If you have ever experienced sorority recruitment, whether or not you ended up in a sorority, you will probably agree with me when I say that the process is stressful. Between the intimidating older girls asking you question after question, never quite knowing what to wear and the lost sleep waiting in fear and anticipation over hearing your result, recruitment cannot possibly be calming for anyone. I chose to take part in sorority recruitment this past January and after four grueling days of events, I decided to withdraw completely from formal recruitment and not join any sorority. My experience was tough and though I did eventually withdraw from sorority recruitment, this article is not meant to be bitter or harsh or offend anyone who has joined a sorority. I met amazing girls through sorority recruitment and I am genuinely happy for those who truly found and aligned themselves with the right sorority for them. In the end it just wasn’t for me, and that is okay.
It took me awhile to come to terms with my experience of sorority recruitment. I won’t lie, going through four long days with truly no positive outcome (that I could see then) was extremely demoralizing. During the few weeks following recruitment it seemed as if everyone was talking about who got into which sorority and who didn’t. It felt as though everyone except me had found the right place. However, after a lot of thinking and considering (and rethinking and reconsidering) I came to realize that it wasn’t a big deal that I didn’t find the right place for me in a sorority.
You can’t expect to always fit in. It’s simply impossible. Even the most outgoing of people, the people who everyone seems to like and be friends with, have moments of social awkwardness and discomfort. That is just how it is and we need to accept that. I needed to accept that after withdrawing from recruitment. Yes, being a part of a sorority was something that appealed to me, but it wasn’t a guarantee that I would fit in anywhere. I had told myself prior to the beginning of recruitment that if I ended up with a sorority where I couldn’t be wholly myself in then I wouldn’t be a part of it. I wanted to be completely true to myself no matter the outcome. And so, when it came to the final day and I couldn’t see myself as a part of any of the sororities I had left, I withdrew. I would rather face the few weeks of hurt than having to pretend to be someone else to fit in somewhere.
In the end, I remained true to myself and that is the most important thing not only during something like sorority recruitment but in life. I withdrew from sorority recruitment and instead decided to write for Odyssey. Like with most things in life, whenever one door closes another one opens--even if you don’t find your niche in one place you will find it in another. The most important step is remaining true to yourself, no matter how hard it seems to be.
