So it’s your first week in a brand new place with new friends and new sights to see. Maybe it’s even your first week away from your parents and the comforts of your hometown? Undoubtedly, your first weeks at college are filled with adjustments and change, but on top of that you’re now going to go through the time old tradition that is sorority recruitment? Talk about a wake up call.

While endless fears based on both terrifying and humiliating horror stories may be rushing through your head at this very minute, have no fear college freshman. As an experienced sorority member and college senior (tear, tear), I am here to help put your mind at ease. No, I don’t care that you’re wearing last year’s Lilly Pulitzer print or that your nails don’t match your outfit perfectly. Step away from your closet and take a deep breath. While this may sound like a surprise, the stereotypical sorority experience depicted by the media and television isn’t always what one can expect to find in the real world. So I’m saying sorority stereotypes aren’t really all they are cracked up to be? Yes. I know, groundbreaking.

Well, what can you expect exactly?

Yes, Rush week will be one of the craziest, scariest, and all the while most exciting weeks of your college career. You will laugh, you may cry, you may even think that your life is officially over as you know it. But fret-not, Class of 2018. Take it from someone who has experienced both sides of the recruitment process and trust me when I say, “Everything will be okay and things happen for a reason.” No, I swear I am not your mother on the other end of the phone or some cliché quote you can find on Pinterest.      

So you may think that the world is ending when you don’t end up in the same sorority as your bestie roomie? 

Take it as an opportunity to branch out of your comfort zone (and your room) to meet new people and introduce them to your bestie. Next thing you know your friend group has doubled and you have a dozen friends to walk to class, go shopping, and study all night for that final with.      

Well what happens when you get dropped from what you think is your absolute-number-one favorite sorority and your hopes and dreams of happiness are instantly crushed?

Okay, go ahead, you’re allowed to cry for like 30 seconds, but after your pity party is over, wake up and realize that maybe it wasn’t going to be the best fit for you. Sororities are organizations for making life-long friendships, expanding your horizons, getting involved in your communities, and finding out what interests you. The best sorority for you is the one whose members share the same interests and values as you. I can confidently say that you will be happiest where you most feel like yourself. Who really wants to spend four years pretending they are something that they aren’t anyway?      

With the summer winding to an end and the fall semester approaching, I know so many of you are beginning to ponder and anticipate the coming of your first semester of college and all the new experiences that come with it. So for all of you going through Rush week, please heed this tiny little piece of advice. Next time you find yourself analyzing which pair of Tory Burch sandals you are going to wear with your Philanthropy round outfit, instead turn your thoughts inward and think about what drives you as a person, for that will always point you in the right direction and help guide you to the sorority where you truly belong.