I chose to rush my freshman year, and I definitely should not have. I hadn’t fully adjusted to college life yet, and right after just meeting the people on my hall, I then had to meet even more girls. Some people can be extremely outgoing, charming, and friendly all the time; I am not one of those people. I am a naturally quiet and introverted person, so my personality combined with my nerves made it really hard for me to make conversations with sisters during rush. I was overwhelmed by everything: the noise, the cuts, and the sheer number of girls going through recruitment. I ended up not finishing rush as a result.
After having a year to get acquainted on campus, I decided to go through the recruitment process again. Having a year to see what Greek life is all about at W&M gave me a more realistic view on the system: I know girls who had gone through both great and not-so-great times during their first year of sorority life. After going to various sororities’ philanthropic events last year, I know that I fit in better in some organizations than others; there were some houses that I could really see myself in. The girls in my freshman dorm seemed to have so much fun in their sororities, and I knew for sure that I wanted that experience now.
The first weekend went a lot more smoothly than it did my freshman year. I now knew friends in sororities, and it was nice seeing a familiar face as I walked into the houses for each round. It was much easier for me to have conversations with sisters because I now felt like a part of the W&M community: I’m involved in organizations and can talk about things other than what I did in high school or which classes I’m taking or my freshman dorm. For me, the only thing that did not change since freshman year was that I still didn’t know how rush would end for me and for countless others. It’s an emotional process for anyone going through it, from brand-new freshmen to sophomores like me to even PNMs rushing during their senior year. I imagine it’s just as emotional on the other side of rush as well.
I probably got about four hours of sleep after Pref Night; I was so nervous. I only went to one house on Pref Night, which meant that there was a chance that I could end up bidless. I really liked that sorority, but I was afraid that they didn’t like me as much as I liked them. Either my recruitment counselors would give me an envelope with my bid card, or they would tell me that unfortunately I was released from the system. On Sunday morning, I heard a knock on my door. I opened it to see my recruitment counselors smiling. One handed me an envelope. I tore it open and saw that my one sorority had offered me a bid! I was so excited to be part of the Bid Day frenzy on the Sunken Gardens and to meet my new sisters! And now, a little more than two weeks later, I’m still so happy I joined a sorority. I gained so many new friends, and it’s nice having a group of sisters who always have my back and will support me. I know I belong in my sorority, and I’m so glad I decided to rush again my sophomore year.