So you didn't get the office or leadership position you wanted, and now you probably have time to actually go through and read articles (like this one) that relate to your personal life. With most sorority, fraternity and other organization elections coming up, campaigning and voting is occupying a lot of our minds. We all want to have a say in our chapter, and it gets even weirder when you are running against your friends. It was so easy in high school when they just gave you the offices you wanted or you ran unopposed, but now that everyone is in college it's 10 times harder. People actually care about holding leadership positions all of a sudden, and we are all fighting to have another resume booster. Things are competitive, and people get mean because we are all competing for the same things. And the worst part about it is that the same person gets everything. Once you have one leadership position, then people recognize and remember you from that club, and then they vote for you in all the other clubs and organizations that you are a part of. It is a major domino effect, but it's really great for that one person. However, the rest of us are forced to sit on the sidelines whether we like it or not.
Do not get me wrong, the other person that got the position you wanted is probably totally qualified in every way and is probably way more qualified than you (sorry to break the news, but there is a good reason why you lost). However, it's hard to admit to yourself that people just did not want you running your organization, even if it was just a small position. It has nothing to do with whether or not they like you either, it is just that they thought the other person is more qualified, which they probably are. It gets a little tricky when the person you are running against is in your same Greek affiliation, is somewhat equal to you, and you were probably in the same pledge class, yet here we are putting it up to vote on who has more authority than the other.
The real purpose of this article is to remind you to move on. There is no reason to dwell on whether or not you got that leadership position. Life is more than resume boosters and honor societies. In the moment, it seems like you just cannot move on or show up at another meeting for this organization because it's too embarrassing, but trust me it is going to be okay. Take it from someone who has literally tried for everything that has ever come her way and lost most of the time. You are probably still going to get hired and be successful in life with or without this insignificant leadership position. Twenty years from now, you are not going to sit on your front porch sipping mimosas reminiscing on your college experience because you were scholarship chair for a random organization. Instead, you are going to sit there thinking about how much fun you had with your best friends. So don't worry about losing this time. Maybe you will win next time, and if you don't, who cares? You are going to have more free time (and more importantly, nap time,) than that person anyway.
