As a freshman, I will say the transition into college can be completely overwhelming.
By rushing a sorority, I found myself more overwhelmed and confused as ever. I found FMR, Formal Membership Recruitment, to be the most draining three evenings of my life, but I will say it was definitely worth it when I dove into a crowd full of my new sisters on bid day.
Greek life is definitely not for everyone, but ever since I was little I knew I wanted to be in a sorority because my mom was is one and I loved hearing stories of her college years spent with her sisters. Unfortunately, my mom’s chapter is not on campus, which had me feeling very conflicted because for so many years I had the picture in my head of my mom also being my greek sister. Going into FMR not knowing which sorority would be the best fit for me was nerve racking; however, I found comfort in knowing that I would end up finding a home on Sunday night.
For starters, greek life at CMU is very different than the stereotypical greek community that you see in movies or in schools down south. The CMU Panhellenic Council is very much dedicated to philanthropy and scholarship, meaning that going greek can actually improve your grades. The entire greek community is comprised of extremely talented and passionate women, which was a huge factor for why FMR was such a struggle. Everyone I talked to was amazing, and I looked up to each woman that I talked to during the course of the three evenings.
The first night of FMR is crazy because every girl visits all six houses for half an hour, and in that time it is hard to gather a sense of what each sorority is all about. The maximum number of parties you can be invited back to on the second night is four and at the end of the night, you have to preference your top two choices for Sunday night’s parties. I found Saturday the most challenging night because I kept questioning whether or not I was making the right choices with my two preferences for Sunday.
I was incredibly nervous on Sunday that I would not know which chapter felt like a home to me, but I was lucky enough to gather a sense of where I belonged by the end of the night, which was when I had to rank the two chapters for bidding. When I walked back to my dorm Sunday night, I felt completely secure in my decision and I still am.
Monday was met with much anticipation because it is the day you receive your bid. The entire day I went through classes just thinking about the night to come, which I will say was one of the best nights of my life. Kappa Kappa Gamma is where I found my home and when I opened my bid to see that they had extended me an invitation to join their chapter as a new member, I was completely overcome with joy.
Bid night is one huge party. Everyone wears a zip-up hoodie to hide the chapter that they have been invited to join, and each FMR group goes onto the stage and unzips their hoodies exposing which chapter they are accepting a bid from. This part of bid day is so exciting because after you unzip your hoodie, you jump into a crowd of your sisters who are giving you hugs and welcoming you into a part of the sisterhood.
Although I found FMR to be completely confusing, I would recommend any girl to go through it because the end result is so satisfying.