So in the past 16 days I've been pledging to a sorority on my campus, Nu Gamma Xi, and although it was stressful and scary, I've learn some very valuable things along the way. So if you're thinking of pledging to a greek house, here's what you should expect.
You're always focused.
You turned in your bid, and there is a reason for that. You want this, I wanted this, so you do everything you need to get there. Focusing is key. You need to keep in mind the task at hand and take things one step at a time. If you think of everything all at once, that is when you are setting yourself up for failure. Stay focused.
Actually listening instead of just waiting for your turn to talk.
This was a huge one for me. Since you now have multiple people you have to understand and become best friends with you really need to pay attention. It can be hard to truly understand a person if you don't listen to what they say. Sure there will be your fair share of miscommunications and crying sessions but it will 100% better you in the end.
Becoming more responsible.
Responsibility is so important, I cannot express this enough. During the pledging process, lots of things will be happening all at once. You'll be overwhelmed it's inevitable, but as long as you take full responsibility for mistakes made your pledging process will be sooo much easier. It's when you don't own up to your mistakes that makes it difficult.
Walking EVERYWHERE.
So the rule with my school/sorority is that no one can walk alone. So I go to a very small college(honestly it's around a mile long) so walking isn't usually a big deal, but I swear if I had a fit bit my step count would be on point. From walking to the house, then breakfast, then class, then back to the house, then to pick someone up from class, ect, you get a fair amount of mileage down.
The energy of the whole college is down.
Pledging greek life is incredibly hard. It takes a lot out of you. You're constantly learning new information, pulling all nighters, doing real school work, and the only song you can think of is the greek alphabet. It's quite the transition from the usual go to class, go to your room, sleep. But usually it's only 2 weeks long, so I think we can all be okay with the sudden calmness.
You're going to lose your voice.
I lost my voice on day 3/16. This was very hard since I really like talking. But the reason behind this is simple, you have to be loud. No matter what you always need to be the loudest in the crowd. I'll admit, it was extremely hard. We went through plenty of cough drops and hot tea throughout the process. But don't let this scare you away. Even though it sucks when it's happening, Your fellow line brothers/sisters will hold you up so it won't even matter you can barely talk.
You will have people drop.
Some people aren't cut out for greek life and that's okay. Even though there will be times where you don't quite understand why. We had some girls on my line who needed to drop and we weren't at all angry with them. We got to that point where we were finally understanding each other so when they dropped we respected their decision. Always continue to respect them, no matter what.
You get a whole new family.
The whole reason to join greek life, family! After a stressful 2 weeks you'll finally be apart of a new family with many generations of sisters and brothers. The night you crossover from "pledge" to "active" makes all the late nights, long walks, scavenger hunts, lost voices, and constant focus absolutely worth it.
