Recruitment is going to be stressful. I feel that should be the first thing that is said in regard to this topic. That doesn’t mean it is bad, but it is a time where you are pushed out of your comfort zones and are constantly questioned about who you are and what you want.
You’re going to visit every house and question if it will be your new home for the next four years. You’ll wonder if these women could be your sisters and if they could want you.
Some will find the perfect house on day one and never question it. Others will take the whole week. Even more will decide that Greek life isn’t for them or that they want to experience college for a year before they decide.
This is the ever-changing battlefield you’re about to enter. But in this case the only thing your battling is yourself. Of course sororities will have their standards and you might get your heart set on one and get a bid from another, but you will one day find a home.
For me it was a little bit of an odd home. I went through recruitment with clear goals and an open mind. I had several houses that I had met at previous events and loved but none of them truly stood out.
On the first day after several houses I thought that I wouldn’t find a house that I fit into. At each house I was asked the same questions and didn't feel like I quite fit in. Before I went into DPHIE I was wondering if I had made a mistake going through recruitment. It all changed when I stepped foot inside of DPHIE. I was lead in by this girl who was the same height as me and was positively beaming.
We stood in the corner of the fraternity house and talked about video games, Game of Thrones and anime. Since recruitment was my first foray in to college I had yet to make friends and this girl was a symbol of hope for me. Hope that I could find somewhere that the members had similar interests or would help me to find new ones.
I wanted to find a home that was growing like me. It was weird for me walking out because I felt so happy in the house that everyone hated. I remember walking out smiling going to grab my purse and overhearing the girls in my group bash the home I had just found.
At first this really made me question whether DPHIE was worth joining. It didn’t seem cool and I was the only one in my group who enjoyed being there.
On my second day of recruitment I was dropped by all but two houses. At first my feelings were hurt because I didn’t know what caused me to get dropped. I had wonderful conversations with several of the houses.
But I quickly found myself caring less and less because they weren’t meant to be. Again I walked into the fraternity house and was led in by a member who was happy to be there. This time she was a calmer more elegant sorority woman who talked to me about what I wanted from college and who I thought I could be one day.
She asked me about my passions and my interests and unlike the day before in other houses where I often felt like I was being interrogated, I felt instead like I was having coffee with an old friend. Halfway through, they did a presentation on the philanthropies and right then I knew without a doubt where I wanted to spend my next four years.
After that point I felt as though I had made my decision and now it was time to just talk to people. I wanted DPHIE as my home and all I needed to do now was make sure they liked me enough back.
I went onto to meet four other wonderful women and found myself adding to the list of stereotypes I found. I noticed women of many different colors, religious backgrounds, weights and heights standing next to each other and smiling because they had a bond.
It was mind blowing to me that so many different types of people could work together to build something in such a short time. At the time I went through recruitment DPHIE was only on its third recruitment and it had already outgrown many long lasting non-Panhellenic Greek organizations.
After coming to the conclusion that DPHIE was it for me, it became easier to hear the jibes and complaints that followed every visit because I knew that it wasn’t their home and that was ok. Even though every time I said I wanted DPHIE everyone smirked or looked pitying at me, I still stood sure in my belief that DPHIE was for me. For me the hardest part of the race was over and now it was time to cross the finish line.
I will admit I may have cried when I opened my bid, at that point I was so happy to get the organization I wanted even though they were my only option left, the fact that they wanted me back was amazing.
I stood with the other women of my group who all had made different choices and found different homes and finally I felt like I fit in. I had found my place in an organization that was different, but I think that it was what made it different that made me fall in love.
That love has matured over the last two years, but it hasn’t been lost. Through the tough times and the best times I am still glad that I chose DPHIE and I am grateful everyday that DPHIE chose me.
So when you are at your peak of stress during recruitment, remember that it is all about where you feel the most comfortable. If you can see yourself standing next to the women in front of you through the rough patches and dancing next to them at formal then you are probably where you are meant to be, no matter what anyone else says.
