We’re nervous… SO nervous.
As a PNM, you hear the phrase “They are so much more nervous than y’all are!” more times than you can count, but I personally never believed it. That was, until, I was anxiously waiting to pick up the stranger at the door that could essentially become my next sister. We want every girl to see exactly why we love our organization so much, but we have so many doubts when it comes to ourselves. What if she doesn’t like me? What if I run out of things to talk about? So, PNM’s, trust us when we say we really are more nervous than you are, and you’ll only understand that when you’re on the other side of things.
Recruitment is a lot more than cute t-shirts and chants.
That’s not to say they don’t matter, because we definitely want you to have our chants stuck in your head all day and, let’s be honest, who doesn’t love cute t-shirts? But those are not the purpose of recruitment week. Look past the songs and the outfits and listen to what the sister in front of you is saying. She joined her organization for a reason and I promise you it wasn’t because of anything superficial. And who knows? The reason she joined could be a lot similar to what you’re looking for out of a sisterhood!
This is when you really figure out what kind of girls you want in your sorority.
When I think about my sisters, a lot of words come to mind: Kind. Selfless. Generous. Loving. Fun. Confident. And that’s just to name a few. So, when I’m having conversations with PNM’s, it’s pretty easy to tell what girls want to join a sorority for status and those who want to join for a genuine sisterhood, even if it’s only small talk. Notice how that list of words doesn’t include “perfect.” My sisterhood, and hopefully most women’s sisterhoods, don’t look for perfection. I want to know your passions and how you like to spend your time, not what your GPA is or what kind of car you drive.
I learned to respect my older sisters.
A lot of times, older sisters can be a little tougher on the younger sisters, but for good reason. They have learned so much from years of repetition and want to pass that wisdom down to as many girls as possible. They know what looks good, and they know what works best and also what doesn’t. I had a lot of questions being on this side of recruitment, and I turned to my older sisters for advice. So, younger members, respect your older sisters critique. They’ve done this plenty of times before and know a few more things than you do, so trust what they have to say!
There’s never a time to feel closer to your sisters than now.
Spending a full two weeks together, day in and day out, will really strengthen the bonds of sisterhood in more way than you could ever imagine. This time of year is so important because once classes start back, reality sets in, and life gets hard. A sisterhood isn’t perfect all the time, and there are rough patches. Thankfully, during those hard times, I can reflect back on the tears, the heart to hearts, and all of the inside jokes that happened during times like this and remember why I joined in the first place.
“We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.”
