I know, another article about Greek life. I have seen my fair share of sorority and recruitment articles since the new school year began, and trust me, they annoy me at times as well. But, this is one that needs to be said because not many people really shed light on the topic.
Rushing as a sophomore was probably the most intimidating thing I'd ever done.
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At the University of Kentucky, most girls endure the happiness and heartache of recruitment during their first semester. As you can already tell, I was not one of these girls. For many, many underlying reasons, I waited to go down the path toward finding my "girl gang."
Despite having a whole year of college under my belt, I was still extremely intimidated by the number of first years I'd encounter. I felt too "old" to be going through the recruitment process and I felt as if no other sophomores would be going through this with me. And boy, was I incredibly wrong.
You may not know it now, but there are so many sophomores who are rushing and feel the exact same emotions as you.
I will always remember going to meet my Gamma Chi group for the first time and looking around the room, wondering how many people were freshmen. I feel like we were all kind of sizing each other up, waiting to see who the newbies were.
It wasn't until our Gamma Chi, Mikayla, uttered the most comforting phrase, "So, you're all sophomores, right?" Immediately, each of us exhaled a sigh of relief and laughed at how incredibly silly it was to think we were ALL wondering the same thing.
More people than you realize are going through recruitment as a sophomore. It's actually incredibly common and almost calming to know that you're in the exact same boat as everyone else.
And that's another thing, your year in college really isn't as big of a deal as you may be thinking.
When you think about it, all of the girls going through recruitment are just as nervous as you are right now. Regardless of your year, everyone and I mean EVERYONE, is feeling the exact same way.
In fact, your nerves might be the thing that bonds you to the girls standing by you in the lines to each house. Instead of focusing on how much "older" you are than the other girls rushing, open up your mind to the possibility of making new friends. This applies to college in general, really, because your age truly does not matter when making friends.
We're all here to get our degrees and become better versions of ourselves, so don't sweat it.
So many people will actually think you were smart to wait for the right time to go through recruitment.
Now, I know we're not old, but wisdom does come with age. This means that the year of college you already have under your belt is actually your most useful tool throughout the process.
Just think, you already know how to manage classes and social life, you already have lived without your parents for a while, and you know exactly what you might be looking for in a chapter.
I know if I were to go through the process as a freshman, I would have absolutely NO CLUE how to process my mixed emotions or how to navigate this thing we call "adulting."
This is EXACTLY why I thought waiting was the best for me. I came into the process already knowing the kind of person I strive to be and who to surround myself with to bring out my best qualities.
If anything, you've made an incredibly smart decision that a lot of the chapters will agree with. Use your self-awareness to your benefit and help others out that may not be so sure of themselves yet.
Recruitment is truly a process, full of many, many happy moments and equally as many unhappy ones. Don't give up! Push through, utilize your Gamma Chi groups (seriously, they will become some of your BEST friends beyond rush), and give yourself some credit.
No matter what anyone may say, finding your people is not time-limited. Rushing my sophomore year was the best decision I could've made for myself, and I highly encourage anyone to take that leap toward being your most authentic self.
