It's that time of year again where colleges and universities across the world are either gearing up, in the midst of, or lastly, at the end of their sorority recruitment. Ah yes, the chapters are doning their coordinating outfits for each night (or day) of parties and perfecting their welcome songs. Spending countless hours with your sisters recruiting women who share your chapters values can bring a certain togetherness in your chapter that most people don't get to experience, but I am happy that this year I was able to experience the disaffiliation side of recruitment. These are the things I learned from being disaffiliated and why I'm grateful for it.

1. My love for my sorority grew.

Being on Panhellenic Exec, or Gamma Chi (Rho Gams, Pi Chi's, etc.), I was presented with the opportunity to see the potential new members learn all about my sorority's philanthropy, our sisterhood, our values, and what it truly means to be a Greek woman. Not being able to be in that chapter room with my sisters sharing my love and passion for my chapter made me love my sorority that much more. If I hadn't gone through recruitment, I would not have had the opportunity to help these potential new members be shown the amazing world of Greek life that each and every chapter on campus offers. Disaffiliation means you don't have the chance to be with your sisters or wear letters until Bid Day. When I ran back home on Bid Day, my heart had never been so full. Being welcomed back by my sisters and just being able to say that I'm a sister again was one of the best things ever.

2. I have a deeper respect for my letters.

Part of disaffiliation is not being able to wear my letters, whether on a t-shirt, buttons on my backpack, or have them on my social media. This taught me that I really am accountable for holding myself and my sisters to a higher standard while wearing letters. A contributing factor to gaining more respect for my letters was seeing my sisters represent us in such a way that made the potential new members want to wear ours too. I'm so honored that when I went through recruitment that the women of the chapter then thought I would represent their letters in a way that would reflect a positive image on us. Gaining my letters back and learning to live without them for the short time I did really made me appreciate them more.

3. I have a greater appreciation of the other sororities on campus.

When you spend an entire summer and then spend countless number of hours with women who are in a different sorority than you, hearing them talk about all their memories with their sisters, and what being in that chapter has meant to them made me appreciate their sororities even more than I already did. While I bleed my chapters colors, I learned that every person has a place where they belong and will succeed at. Nothing made me happier than seeing the women that went through recruitment come out of those chapters rooms crying tears of pure happiness because they already loved the sorority and the sisters that much. Being a part of the process that helps women find where they will grow and shape who they are in their college years then their life has so gratifying. I not only was happy to see those women run home to my chapter, but to see others run home to the chapters that would do for them what my chapter has done for me. Give them people who will love, encourage, be accountability partners, and most importantly, lifelong family.

4. I gained Panhellenic sisters.

Like I said earlier, being disaffiliated does come with the price of not being able to see your chapter sisters, but you do gain are your fellow disaffiliated Panhellenic sisters. Though we may not share the same letters during the school year we share the bond of being Greek women and lifting each other up and creating friendships that we might not have had if it weren't for Greek life. Eating, making friendship bracelets, laughing, and creating memories with those amazing ladies was so worth it all. I almost miss being disaffiliated for the sole fact that we're not all together at the same time anymore. My heart was so full when Bid Day came and I was able to see their sisters welcome them back home with open arms just as my sisters did for me.

5. I would do it all again.

I dearly missed my sisters and advisors during recruitment but being disaffiliated taught me that there is so much more to being Greek than within the four walls of my chapter room. Being disaffiliated showed me that I have the ability to share my love for Greek life with the women who are eager to learn all about it and become a part of it. Participating in recruitment where I was able to see these young ladies meet and learn so much about the outstanding chapters that I get to work alongside the sisters of, serving the same purpose of showing what it means to be part of a sisterhood, serve our philanthropies that we love, and grow to love our sisters and our sororities.

This experience is one that I encourage everyone to take part in and learn from it as I did. Now that I'm home I cannot wait until I get to meet our new members and show them the love that the sisters before them showed me.