Recruitment is a process. For some people it's a fun time, other people dread it. It is all about what you put into it and what you want for your chapter. It's many hours of singing, talking, and going up many flights of stairs. This process is almost like the stages of grief.
Wait, it is almost exactly like the five stages of grief.
DAY 1: DENIAL
Today is the day you all have been preparing for! You are so excited and nervous to see all of the girls going through recruitment! You get to talk to many girls that you could potentially have in your "family" and become best friends with! It's all fun and games until you realize that you have talked to over one-hundred women in twelve hours, and realize you have four more days.
DAY 2: ANGER
You ask yourself: "Why did I decide to put myself into a sorority and why does it take so much work to find new members?" You just have to remind yourself that the better days are yet to come! But the early mornings... late nights... minimal breaks... starting to lose your voice...
DAY 3: BARGAINING
It's house tour day! For some people, it is their favorite day of recruitment, for others, it just means a lot of stairs. This is where you talk to your VP of recruitment and try and get out of the process, but it doesn't work. You are all on short hours of sleeping and are tired of looking pretty all day every day. But these are the days where you really get to talk to some girls and this is where you get into trouble with "Rush Crushes."
DAY 4: DEPRESSION
We have all gone through it. We have all felt this pain. We have all waited to hear this special name being called off. We have all had a Rush Crush while going through recruitment. You talk to them briefly, but you feel as if you have known them your whole life. They are perfect, and then they are gone. THEY DON'T COME BACK. You wonder to yourself, "What did I do wrong?" You tell all of your friends that she isn't returning and they feel for you because you talked all about her the night before. Ugh, these girls are the ones who you loved but hurt you the most. These are the girls you also secretly root for when you see which chapter they end up in. This sounds crazy, I know, but we are all guilty.
DAY 5: ACCEPTANCE
BID DAY!! You get your babies!!! New members!! You have new people to hang out with and brand new best friends! It's so exciting to see them run to your chapter. You have accepted your heartbreak over your rush crush and have found a whole group of perfect girls that are there and want to be in your chapter! It's so exciting seeing all new girls in your chapter. You have finally finished recruitment and all of the pressure is off. You can all breathe again, and show your new babies around!
Primary recruitment is a very crazy process. It is something that you prepare for so long, and you think is never going to end. It is also a very rewarding process where you get to see all of the work that your sisters went through to get these perfect new members.
Happy Recruitment!
