It’s Bid Day. The most exciting time of the year for sorority sisters from all walks of Greek life.

That being said, Bid Day can be both exciting and nerve-racking in the same breath.

It’s a day when we all come together to welcome the incoming members that will breathe new life into our chapters: the girls who will eventually become our sisters, our potential Littles and best friends. These girls will ultimately represent not only our letters and our chapter, but will one day be the ones running the show when we’re all long gone.

This Bid Day was definitely an eye opener on that last part. Even though I’m able to see my sisters on a regular basis, being an alumna of chapter life has changed given me a new perspective on Bid Day.

Initially, everything feels the same. Getting ready for Bid Day makes you feel like a sister again.

You put on your favorite letters and go all out on your makeup. When you show up you’re showered with hugs and love, and you fall right back into the swing of things.

You take shameless selfies with your Big. You crowd around your wooden letters and pose with your pledge class. Everything is covered in paint and glitter, and it’s everything you remembered it being. The chants seem to have never left your memory as you cheer and shout with your sisters, getting pumped up for the incoming new members. Just as Bid Day begins to start, that’s when you realize the little things that have changed.

The once magical day, while still as exciting, feels different. While you’re just as excited as all of the sisters around you, you actually have no idea who is going to walk through. Since you weren’t at recruitment you have no familiar faces to go from as each girl walks through the door.

You’re slightly confused and awkward as you are introduced to each new member as an alumna. As each of your sisters buzzes around navigating the new members around the chapter, you take a step back and appreciate the scene in front of you. You look around at your sorority with mixed feelings. It’s scary watching everything go on without you.

Knowing that they will be just fine without you is a bittersweet moment, because knowing they don’t need you anymore is both one of the proudest and saddest moments for an alumna member.

Some of your most treasured memories and experiences have been with your sisters. You have found your best friends, bridesmaids, late-night study buddies, and future roommates, and even though these girls may not know it yet, you know they’ve found their home.

A shout out to all of the new members welcomed into Salisbury University’s Greek life! Congratulations on finding your home!

Sometimes in life we stand outside waiting for a door to open. We hope the person behind will let us in and be our friend. I was once on the outside until a door opened to me, and behind it I found a sisterhood. Now I stand behind that door on the inside, hoping to open it to someone else who stands where I once stood.