This month I decided to take a big step in a completely foreign direction: I decided to go through spring recruitment at FSU to join a sorority. Continuous open bidding, or COB, was something totally foreign to me and I went in not knowing what to expect. Long story short, I found a group of incredibly authentic, kind, and accepting women who I can't wait to get to know in my next few years in college.

When I first got to college, I thought Greek life wasn't for me. I thought you had to be a super popular, rich, blonde girl in order to join a sorority. I thought partying and drinking had to be at the top of your list of priorities in order to enjoy Greek life. Those descriptors didn't fit me, and so I never tried to rush. I joined Marching Chiefs and got involved with honors student association instead, but something about my life as an FSU student still felt incomplete. That's when I started to reevaluate my own biases and misconceptions about what Greek life is and who it is for.

I went into recruitment completely unaware of what it would be like. All I knew was that I was going to remain 100% authentically myself throughout the entire process. It was most important to me to find an organization who accepted me for me and not for someone I was trying to pretend to be in order to fit in. I talked to several organizations and some of them I knew on the very first day just weren't the right fit. I scheduled zoom calls with the ones I thought could be for me and slowly but surely I narrowed it down to just a few sororities. Finally, I got a bid from an incredible organization! This group of women stood out to me from day one. Their core values, their philanthropy, and their authenticity stood out to me every time I talked to them, and I found myself completely relaxed during the recruitment process. I never felt like I was being interviewed, but instead like I was catching up with old friends. Needless to say, I accepted the bid this morning and I'm excited to see what this organization has in store for me in the future.

The moral of this story is that you should follow your heart and your ambitions regardless of whether or not you think you belong in a specific group. Before I signed up for recruitment my head was filled with thoughts like "I'm old to be rushing. I'm not extraordinarily wealthy or popular. My hair isn't blonde." This mindset of finding a million excuses for why you can't do something is toxic. It's the kind of mindset I'm not going to allow to control my life or my decisions anymore. 2021 is the year of rebuilding and redefining, and I think that extends to personal growth and development too. If you're interested in Greek life at all, even just a tiny bit, I would encourage you to go through rush or recruitment. Challenge your misconceptions about what you can and can't do. I did, and I think I'm all the better for it.