Dear Potential New Member,
May is the month filled with tassel tosses and graduation parties and your grandmother showering you with kisses and phrases like,”I can’t believe you are grown and graduating!”
That's right you did it, you graduated and you are heading off into the great big world of independence and most likely headed to college somewhere. If you are going to college somewhere then you might be considering joining a sorority or fraternity. If that is the case then congratulations, you are now a PNM. From someone who survived recruitment with minimal lacerations, it is worth the battle.
Now it seems like recruitment is a lifetime away, but it isn’t! Sororities across the country are preparing for PNMs to rush onto campus hungry for bids and not willing to stop until they get one from their favorite sorority. I know I make it sound extreme but really it isn’t. During recruitment I learned one thing: Be true to yourself.
It is easy to get swept up by the smiles and the potential friendships each house could bring you, but that is no reason to settle. Going through recruitment you need to have an open mind but do not settle if you know you do not belong there. If you get dropped by your top choices, it is going to be OK, do not throw in the towel. Everything happens for a reason and you should go through one more day of parties. If nothing really fits, then that is when you should stick to your gut and not settle just so you can be a part of a sorority. There are many things to get involved with in your college years! College is about finding yourself and you can do it outside of the greek system just as much as you can in a sorority or fraternity.
I, like many others, knew going into recruitment which sorority I wanted and that caused me not to have an open mind. It gave me a lot of anxiety during the week. This caused many tearful phone calls to my mom and swearing that if I didn't get the one sorority I wanted I was dropping out. Well here I am trying to tell all of you, PNMs, do not be like me. Do not go into recruitment with your heart set on one particular sorority.
Keeping an open mind during this whole experience is the best thing you can do for yourself and your mom. Instead of having your heart set on just one house, have some qualities that are important to you, and stick to those during the whole week. This will make your decision easier and you will love yourself in the end for it. So even if you do not get your first choice you will at least get a house that has some of your favorite qualities.
All of that being said, enjoy your summer and the time you have left under your parents roof because before you know it it will be Bid Day and you will have a new house to call home with 250 of your closest friends.
