Going through recruitment is like no other experience. I went through completely blindsided, completely shocked at the loud chanting and speed dating like conversations. Through the whole process though I realized one thing, I'm not a typical sorority girl.
I had never heard of Lilly Pulitzer or Jack Rogers, before college and I had never worn bean boots a day in my life, yet the day I stepped onto a college campus that was all about to change.
Some people may be different, some people may have been groomed their whole life to be a legacy and some may have decided to completely encompass the sorority life from an early age. That is the beauty of Greek life though, the diversity. The diversity is what makes Greek life great. From athletes to student council, Greek life will surprise you with the amount of involvement on campus.
I honestly didn't understand Greek life before actually being apart of it, and I definitely didn't 'trust' the system like they told me to throughout recruitment. I decided to go Greek when I was working as a lifeguard over the summer and a friend was in Greek life at another school. The way they talked about it made it seem more appealing than a pop culture movie did.
I went through recruitment wearing clothes I felt comfortable in, not clothing I spent my whole summer savings on. I went through recruitment being myself and not someone that I thought they wanted to know. Most importantly I went through recruitment not expecting anything.
I listened to the stereotypes, I heard what they said, and honestly I'm looking back and there's one thing that I've realized. It wasn't the actual sororities who spread the ridiculous stereotypes overheard while standing in alphabetical order waiting for stiff conversation with sororities. It was fellow girls going through recruitment that based their opinion on one girl and chose to keep a closed mind for the rest of the day.
BE YOURSELF.
Needless to say, keep an open mind because you might surprise yourself. Going Greek isn't about trying to fit in where you don't, but rather finding where you do fit. Everyone going through recruitment is looking for different things and the sooner you figure out what those things are that you want out of recruitment, the sooner you can see where it is you want to spend the next 4 years of college, and even further if you choose. The people you meet in Greek life will become some of the closest friends you'll ever have.
Being on the other side of recruitment this year I can tell you two things. First, keep an open mind, never get your hopes set on one Greek organization because there could be another one that fits who you are better. Second, being someone else is only going to result in you being somewhere you don't feel like you can be yourself. Being in a sorority is about so much more than taking Instagram pictures in a sorority squat with your "sisters."
