I’ve always considered myself to be a nonconformist. So, of course, my voice was one among the first to sound in the small ensemble of those marching to the beat of their own drum and respond with a sharp (possibly acrimonious) “No! I’m just not a sorority girl,” when the age-old question “Are you going to rush?” began to echo with annual familiarity through my first year residence hall.
“No!”
What were my reasons? If you had asked me then, I’m sure I would have been able to give you a very plain, opinionated justification for my non-participation in Greek life. In the following weeks, many of my new friends went through what they described as the hell of Formal Recruitment, and, at the end, accepted bids. That night, they returned home adorned in their new letters and the rosy flush of exhaustion and excitement on their newly-Greek cheeks. I, too, glowed proudly that night. I was proud of myself for maintaining my non-comformist, “too cool for school” mannerism while what seemed like a majority of the girls I knew had sold out and become part of the social scheme I looked down on.
I spent the remainder of my first year making friends in the residence halls and enjoying the family I fashioned for myself without really getting involved with many activities. My friends, some Greek, some independent, all lived in close proximity to me, which facilitated close bonds.
As excited as I was to be reunited with my friends, when I returned for second year, I no longer felt the close-knit sense of community and secure social network that I had experienced in my first year. It made me nostalgic for the sense of community and long for accountability, support, and structure I had not felt since my days on my high school dance team. My roommate, a member of a sorority, reminded me of what it is like to have people to see, places to go, things to do, and the value of such occupation. I decided it was time to spread my wings and break out of the warm, first-year social cocoon and start taking advantage of the endless opportunities available to me across campus.
I am not saying Greek Life is for everyone, or that it is even for me (though I have finally decided to give Greek a go), but I am saying that you never know until you try. These are our years to try new things and celebrate mistakes, whether that be a new sport, a club, practicing a new skill, or even Greek Life. Each experience, whether it ends in success or failure, brings us closer to our ultimate purpose, as college students, of discovering what we want. Someone once said, “to discover what you want, first you must discover what you don’t want.”
They say there is a little truth to every stereotype, and, alternatively, an exception to every rule. I assert that it is important to always indulge your curiosities, even if it requires a leap of faith. You never know what you may discover.
