies at the mere thought of recruitment week, you will soon! And you should; recruitment is such an exciting week. But there are some not-so-pretty aspects to that week that some PNMs deal with that no one ever really mentions because those aspects get drowned out by chants and conversations.

Recruitment week is hard. Physically and mentally, this week takes a toll on a lot of girls that go through this process. You’ll end up with blisters on your feet from walking up and down row in whatever overpriced sandal is popular this summer, not to mention the crazy tan or sunburn lines you’re guaranteed to get. But beyond that, you’ll wake up with dark circles from lack of sleep due to over analyzing each conversation you had earlier that day, and anxiously wondering what houses you’ll end up with the next morning.

Some mornings may not begin very well for you if you see that your favorite house from the day before isn’t on your list anymore. You may begin to doubt yourself or wonder what it is you’re doing wrong. You will be surrounded by beautiful women, whether they be other PNMs or sisters in the houses you talk to, and this can get really intimidating. You’ll try to make yourself look perfect, but by the time you make it to Greek row, you’ve sweated all your make-up off, your hair is starting to frizz, and you’re already a hot mess and it’s not even 9 a.m., yet!

Don't forget to breathe! Before you start doubting your decision to go through recruitment, let me say that even though recruitment can be a really tough experience, it can also be a really rewarding one, too. Forget the hair mishaps, and stop worrying about what houses will or won’t be on your list tomorrow. Stop freaking out because you told one girl in one house that your favorite color is pink when her sorority color is blue. Don’t focus on all of the little negative things like I did; look at the bigger picture: at the end of this week, you’re going to be running down the row to your new home with 200 smiling faces waiting for you. Whether you’ll be running to the house you set your heart on at the beginning of the week, or to the house that you had no idea would be on your bid card, just know that your entire life will be forever changed for the better from that moment on.

So, is recruitment hard? Yes, totally. Is it really worth all of the fuss? From someone who had a really tough recruitment week, I would do it all over again. So, yes -- completely worth the fuss.