Sorority recruitment is a lot like speed dating. Individually, you talk to approximately 115 potential new members during the week. Eventually, they all start blending together. The same questions are asked and women are constantly answering with the same responses as in other chapters. It's a blind date's worst nightmare: awkward silences and nothing in common.

I think all people can relate to the feeling of having your first crush back in middle school. First, you have butterflies. Next, you find yourself thinking about him non-stop. Then, you become high-key obsessed. That's sorority recruitment in a nutshell.

"What's your major?" "What did you do this summer?" "Where are you from?" "What did you do in high school?" All these questions are undoubtedly asked at each house during recruitment; it's inevitable. It's hard to smile and act excited when the same rehearsed and repeated answers roll off your tongue.

A "rush crush" is a term used to describe that one unique potential new member that leaves a lasting memory. Ten minutes is an extremely short amount of time to learn everything there is to know about a stranger. It takes an extra special person to break outside the norms of interview questions and create a conversation that actually makes each person actually enjoy themselves.

Rarely and most remarkably, women will walk into your life and change the way you view the world. Those people are extraordinary. Those are the people that bring you pure joy in the midst of a week of pain, agony, and high-strung emotions. Those people are the reason why recruitment is worth it in the end.

Rush crushes appear on both sides of recruitment, both the active member of a chapter and a potential new member. My first rush crush occurred when I was going through recruitment as a freshman. She was the type of person that cared so genuinely about everything I had to say. We bonded over our passions, and ultimately, I was heartbroken when I didn't get to be her sister. On the other side of recruitment this year, I told myself that I wouldn't become too attached. However, two days later, I found myself with yet another rush crush. We had the type of conversation where we had very little in common, yet we talked as if we had known each other our entire lives. We bonded over family, love, and life, and ultimately, I was heartbroken when I didn’t get to have her as my sister.

Breaking up with rush crushes is the worst feeling at the end of a long and strenuous week. Sometimes, though, rush crushes do become sisters, and then they become Bigs and Littles. When that does happen, it's magic. It is a gift in itself to find someone that truly understands you and wants to constantly learn more about you.

Never regret rush crushes. Sometimes, all you need is one solid conversation to keep yourself alive and thriving for the rest of the week. Besides, she might become your sister.