The time is upon us, ladies. It’s time for one of the most stressful, frustrating, and rewarding weeks of the entire year. It’s recruitment time. Soon, nervous PNM’s and chapter women alike will be running around their dorms, apartments, and houses, frantically asking, “Is my hair OK? Should I change dresses? Is my contour too strong?” This period can become such a whirlwind of everything but excitement, but if you follow these tips, you may finish recruitment with at least one ounce of your sanity still intact.

First, please make sure you’re drinking plenty of water and getting enough sleep. This is so, so crucial. I went through recruitment in early August in Middle Georgia. Girls that weren’t taking care of their bodies were miserable and faint all week. The last thing you need to do during recruitment is get sick or, God forbid, seriously hurt yourself. Take care of yourself, girl.

Secondly, dress comfortably. Look your best, but remember you’ll be doing a lot of walking. My campus is very much a walking campus with admittedly bad sidewalks, so a lot of girls carried totes with flats inside so they wouldn’t break their ankles walking from house to house. In addition to this, if you’re not confident in the outfit you select, it will show. Choose something that makes you feel beautiful and makes a statement about who you are.

Next, please for the love of everything holy, smile and act at least half interested in the conversation. I admittedly have a very pissed off resting face by nature. During recruitment, I constantly had to make a conscious effort to not look miserable even when I was having a great time. Also, by the end of the day, everyone is tired. Push through and at least act like you’re listening. Even if you’re at your bottom house, don’t be rude. Try to make casual conversation and keep lulls and pauses to a minimum.

And finally, be yourself. Many girls will tell you to stay away from the “5 B’s” (booze, boys, Bush (politics), Bible, and bowels), but if you’re passionate about any of those, please talk about them- except for bowels. That could get really weird. If you want your sisters to love you, you should want them to love you authentically. Personally, I didn’t feel comfortable joining a sorority that I couldn’t share my faith with. So my question was always if they held Bible studies or went to church together. All of my current sisters are the ones that were so enthusiastic about sharing the Lord and His word with me during recruitment. If you walk into a house feeling as if you have to be someone you’re not, it’s probably not the house for you. Find the girls that you know will still love you after you haven’t showered in 3 days and have worn the same t shirt all week. Those are the sisters you’ll have for life.

My prayer for everyone going through recruitment this fall (or spring, I don’t know your life) is that every one of you will find your forever home. Recruitment is not an easy task. But man, oh, man is it worth it.