**Disclaimer: This article is about my personal experience with the sorority recruitment process. I am in no way implying that every other girl going through recruitment will experience the same things.**
As sorority registration opens up for colleges around the nation more articles about sorority recruitment are being published. I remember around this time last year, I was a potential new member (PNM) frantically reading said articles trying to get an idea of what I had gotten myself into. However, looking back, I realized many of those articles were sugar-coated. While recruitment is a wonderful experience, it’s not all sunshine and sparkles 24/7. And PNMs deserve to know that.
So here’s my 100% honest sorority recruitment experience.
On move-in day my gamma chi sat our group down to explain the process of sorority recruitment. She explained different rounds, ranking, schedules, attire, and many other overwhelming details. As I repeated her points in my head trying to remember each one, she said one thing that stuck out to me. “You’ll end up where you’re supposed to be.” While all of the other details from her speech slowly slipped my brain, that one sentence stuck with me.
As the week began, I used this as my guiding question. Each time I stepped into a house I asked myself, “can I see myself here? Is this where I’m supposed to be?” I started off open-minded and really tried to get a feel for each house. But quickly it became clear to me. I wanted that *one* house.
As each round went by my feeling got stronger. Before going into the house I made sure to look cute and presentable. I put my best foot forward and made sure to impress the girls that I talked to with funny stories. On preference day I heard girls around me struggling to make a decision, yet to me it was so clear. I wanted them and they seemed to really want me.
On bid day I woke up with the biggest smile. I put on my little white dress, curled my hair, and made my way over to discover my fate. “3, 2, 1!” they announced as all of the PNMs opened their bid day cards. Screams erupted as I struggled to open my card. I scrambled to read the Greek words on my card and my heart dropped immediately. With my gamma chi staring at me I faked a smile while reading the unexpected Greek words in my hands-- I had received my bid from a different sorority. While many girls ran to their new house, I walked to mine while convincing myself that I was going to drop immediately.
On bid night, I watched as my new sisters laughed and bonded with faces of pure joy while I had the most intense RBF of all time. “There must have been a mistake,” I thought. I texted my friend and told her I was going to drop but she encouraged me to give the sisterhood a chance.
As I continued to pout, the older girl assigned to me on bid day struggled to make me have fun. Despite my unpleasant attitude, she was persistent and kept trying. Over the next few weeks she introduced me to other sisters, took me to different campus events, and tried to get me involved both in and out of the sorority. Soon I found myself surrounded by amazing, passionate women who constantly made me smile and laugh. They accepted me for who I was and made me feel welcome. Without realizing it, I had made some of my best friends. Friends who I could call at 1:00 am to cry to, friends who would eat a second dinner just to hang out with me, friends who would snuggle and watch Netflix with me for hours upon end, and friends who made the sorority feel like home.
I started to look back on the recruitment experiences I had at my sorority as a PNM. Thinking back, I realized how natural and comfortable the conversations were. I didn’t feel pressured to make a perfect impression and never felt that I had to be someone that I wasn’t. I genuinely laughed at their witty humor and quirky jokes and found myself smiling without effort. Everything at the house had come naturally. Without realizing it, I had found my fit. A place where I was welcomed, accepted, and wanted. A place that has become my second home.
So that’s the 100% truth. Through sorority recruitment you might end up where you expect or you might end up somewhere else. But no matter what, you’ll always end up where you belong.
