As cliché as it sounds, bid day really was the best day this past Sorority Recruitment season. Maybe bid day, and sorority life as whole, is one of those experiences that is only understood from the inside looking out; and those who are outside only wonder why it looks like we have so much fun. Well, I have a secret for you: it is because we DO! I used to be one of those girls that stereotyped sorority women for no reason other than I had no idea what it entailed; especially bid day. Why do these people get so excited? Why so many tears? Is it really that serious?
This summer, I joined the Panhellenic Recruitment Team to experience the side of sorority life where you must disaffiliate from your own sorority in order to be an unbiased mentor for the girls going through Recruitment trying to find THEIR home. At first, I was not sure how the summer and four months of disaffiliation from my sisters and best friends was going to play out for me. I had found my home in my sorority; a place where I felt not only comfortable at college, but also confident, excited, and brand new. Leaving the people who meant the most to me for an entire summer was something that honestly scared me, but it allowed me to gain something much greater than I ever thought I would by joining the Recruitment team: friends and brand new sisters who come from different letters, a family which I never thought I would have, and a summer of memories that I will never forget with girls that I only ever knew from Instagram.
This summer was a perfect example of everything happens for a reason, and everything really does work out. I was given the incredible opportunity to be a leader in our Greek community. I watched as millions of emotions swirled around the entire Recruitment process for our new Greek sisters, as well as my fellow members on the Recruitment team. It took a week of living together, growing together, and seeing each other fail and succeed to see why we had landed on the path we had been on all summer. Before we knew it, it was bid day, and it was time to run back to our own sisters; but, it was also time to run away from our family we had been with for months. It was by far one of the toughest days: sharing hugs, tears, laughs, and smiles while having identical reactions about running back home.
Perhaps “bittersweet” is the best way to describe bid day, at least from the opposite side of Sorority Recruitment. This summer was a perfect opportunity to see that branching out from your comfort zone is not only a great way to find new avenues for yourself, but it is almost necessary in finding happiness and friendship in places you never thought possible. College is the perfect place to do just that; do not ever be afraid to take something you have been even slightly thinking about and run with it. You just might find what you never thought you needed.