Recently having gone through sorority recruitment, I had several thoughts about why I wanted to join a sorority as I was asked that question several times. The first time someone asked me this, I thought to myself, "Why am I doing this?" Long days of surface level conversations with girls, walking 10,000 Fit Bit steps in heels, going to bed at 2 A.M. and waking up at 8 A.M., and the ambiguity that I faced at the end of each day. Part of it was for my friends, part if it was for a reputation, and a whole lot of it was just me being selfish.
I am so excited to have been able to go through recruitment this year. I love meeting new people and getting excited when I find someone who I have something in common with. I'm excited to discover a small community in a big school. I'm excited to spend quality time with tons of sisters who I can make the world a better place with, and who will support me in all of my other extra curricular activities (Woo hoo, go KD!!) What I'm not excited for is the comparison, pain, and heartbreak that some girls endure during this process.
On the first day of recruitment, I found myself wondering, "What kind of outfit should I wear to impress this sorority?" After changing my outfit a million times, I gained the courage to put on an outfit that I actually liked, an outfit that matched my personality, an outfit that I would actually wear. I'm sure other girls probably did the same. Here's the thing: I don't want to get my worth or acceptance from a sorority. I don't want to pretend to be someone I'm not to try and fit in with a group that I heard was really cool. I don't want to go through this process of recruitment to end up somewhere where the girls aren't anything like me because I pretended to be someone that I'm not.
While it is a wonderful thing that I am so excited and happy to be a part of, my sorority is not where I want to get my worth from. I do not get my worth from a bad grade that I made on a test. I do not get my worth from my friends or family, and I do not get my worth from my selfish thoughts. We should not get our worth from our college acceptances, sororities, jobs, activities, or any other worldly ideal that can separate us so much from our heavenly Father.
Ultimately I get my worth from God, and God alone. Our world is so focused on bigger and better things, and we are constantly trying to be people pleasers. But God doesn't ask us to be pleasers. What he does ask is that we love, we care, and we put forth our best efforts all for His glory. That we be humble, compassionate, and patient. While I don't always remember this, and while I often stray off path of where the Lord wants me to be, I cling confidently to the fact that I am worth so much more to the One who truly matters, and who has given me every opportunity that I have.
Let your worth be more than the insignificant opinions of others. Let it be even more than a sorority or grades or a job. Let it be something immaculately bigger than our worldly distractions. Let it be more than yourself.
“I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I'm more afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter.” -Bob Goff
