Maybe you're coming from a far away city, or even a far away state; maybe you've lived here your whole life. Maybe you were super involved in high school and are scared college won't be the same, or maybe you stayed to yourself and are looking for a new way to break out of your shell. Maybe you had best friends that came with you to college, or maybe you are looking to make new ones.

No matter who you are or where you come from, we know the struggle. We were there, in your exact shoes, before we became initiated members of our own chapters. It feels like just yesterday I had my rain jacket literally zip-tied at my chin and a can of hairspray glued to my hand, preparing myself to go through recruitment to find my "home away from home" - my sorority.

People try to prepare you for what recruitment will be like, and regardless of whatever stories you hear, it never does the process justice. I probably had somewhere around a million questions going through recruitment, but no worries, you're going to have amazing girls to guide you through every step of the way. Thinking about the new pledge classes of '16 (a.k.a, you) literally, makes all of us in each house giddy just thinking about it.
Here are a few things that the girls on the other side of recruitment want you to know, and keep in mind throughout the week of recruitment.

1. We love you already.

I know this sounds semi-crazy, maybe a little weird, but we are literally so excited to get to meet you probably more excited than you are to even go through recruitment, yourself. We have spent hours rehearsing songs, words, and everything else to make sure this goes perfectly for you.
When you walk through the doors of your house on the very last day of the week, and see 100+ girls smiling at you, hugging you, and taking a thousand insta-worthy pictures- it will be hard for you to believe we already love you this much, but trust me, we do.

2. Just be yourself.

While picking out the "perfect" dress and "perfect" shoes is super fun to try and express yourself, these things are so minuscule compared to what we want to know about you. We aren't looking for you to come into our house to try and match who we are- we want to know you for who you are. The right house wants you for your passions, your dreams, your hobbies, your interests, your heart, and the love you can bring to their sisterhood. You don't have to do anything crazy to get our attention. The right house will like you for the most genuine and beautiful "you" that you are. Be confident, because you rock.

3. Every house has something amazing to offer. Make sure you are choosing the house you want, and not just the house others want.

Different girls are going to like different houses, and that's okay. Your best friend may be in love with a different house than you are, and that's okay. Go in with an open mind, and an open heart. You are making this decision- to be a part of a sisterhood for the next four years, and to represent them for the rest of your life. Don't allow others to choose the best fit for you, and don't influence others based on your opinions, either. Every house has something great to offer, every house has amazing people in them, every house is serving a well-deserving cause. Every house wakes up excited to see your beautiful face throughout recruitment, and every house will have the best girls for their sisterhood on Bid Day. No matter where you go, go there because you can't see yourself anywhere else. Go there because throughout recruitment week, they were the house that made you feel comfortable and wanted. Go there because that's where your heart is.

4. Don't allow the stress to take away from this monumental week.

This week is all about you. While picking the perfect house can be stressful, you have to remember it will all be worth it. No matter how much you cry when your perfectly curled hair falls flat, or you are sweating off your second layer of make-up, you have to remember that by the end of this, you will have sisters who literally won't care if your dress was a little wet from the rain, or your eyebrows didn't stay completely "on fleek" throughout the entire party. We know it is 95 300 degrees (basically) outside, and trust me, we are hot and sweaty messes in our own kind of way on the other side of the door, too. None of that is important in the end because, like I said earlier, your potential new sisters in each house already love you more than you know, and your Gamma Chi's are there to help you every step of the way. (If you don't know what a Gamma Chi is, I promise you'll learn soon enough.) We care more about what's on the inside than if you look absolutely perfect 100 percent of the time. We care more about you being happy with whatever decisions you make throughout the week than we do about the smaller stuff. It will all work out. Trust the process.

5. Understand what you are getting yourself into.

We were dedicated to you the second you signed up for recruitment. We made a promise to you to help you find your home.
You need to know what you are preparing to promise to us, too.
Greek life is not all about partying, not just about the t-shirts and glitter. It isn't just about monogrammed cups and car stickers. It isn't just to find a group of girls to go out with, or a place to only give 25 percent of yourself. While we love to have a good time, and love all the cutesy sorority colored pillow cases and canvases- that doesn't come first in our house. It doesn't come first in any house. It's about being there for one another. It's about working hard to make your house the best that it can be. It's about spreading love to one another. It's about being dedicated to service, your studies, and your sisters.

Get pumped, get excited because this is going to be so much fun.
We can't wait to meet you!

Xoxo,

Your potential new sister.

( P.S- if you haven't signed up for recruitment yet, go sign up NOW!! http://greeklife.louisiana.edu/ )