Before going to college, I never thought that I would be in a sorority. It never crossed my mind as something I wanted to experience. I didn’t know much about being in a sorority outside of what I had seen in movies and being a first-generation college student, no one I knew had been a member of a fraternity or sorority.
Months before I arrived on my college campus, my mom had been telling me that I should consider joining a sorority. She told me about the connections that I could make and how they could help me even after I had graduated. I wasn’t entirely sold on this idea until after school began. I was hours away from home in a new city where the only people I knew were my roommates. I spent the first few weeks really missing my friends and family. When my mom again mentioned joining a sorority, I decided to try it out and signed up for recruitment the night before registration closed.
Recruitment Nerves
On the first day of recruitment, I was really nervous. I changed my clothes at least four times that morning as I tried to think of what I would say to the women I was going to meet. Since I didn’t know anything about sorority, I didn’t know what these women were going to ask me or how I should dress. I spent hours going through Pinterest trying to find outfit ideas because I wanted to at least look like I knew what I was doing.
I stumbled through that first day hearing phrases and words I didn’t understand like “Panhellenic,” “MRABA” and “Big and Little.” My nerves reached a peak each moment before it was time for me to meet a new chapter. I would stand outside the door heart pounding at the thought of having a conversation with strangers. But within minutes of each round, I forgot that I had been nervous at all. The conversations flowed easily like I was talking to old friends. The women seemed genuinely interested in me and really listened when I spoke. I was also able to ask them questions about themselves and their sorority membership. It was then that all the time I had spent meticulously picking my outfit felt pointless. These women didn’t care what shoes I was wearing; they were interested in hearing about my goals and passions.
Finding My Place
Each day of recruitment, I was more convinced that I had made the correct decision to participate. While I still didn’t understand all the terminology or generally how sororities operated, I started to get a feeling for where I belonged in the sorority community. I began making real connections with women and my preconceived notion of what a sorority woman was melted away. I began to see myself in their shoes and got excited at the possibilities that were ahead of me.
When Bid Day finally came and I received an invitation for membership from my sorority, everything clicked into place. I had found the women who eventually would push me to use my voice and be the leader I never thought myself to be. Looking back, I was intimidated by recruitment because I didn’t understand it. If I had researched the process as much I had what to wear, I might have felt as confident as I looked. I hope you won’t make the same mistake I did. Take some time to truly learn what it means to be a sorority woman so you can walk into recruitment confident and prepared for a new chapter in your life.
