I recently just went through sorority recruitment, or rush, and at IU we visit all 23 chapters in a process consisting of four rounds one week before the spring semester starts in January. Going into this process, I was eager, excited, and deathly nervous but on the other side of it now I know a little more about the process, other girls, and myself after going through it all.
1. Not everyone is going to understand why you're doing it
While being home over Christmas break, everyone always questioned me about why I wanted to trek around Bloomington in negative degree weather with snow on the ground. Or why I wanted to spend my last week of break standing in an alphabetical line in front of this sorority or that one while they screamed, sang, and banged on doors. And of course, we've all heard the "paying for your friends" bit and the silly sorority sister judgments. These questions and statements weren't important, I knew why I was there.
2. Trust the process
This silly saying seemed just that at the beginning of this process as the rho gammas were preaching this and my friends who had already rushed were constantly telling me to "trust the process", but now on the other side of this whole extensive process, I genuinely believe this. Trusting the process is the hardest thing to do at times because you think you know what's best for you but I quickly figured out that this process is set up strategically so that each girl would end up in a sorority that would fit her, a place she could call home. I got dropped from houses I had my heart set on but I trusted the process and followed my heart and ended up somewhere I feel at home.
3. Just because you get dropped doesn't mean they don't like you
Of course, the first reaction to rejection is often defeating and thoughts like: "why don't they like me?" or "what did I do wrong?", but I was informed of something that really made a difference in this negative thinking ways into rush. These girls know their house and the other girls in their house better than you do and as harsh as it may sound, if they feel like you don't share the same vibe or you don't fit in at their house and you'd fit better somewhere else, you'll be dropped. And that's nothing against you and nothing personal at all, it just moves your focus from somewhere you may not have fit in as well to somewhere you might find your home.
4. It's all about how you make it
If you make rush a dreadful and negative experience by being pessimistic and unhappy, that's on you. Rush is an exciting time of meeting new people, finding out who you are, and finding your best friends and home on campus. Even though it's very nerve-wracking and scary at times, it's a fun experience beneath it all so embrace it and enjoy every minute of it.
5. Focus on you
No matter how selfish it seems, this process is about you and where your home will be for the next four years and you don't want to end up somewhere you don't want to be with people you don't like because of what your friends thought about that house. Do yourself a favor and just do you.
Sorority recruitment was much different than I expected, but it was an experience I would never take back. We trudged through inches of snow and icy negative degree winds all across campus to all the different chapters and even though that part sucked, I found out so much about how meaningful this process is and myself during the process. Finally, after two weeks of rush, I can say that Phi Mu is my new home!
