All throughout Rush Week, we were told millions of times by our Rho Gams to “trust the system” and as long as we did so, we would be pleased with which house we got at the end of the week. Unfortunately for me and many other girls going through Rush Week, the “system” did not play in our favor during Formal Recruitment. Many of my friends that went through formal recruitment did not receive a bid at the end of the week, myself included. I found this very confusing. I kept thinking about these awesome girls, how could they not receive a bid at the end of the week? We had all really wanted to be involved in Greek life, so I did not understand why it did not work out in our favor. Granted, the recruitment process at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln is extremely competitive, but I still was confused and mad at the “system” because I truly thought that I belonged in a Greek house!
Throughout the next month, I continued to remain angry, but now my anger was directed toward God. I saw girls on my floor and on my social media feeds that all got into houses and all the fun they were having. By this time, most of them were going through the Big/Little process, which was something I had looked forward to being a part of. I was angry at God because I thought He had taken away an opportunity that would have benefited my college career. I thought to myself, “God knows this was something I really wanted, why did He turn me away from this path?”
Looking back on that experience, it is clear to see why God steered me toward a different direction. He knew that I was not confident enough in my own skin to be successful in Greek life. I also did not have a strong enough relationship with Him yet to remain true to myself and my beliefs if I were to join a house. While it is easy to see now why I was not ready to participate in Greek life, at the time I was blind to the work that God was doing in my life. I know for a fact that if I joined a sorority then I would not have joined my school’s rugby team, which has been one of the most rewarding things I have done so far in college. I also do not think I would have created some of the relationships that I did on my floor.
So my advice to people going through formal recruitment, or any new experience, trust God, not the system. While it is true that the system is the earthly reason that people point to why I did not get into a sorority during formal recruitment, God is the Heavenly force behind it. Whether God’s plan for you involves Greek life, or if it involves something entirely different, trust Him. Ultimately, He knows what is best for us and will not lead us down a path that would hurt our relationship with Him. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
