Thursday, August 29, 2013: Before Orientation
What if my dress isn’t nice enough? What if the other girls did their makeup better than I did mine? What if this color doesn’t really look good on me and the girls on my floor told me it did just to shut me up? Do my boobs look too big? What about my butt? Are my toe nails an okay color?
I have no idea what I’m doing. To be perfectly honest, the thought of girls judging me for four days straight is terrifying. I don’t want to say the wrong thing. I’m nervous about wearing something that they deem as inappropriate. What if they think that I’m wearing too much eyeliner?
As nervous as I am, I’m also really excited. I needed to figure out a way to make this campus smaller and I know that this is right for me. I wanted a support system like I did at home. All of my family members were in fraternities or sororities and hearing about their experiences makes me want to get involved really badly!
I don’t really know what sorority I want to be in, so I guess you can say that I’m keeping an open mind.
Thursday, August 29, 2013: After Recruitment Orientation
I’m definitely going through with recruitment. It wasn’t really a question before, but after tonight I feel like I’m making the right decision.
Friday, August 30, 2013: Day 1, Scholarship Night
I wore my nicest jeans and cutest peplum top…like every other girl there. Tons of us signed up for recruitment so there were really large groups of girls. Some girls were still on the fence when the night was over, but I’m so excited for tomorrow! I love talking and got along really well with the majority of the girls I talked to. There was one chapter I feel like I didn’t connect with or belong with at all. There was another I didn’t feel quite comfortable with either. For the most part, though, I really liked the sororities I visited. I know that all of the girls have to go through training but I don’t feel like any of the conversations were that forced other than at the one I didn’t like. And I know that it wasn’t just one bad conversation because I talked to four girls while there.
There was one sorority I clicked with really well and felt right at home with. I really hope they choose me to come back tomorrow!
Honestly, the first night went by so quickly. Waiting in the rooms to go and meet the girls felt like it took forever, but I’m so happy that I did it. I can’t wait for tomorrow, Philanthropy day, to get to know more of the girls!
Saturday, August 31, 2013: Day 2, Philanthropy Day
Going into today I didn’t think that I would get asked back to six sororities because there are so many girls rushing and my recruitment counselor told us not to expect to get asked back to every sorority. Low and behold, I had a full schedule, visiting six sororities with one break in between them all. Currently, I’m sitting in my dorm entertaining the idea of soaking my feet because they hurt so badly. I’m exhausted. But, it was so beyond worth it. I was asked back to five sororities I really liked and one sorority I didn’t like at all last night, which was fine. I still had a good time.
It was really nice to see how excited all the girls were about their philanthropies. I was really involved in high school and I dedicated so much of my time to community service and various organizations. Some of the organizations hit really close to home with me. Others I had worked with in the past.
I feel like it’s such a cliché thought, but I became my normal self when I was talking to the girls in the sorority. I’ve been holding back the past week with my floormates, roommate, and new acquaintances, but with the girls I talked to I became my loud, outgoing, and kind of obnoxious self again…and I loved it.
I really can’t wait to go to Husky Village tomorrow. I want to see the houses and learn more about the sororities since it’s Movie Day tomorrow.
There are two sororities I really clicked with over the past two days. There are two others that I liked too. I would like to be a part of them, but I can definitely see myself as a member of one of the two that I absolutely love.
Sunday, August 1, 2013: Day 3, Movie Day
I was asked back to four sororities which is, again, the maximum amount a girl can get asked back to this round. I was really happy and very honored, but my two absolute favorites dropped me. I was still left with two that I really liked, one that was okay, and one that I still do not want to be a part of at all. I don’t feel like I would fit in with them, that’s all. I put them last on my sheet yesterday and the day before, and hopefully tomorrow they won’t be one of the chapters that asks me back.
I had a really good time at my new top two sororities. I’m not positive if one will ask me back because it is a little bit more exclusive, but the other one I’m really hoping will ask me back. I have a very personal connection with their philanthropy and I feel like I would fit in very well with them and would benefit greatly from being a part of their sisterhood.
Today was hard, though. I wanted to break down because I did not want to visit my least favorite sorority. I felt like if they had dropped me yesterday then I would have been asked back to one of the other two sororities that didn’t ask me back. Who knows. I can’t do anything about it now.
I know that the sorority I don’t like isn’t for me. I don’t feel comfortable around the girls and I’m not what they’re looking for at all. I think that their philanthropy is interesting and cool, but it’s not something that I’m totally excited to get behind.
I really hope I get asked back to my top two houses tomorrow, or at least one of them.
Honestly, I can see myself being a part of three of the sororities I was asked back to. I do have my favorite one, but I’m still nervous that they won’t ask me back because things didn’t quite go as I thought they would today. It all really is one big game and it’s so nerve wracking.
I guess the only way to find out is by going tomorrow! Everything will be okay. It always has and it always will be. I can do this. I can do this.
Monday, September 2, 2013: Day 4, Preference Day
I got asked back to my two remaining favorite chapters! I’m so happy! Both ceremonies were very emotional and I became very teary eyed at both, but the second one I felt a better connection to. I know that I would fit in in both sororities, but I feel like I fit in best with the second house I visited. I would be very happy to wear the letters of either sorority. The girl I spoke to on the first day at my favorite house waived “Hi” to me when I saw her every time and I really appreciated seeing her comforting smile.
I’m BEYOND ready for Bid Night in a few short hours!
Monday, September 2, 2013: Day 4, Bid Night
I GOT INTO MY FIRST CHOICE SORORITY! I’m so happy! I opened up my bid and immediately started crying and laughing at the same time. I couldn’t stop smiling! I loved seeing which sororities the recruitment counselors were in. I never would have guessed some of them were in certain ones, but I suppose that really does show that there are so many different types of girls in each sorority and one really can’t judge a sorority based on looks. It’s not worth listening to all of the stereotypes and rumors people spread about each sorority because at the end of the day becoming a part of a sisterhood that you love is so much more important than listening to what people on the outside have to say. It’s not even worth listening to what the other girls going through recruitment have to say either. I did not feel compatible at all with a sorority that one of my friends is in the process of becoming a new member to and vice versa.
I’m so excited to get to know all of my new sisters! I have over 100 of them now! I still can’t believe it. This process was so worth it. I knew from orientation night that it was going to be worth it.
Sorority life isn’t for everyone, but I truly believe that in order to decide it isn’t for you, you have to first experience it. Going through recruitment brought out the best in me. While I was talking to the women at each sorority I felt like I started to finally come out of the shell I had been in ever since I moved in. I wasn’t as outgoing as I normally was until I talked to and met with all of the women.
I am so happy to have found my home in my sorority. I’m excited to get to know my sisters and grow as a woman from everything sorority life has to offer me. I will forever wear my letters with pride because I know that this is going to be an amazing experience.