My Adventures in Rush Week
In high school, I constantly daydreamed about what my life would be like once I finally graduated and got to college. Of the many scenarios that I fashioned in my head, none of them ever included going Greek. It wasn’t that I had anything against Greek life, I just didn’t see myself as someone who would fit in with the crowd. Specifically speaking, I didn’t think I’d make it as a “typical” sorority girl. There was an image engraved in my mind (which probably came from watching Legally Blonde a few hundred times) that they were all self-obsessed, vapid social butterflies, and I couldn’t relate to that at all.
It took less than the first week of classes for my preconceived notions to be completely destroyed. In class I had the opportunity to meet many upperclassmen girls who were members of sororities and they were all sweet and friendly, which made my first few nerve-wracking days much easier. In addition, they weren’t all similar or clone-like, something else that I expected beforehand; rather, they all had diverse interests, personalities, and opinions. They were honest, genuine women, and I thought it would be wonderful to have sisters like them by my side throughout my college experience. By the time house tours rolled around, I decided to take a step outside of my comfort zone and go through formal recruitment.
Unfortunately, there were times where I had serious doubts about whether or not I was doing the right thing, especially during rush week. Formal rush requires you to go from one noisy, crowded room to the next so you can meet all the chapters. In each room you talk to upwards of three complete strangers about the same things (where you are from, what your major is, etc.). It’s long and tiring, especially if you are naturally introverted like me, and at the end of every five hour night I found myself second guessing every conversation I had. I wondered if I made a good first impression or if they would even remember me among several hundred other potential new members. The whole process seemed awkward and superficial, and when I inevitably got dropped from a couple of the chapters I had liked, I couldn’t help but feel a little insecure. By the time the last night rolled around, I considered quitting the entire process.
With the help of my recruitment counselors, however, I had a realization that made me choose to stay: chapters didn’t girls because they didn’t like them, but because they had a very limited number of available spaces and they wanted to make sure they chose the girls that would be happiest in their sisterhood. Conversely, the chapters that ask girls back do so because they think that they can be beloved additions to their little families on campus, and that shows a lot of respect and love. With this in mind, I felt comfortable going through with the rest of rush week.
Bid day made it all worth it as I was very literally welcomed into my new sisterhood with open arms as a group of girls charged up to me and wrapped me into a huge hug. That night as I talked to more sisters and got to know them more in depth, I knew that I ended up right where I belonged. I am positive that my decision to rush will enrich my college experience in ways that I never could have imagined and lead me to girls I otherwise would never have met.
To any readers who are doubtful about whether or not they want to rush a sorority, my advice is to just do it because you have so much more to gain than to lose. If for whatever reason you don’t think you can go through with it in the middle of the process, then you can drop out easily and consider informal recruitment in the fall instead, which is a lot less rigorous. Be assured that no matter what, if you approach the process with an open mind you will find where you belong and have no regrets.