I am the queen of not taking bad news well. I cry, pout, and mope for days, but in the end I always realize that whatever the news was, it was probably for the better. Being sensitive has never been easy, but going to college taught me that there isn't room in the world for overly sensitive people and that hearing no is a critical part of life. Sure, it's okay to have problems and need to talk about things, but people will get tired of it. So, I am slowly learning how to handle bad things in my life in a better way.
Over the past year I have experienced many failures and rejections in the various organizations I am in, but I honestly believe that everything happens for a reason. I know it may be cliche and overused, but God doesn't give us anything we cannot handle, and He usually has a clear plan. This year, in LSU Ambassadors, I was turned down for a position on the summer orientation team. I was absolutely crushed and had a terrible attitude about the situation. Within the next two weeks, I was chosen for a different position in LSU Ambassadors, and I was chosen to attend Pi Beta Phi Convention this summer. If I had been selected for orientation, I would not have been able to go to Convention and have the experience of a lifetime learning all about my sorority. In a strange way, I am so grateful that I didn't get what I wanted because it ended up teaching me a much bigger lesson that I can carry with me throughout my life.
I regret that it took me an entire year to figure this out because I have spent way too much time sulking over things that, in hindsight, I am so glad happened. I think this is a great message for girls coming through recruitment this fall. I urge you to be open to anything and not have your mind set on only one sorority. I promise that recruitment week will probably not go how you're expecting it to, but in the end you will be placed in a house that is perfect for you and is full of girls who are so excited to get to know you and share the next four years of college with you. If you become stubborn, and get upset because a few of your favorite houses cut you (like I regrettably did), you will have a miserable week. Instead, try to see it as an opportunity to be put where you actually belong and not where you think you belong. I know it's not necessarily easy to give up control like that, but in the end you will thank yourself.
This can be translated into almost any aspect of life. So, you don't do well in a critical class your first semester because you don't enjoy it. Maybe you should look into other majors or areas of study that might interest you. Just because things aren't going the way you planned does not mean that your life is falling apart and that you should give up. It just means that maybe you're trying to make your own plans instead of listening to God's plan for you.
Always be open to new ideas and people because you never know what you could learn from a situation. Try new things, both in Greek life and on your campus. It's okay to find out things you don't like to do while you find things that you are passionate about. Isn't college all about finding out who you really are?
