All across America, the Greeks are getting ready for recruitment. The men are filling up their solo cups and planning how to get PNM's as trashed as they can so they can pledge their organization and the women are waking up at 5 am to curl their hair and make sure they are looking like they are about to meet the Queen.

The first month of college all of Greek Row is buzzing with the chants from the sororities trying to impress the new members. This year was my first year on the other side of the table; participating in recruitment instead of going through it. I was on the programming committee for this year's recruitment which means that we did all of the behind the scenes things that help make things run smoothly.

That means that we run errands, research girls weeks in advance, take the votes, make powerpoints, really anything that will help upstairs run smoothly is our job. The third night or recruitment, the first night when the chapter came together to vote on the PNM's, I was inspired by how strong my sisters are.

For those that don't know, we have to sit and wait until every single girl is scored and we vote on her... after the last party.... usually after 10 pm. For recruitment, the breaks that we have are the quick 20 minutes between parties and we have to be at the house around 7 am every morning. I want to see the men do that. Show up at 7 am, be on your feet yelling, chanting, and talking for hours on end, and then staying up until 1-2am in the morning then doing it all over again.

That is what we do and it has honestly made me feel closer to my sisters. We are all in the same boat and so are all the other sororities. We all are exhausted and then have to show up looking amazing and acting happy for all of the PNM's and I do not think that there is a single fraternity anywhere that has the stamina or ability to do that and have every member participate.

That's another thing. We are all participating. There is not a single girl that is sitting in the corner doing nothing. We have no phones and are sitting around, usually in our basements, to vote on girls and listen to other people talk for hours and we always contribute.

It is a rough process because of the personal connections that we might have with a PNM or a strong feeling that we have one way or another about that PNM. Part of the struggle is the fact that we need to trust our sisters. There is no way that every girl can talk to every PNM and so when it comes to voting, we need to be able to throw faith into our sister's hands and trust that they are going to judge the girl right and pick people that are going to advance our chapter and make us better. In addition to all the talking and trusting, we are strong... physically.

Who do you think is lugging all the folding chairs up from the basement and back down again like 6 times in a day? Who do you think is shoving tables and couches aside to move other furniture away and totally rearranging our houses so that it is just so? Yea, not men. Us. Our sisters.

Being in a sorority is hard itself but the girl drama and everything that comes with it also plays a role during recruitment but during recruitment is when our sisters shine the most. It is when we all put aside the pettiness we might have and all of our individual feelings because we know that picking the future of our chapter is more important.

On preference day, sisters can make speeches or tell stories about personal struggles or share how sisters have helped them and do it in front of complete strangers. I know that it is hard to do but it is also a good reminder to our sisters listening about just how important their love and support is.

Sorority women get so much shit because the outside world thinks that we haze everyone and all of the horrible things that the movies and media make us out to do. This makes people trust us less and judge us more, but it just makes things harder all around. You could be proud in your letters and if you didn't have an army of sisters behind you, you would probably be feeling a lot less confident.

There are so many of us that deal with mental illnesses, recognized or not, and so many other family and personal issues that we sometimes have to push back for the importance of other things but we still stay and help each other.

I cannot see anyone else as strong as sorority women. We are a united few and that is what is able to keep us going. I know that I am so grateful to have been on this side of recruitment because it has made me see a different side of my sisters that I would have never seen otherwise.

I love them so much more, feel so much more connected and loved by them, and I am also reminded that they will always be there for me. I just hope that my personal sisters, my Alpha O sisters, and my PHA sisters know that I am so proud of them for everything that we have accomplished, from our amazing founders breaking barriers for women's rights to us today recruiting women who will be making a difference. I am blessed and proud to be wearing my letters on my back and you should be too.