When I was first touring colleges and figuring out where I was going to apply, I always asked about student involvement in Greek life. This wasn’t because I wanted to join a sorority, but because I was actively avoiding schools that were heavily involved in Greek life.
I had no interest in Greek life, and never really saw myself joining a sorority. My lack of interest stayed consistent throughout my freshman year of college. There was one point, however, in which I questioned whether or not I should rush, but quickly realized that I had missed the sign-up date and so forgot about it.
This past October, I decided that I was going to go through sorority recruitment in January after finding out that recruitment would be on Zoom. At the time, my decision wasn’t final, but in January, I ended up going through with it and getting a bid. Sometimes I am asked if I wished I had gone through with it as a freshman and my answer is always no — here’s why.
First and foremost, I had no idea what I wanted. I never imagined I would join a sorority, so if I had gone through with it, it would’ve just been because my friends were doing it. This sounds a little cliché, but what you put into recruitment is what you’ll get out of it.
If I had rushed my freshman year, I would’ve put zero effort into it, which would have led to me getting nothing out of it. I’m not saying that this year I put all of my effort and attention into recruitment, but I definitely put a lot more into it than I would’ve last year. Last year, in general, I was so concerned with what everyone else was doing — which would’ve led to me being unintentionally swayed by my friends’ opinions instead of focusing on myself. I guess as I’ve grown in the last year, I’ve learned more about myself and what I want, which really helped me throughout the whole recruitment process.
The pandemic also had an influence on my decision. Last year I was lucky enough to have somewhat of a normal year, where I had the ability to meet new people on a daily basis and make friends all over the place. Covid has hindered my ability to do that, and as someone who loves meeting new people, it’s been difficult.
When I realized that until we get a vaccine I probably wouldn’t be able to meet as many new people as I wanted to, that influenced me to want to join a sorority. My friends in sororities were so close with their sisters, and I wanted that type of connection.
Last year, watching my friends go through recruitment in person looked physically and mentally exhausting. I knew I couldn’t handle that kind of stress well, and therefore wouldn’t have been able to focus on getting to know the girls. When I found out that recruitment was going to be held over zoom, it honestly swayed my decision, because I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about being anywhere on time and could focus on getting to know the sororities and their values. Zoom recruitment led to me genuinely enjoying the process and not stressing too much. I honestly think if I had gone through recruitment in person, I would not have felt the same way.
My last thing was handling the rejection that came with going through the recruitment process. A year ago, I was beyond terrified of rejection; getting dropped from a sorority I liked would have been my biggest fear.
That fear of rejection still remained in the back of my mind during rush, but when it actually happened, I ended up being fine with it. I found other sororities I liked, and at the end, I was lucky to end up with two that I absolutely loved. Rejection is a part of life, but it’s not something that I should actively run from, and I think that’s part of why going through the process was much easier for me this year than it would’ve been last year — I handled and accepted rejection much better.
Even though I am only a couple of weeks into joining my sorority, I am happy with my decision and am so glad that I decided to go through recruitment as a sophomore. To anyone who is reading this and is worried about eventually going through recruitment their sophomore year, I say go for it.
While I may have one less year in a sorority than I would if I had gone through it as a freshman, I am probably happier with the results that I got this year than I would’ve gotten last year. That’s all I have for now, and happy recruitment, collegiettes!