We were all there. The planning, the late nights, the early mornings. Rough days. Singing. Laughing. All of it. Recruitment was a whirlwind and, despite sometimes being overly tired and starving, I am so thankful I was a part of it on the other side. Now that it's over, what is there to do? Let me tell you.

1. Wear sneakers and flats and comfortable shoes.

There's truly nothing quite like wearing heels for nine hours. Granted, sometimes it was in increments, but nonetheless it was a struggle that we all went through. The blisters, the pain, the chipped nail polish. We saw it all and conquered it all.

2. Talk to your friends who were going through recruitment.

This is the best part. And the second best is finding out where they have found their home. It often doesn't matter as much as to where because you can finally talk to them about it. You never truly know how difficult it can be not talking to a best friend/roommate until you can't for a two-week span.

3. Go to class and not feel like dying.

Yep, this is what it feels like at your 8 a.m. when you're running on little sleep, forgot breakfast and ate a peach for dinner the night before, downing coffee left and right (when you don't even like it that much), and when you're stressing about your five other classes at one time. It's safe to say I've never felt something quite like this. Even though I now can sit peacefully in class with a full night's sleep and a tummy full of oatmeal, I do miss the feeling...sometimes.

4. Write in your planner and double check due dates.

It seems like you literally have no time for anything, even writing in your planner. I write just about everything in my planner and, wouldn't you know it, I forgot to write that a paper was due in the class I was an hour away from sitting in. I didn't have time to write it, nor did I remember having our professor say it/look in the syllabus. But now, I have all the time in the world to double-check due dates and make sure I'm on time if not early with my assignments.

5. Eat some food.

This is such a huge thing now. After losing four pounds during recruitment due to the dedication and small doses of snacks, I am so happy I can eat dinner every night. Although during the time I didn't realize how hungry I was because I was meeting such wonderful young women, looking back I am so shocked at how we all lasted with so little. It's quite impressive really.

6. Sleep for a full night.

This is very different from sleeping in. Sleeping in is often a choice while getting a full night of sleep can often be necessary to living life. I honestly cannot fathom not sleeping a good eight hours, but then again I don't function well with little sleep. Let's just all be thankful we can sleep a decent amount and not worry about waking up early to curl hair/do makeup/look presentable when we went to bed five hours ago.

Even though all of these things are nice, recruitment was definitely one of the best times I have had so far in college. I am so lucky to have been with my sisters during these coffee-less and sleep-deprived times because it truly made us all closer.

I wouldn't trade it for the world.