Here's how to make it from day one of work week to welcoming new sisters into your chapter.

For whatever reason, you’ve found yourself bound to the duty of participating in work week and recruitment this year. Maybe you didn’t get an internship or decided not to apply to be a Rho Gamma. Maybe you’re going to be a sophomore, and you really didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

Regardless of your situation, or your attitude towards the entire recruitment process, work week is barreling towards sorority women like an unstoppable train. It’s both frightening and exciting, and your mood, whether positive or negative, will completely shape your recruitment experience. There are a few things to keep in mind in order to survive the hectic yet rewarding atmosphere of recruitment. 

Get ready to be with the same people constantly. Summer has made you soft. You’re probably used to the luxury of deciding who you spend your time with. Then, when you feel like you’ve been around people for too long, you have the ability to retreat to your Netflix haven and enjoy time alone. During work week, you’ll realize what a paradise that was. While you love all of your sisters, being around anyone for 12 hours a day is emotionally taxing. And, of course, there is always that one girl who can’t figure out the door songs or who is always late for line practice. If you remember how much you normally love these girls, and with a little encouragement from your big, you’ll realize that work week actually strengthens the bond of sisterhood. 

Renew your love for your sorority. Throughout the school year, it’s hard to remember how much you love your sorority when you have to go to chapter, pomp, or do community service hours when you need to study. If you see work week as an annoying thing you have to do so you don’t get fined, you’re probably going to resent the entire experience. Try to recapture the excitement you had when you got your bid card. If you’re obsessed with your chapter, the potential new members will pick up on your dedication, and they’ll want to fall in love with your chapter too. 

Make sure you have pan love. It’s good to think that your chapter is the best -- that’s the reason you joined it. However, if you have to tear other chapters down to feel like yours is great, you’re doing something wrong. Each of OU’s chapters has unique qualities that make being in a sorority amazing. Making other chapters your enemy won’t allow you to shine during recruitment. It will only make you too focused on how you measure up to others, rather than how great you are at being yourself. 

You’re recruiting your future little, g-little or gg-little. Whether you’re a sophomore or a senior, at least one of the PNMs coming through recruitment will end up in your family. In my family, my g-big recruited my big, my big recruited me, and I recruited my little. If you’re in a bad mood during recruitment, you could be missing out on vital connections with PNMs. My family line would’ve changed dramatically if any of us had been unresponsive or negative during recruitment. The fact that you might recruit someone in your family line will help get you through those tough days of work week. 

The whole purpose of work week and recruitment is to recruit beautiful and intelligent women to carry on the legacy of your chapter. Although it may be stressful and time consuming, sororities would cease to exist without recruitment.