This year I decided to go out of my comfort zone and rush for a sorority. I don’t consider myself to be an outgoing person, but I wanted to try something new. I’ve heard wonderful stories from women about how they were able to run home to their sorority and find their sisters.
While all of this sounds wonderful, what no one tells you is the other side of it. While I rushed for four different sororities I was rejected by all. After my first day of rushing, I only had one bid but it was from my top choice, so I wasn’t too upset. I went into the second day being unapologetically myself and got to know a lot of amazing women. I fell in love with the sorority. Everything about it felt like home. I was having conversations with women that made me feel seen and heard. Plus the philanthropies that they supported were all under the umbrella of an idea that I really supported. Everything seemed perfect to me.
Later that night, I received a call from my student leader that I had been turned down by all of the sororities. I had been told I just “wasn’t a good fit with the girls”, which to me sounded like my worst fear came true: I had been rejected after putting myself out there. And when I say this broke me, I mean it. After spending a few hours sobbing in bed with my cat, I picked myself up by my bootstraps. If I didn’t have my wonderful boyfriend who dragged me out of bed and gave me a pep talk, I’m sure I would have spent a few more days in my bed. Even now, as I feel much better, I still don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to put myself out there again like this.
So for those of you thinking about joining a sorority, this is just me playing devil’s advocate and giving an insight on the side many people don’t talk about. No one wants to talk about being rejected, but I wish someone had told me.
HCXO, Charlotte