So you've chosen your school, you've chosen your major (for the most part), and you're ready to embark on your freshman year of college. The thought runs through your mind, "should I go through sorority recruitment?" You consider the price, your availability, your boyfriend, your existing friends, etc. Well, stop. Sorority life isn't about the money, the time you put into it, or what people think. Sorority life is what you make it. Sorority life is about you.
Don't worry about the price. Sororities cost a lot of money. The benefits that you get out of your chosen sorority, though, have absolutely no dollar amount. You will make amazing friends, connections, and memories that you absolutely can not put a price on. Most, if not all, Greek organizations will work with you on your finances. They want you just as much as you want them, and they aren't willing to give you up just because you don't have the finances for annual payments at the beginning of your membership.
Don't worry about what your preexisting friends will think. So, you're friends from high school think Greek life is stupid. Greek life is a completely different social setting than anything you could've ever experienced in high school. It is a little foreign. Why do you have to spend four days picking out who you want to hangout with for the next four years? It is so much more than that. You are choosing which philanthropy means the most to you, which girls you connected with on day one, and which organization's letters you want to wear on your back for the rest of your life. If your friends are as true as the friends that you will meet during, and long after recruitment, they should support you in your endeavors.
Don't be nervous. I was entirely too nervous for my first day of formal recruitment. I considered backing out from the minute I woke up that day, to the minute I walked into my first "house." After that moment, I was hooked. I was meeting women who were passionate about their organizations, and passionate about getting to know me from the inside out. Formal recruitment was one of my first memories at my university, and it is a memory that I will never forget.
Listen to your recruitment counselors. Your recruitment counselors, Gamma Chis, or whatever your school may call them will be your guides. They will text you important reminders throughout recruitment, they will get you where you need to go, and they will never lead you astray. Recruitment counselors choose to do what they do because they want the best for every single woman going through recruitment. Ask them questions, listen intently, and become their friend. You never know, they may just become one of your sisters.
Google is your best friend. Before formal recruitment began I googled what to wear, what to talk about, what not to talk about, and every other thing under the sun. There were articles upon articles telling you exactly how to go about recruitment. Don't worry, though, your recruitment counselors will be sure to go over this with you before entering any houses or rooms.
Trust the system. You will end up exactly where you are meant to end up, and that is all I have to say on the matter. It is a system, and all you have to do is be yourself.
Remember to have fun! Sorority recruitment is not designed to be stressful. You should be yourself, have fun, and make memories to last a lifetime. Every single woman that you talk to during recruitment has been in your shoes, and they are probably just as nervous as you are. After a few short days of recruitment, you will be able to claim a Greek organization as your own!
If it isn't for you, get out. There is absolutely no pressure to do it if you decide that you don't want to. I am not encouraging you to drop recruitment at the drop of a hat. What I am saying, though, is that in all reality Greek life isn't for everyone. But, if you opened this article, odds are your interest is sign enough that you are meant for Greek life.
So stop worrying, stop second guessing your decisions, and just go through recruitment. I guarantee you that you will absolutely never regret any decision that you made in the process.
