Going into sorority recruitment I thought I had this whole rush thing figured out. Boy, was I wrong. Everyone's pictures from rush always looked so fun and people always say that rush is the best week of their life. I mean all you have to do is go to parties and talk to people, right? Wrong. I am going to be completely honest and say that rush was one of the most stressful weeks of my life. Everyday I would wake up shaking with nerves terrified that my picks had dropped me. When you are dropped by a sorority, it feels like you have been dumped by your boyfriend with no explanation. You think you have everything figured out and know exactly who you clicked with and who you don't click with, but your first thoughts are not always accurate.
One thing I was told during rush was to trust the system. That little nugget of information was the only thing that kept me going that whole week. Rush is like being on the Bachelor; hoping to get a rose and praying you are not sent home from your mini date with each sorority. One thing I learned from was rush not to judge the people who cry on the Bachelorette/Bachelor. When you watch those shows you think to yourself, “Why are they crying? They could not have actually felt a connection." Trust me, they did. The second day of rush I was dropped from two of my favorite sororities at the time. I was so confused; I thought we had a real connection. I felt like one of the Bachelor contestants on their way home in the limo ugly crying. I had only talked to these girls for twenty minutes, but I thought they liked me a lot. It turns out that in reality, they did not think that their home was mine too. However being dropped by my "favorite" sororities made me focus on the sororities that could actually be my home.
No matter how comfortable I felt in each house, I was always terrified that they would not feel the same way that I did. When day four, preference day, finally came along I could not believe I was finally almost done with rush. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I knew I would be hanging out with my new sisters soon. People always say, "When you know, you know," whether it be about your fiancé or your future sorority, it's true. The minute I stepped into my first party I got chills. I cried during their preference ceremony and had amazing conversations spanning from where has the best chicken nuggets to the current state of Syria. I went to the next house and I was like a little girl in puppy love. I could not get the first house out of my head; I went into Selection that day and knew exactly where I wanted to be. It took me five seconds to enter my preferences.
When I got back to the dorm I was exhausted, but I could not go to sleep. I just wanted it to be Bid Day and run into my new sisters’ arms. When sleep finally won and I woke up for Bid day I was filled with nerves. My rush group met up at the entrance of the quad. An hour past and we were finally handed our Bid Day letters and told we could open them. I read my letter and I was so excited I could not contain my joy. I ran to my roommate and asked her what she got and in that moment we changed from roommates to sisters. Once the excitement died down we were herded into lines and sent out in groups of four to run to our new home. Running and hugging my new sorority sisters was the most amazing and sweaty moments of my life. I had never felt so loved by so many girls that I barely knew. Bid Day made up for all of the crazy stress and heartbreak that had filled the previous days. I can truly say that I have made some of my best friends through this process and cannot wait to laugh about how stressful the week of rush was.
