The air is filled with the anticipation of the fall semester, optimism is high, and formal recruitment is looming right around the corner. Oh, recruitment. If there was ever a love/hate relationship, it’s the one that every sorority girl has with these two weeks. However, the stress of recruitment isn’t just limited to that one anticipated week; it starts in the middle—or for those procrastinators—at the end of summer. What could I possibly be talking about? Two words: recruitment shopping.
This could quite possibly be the single, most difficult challenge to exist in the world of monograms and Lily Pulitzer. The naive soul asks: how hard could it be to pick out a couple of pastel colored blouses? You poor, innocent person, prepare yourself, because I am about to take you on the daunting journey of recruitment shopping. Some aren’t lucky enough to make it out of recruitment shopping, at least with their sanity, or their wallet.
The day has arrived. You get your assigned recruitment colors for each day, and the sorority goddesses were in your favor. You were given all of the colors you were hoping for. Finally—time to go shopping.
You start out optimistic and excited. You have your coffee in hand, friends in tow, and hearts full of anticipation and uncrushed dreams.
You can practically see your sisters and yourself looking fabulous as ever—clapping and synchronized side-stepping in your perfectly coordinated pastel dresses. Holding onto that vision, you walk into the mall with your mission in mind and credit card in hand.
You head into the first store; your demeanor is calm and collected. You got this. This is going to be a piece of cake (low-cal cake, of course).
After ten minutes of skimming, you found your first recruitment outfit. It's perf.
Like the good little sorority girl you are, you snap a selfie in the dress and send it to the almighty Recruitment Chair for approval.
Your phone buzzes and you eagerly pull it out, prepared for whatever compliment she sent back.
"Sorry, but Philanthropy Day colors are baby pink, and that is clearly petal pink."
Okay. Not what you expected, but you win some and you lose some, right? You shake it off and head back into the depths of Forever 21.
An hour later and the fourth outfit has been sent and rejected. Your optimism flies out the window and you start to seriously reconsider your sanity and your fashion sense.
At this point, the recruitment chair even stops replying.
So, you take a much needed break from this retail torture. You head to the food court to drown your sorrows in a plate of carbs and grease, completely abandoning your summer diet.
With a bloated stomach and a heavy heart, you head into another store. You find a top that looks pretty close to the complicated turquoise-but-not-quite-turquoise color you've been assigned, and you send it off to the recruitment chair for its inevitable rejection.
She replies...
You have to hold onto the fitting room door so you don't faint from the shock. She likes it?
You give yourself a little celebration.
You head over to the checkout line with your prized possession. The cashier casually announces your grand total, and all of the celebrating you've been doing disappears faster than leftover pizza after happy hour. HOW MUCH?
You reach into the dark depths of your wallet, and reluctantly hand over the money, holding back a tear (or two) while you do so. The image of your parents' reaction when they see your bank statement flashes through your head as the receipt prints out of the evil cash register.
Emotionally and physically exhausted, you leave the mall with what little dignity and money you have left, and all but collapse upon your arrival home.
You admit defeat, and resort to what you should've done all along: online shopping. Even though something is bound to be delivered later than expected...
...or fits a little tighter than you would have hoped...
You know it'll be okay, because despite what the movies portray, recruitment isn't about perfectly manicured nails, color-coordinated blouses, or the catchy door chants.
It's about finding genuine sisters and friendships to strengthen the chapter you love.
