Prior to starting college, everyone told me that rushing at my school was laid back, easy, and generally enjoyable. Tempted by the promises of instantly having 200 best friends and a slew of alumni support after graduation, I made the decision to try out Greek Life and rush.
In the weeks leading up to rush, I obsessed over every single detail of my outfits. I practiced doing my makeup, Pinterest-ed rush interview tips - I felt ready... until I actually got to recruitment.
The first day of rush was extremely overwhelming. I met more people in that one day than I ever had in my entire life, and I was exhausted at the end of the day. My first two days, while super tiring, generally went well - if you ignore the fact that I was molding myself into a person I was not (which is a pretty big point, I must say).
I found myself nearly faking a Southern accent at certain houses, obsessing over my hair, and worrying about what people would think about what I had to say rather than me saying whatever was on my mind.
The moment I opened my envelope with my itinerary for the night, my heart sank - I only had one sorority on my itinerary, while everyone else had two that they were absolutely in love with. My immediate instinct was to grab my recruitment counselor and sit in the hallway and cry. I had a face full of makeup and I was wearing one of my nicest dresses, but none of that seemed to matter anymore. I was devastated.
After nearly 30 minutes of intense crying, I signed the recruitment drop-out form, and I changed into my t-shirt and spandex from earlier in that same hallway (one of my proudest accomplishments to date, to be quite honest!) because I didn’t want to face the embarrassment of talking to girls in the bathroom about why I was dropping.
Later that night, I called my friend in tears, and she walked me back to my dorm after we stopped at Chick-Fil-A to treat myself to a large milkshake.
My first month of college was rough. I was still recovering from the emotional effects that rush had on me. Girls proudly wore their letters everywhere, making me wonder what they had that I didn't have. It seemed as though every single person but me was in a sorority and somehow knew each other, while I was the odd one out who had to find friends on my own.
Living on East campus, I saw girls get ready for their date nights every Thursday night, while I was in my room trying to get a good night of sleep after staying up too late working on Wednesdays. I was more hung up on the fact that I was missing out on so much by not being a part of Greek life that I didn't realize how many really amazing friends I had made in that month.
Now, almost a year later, I can openly tell the story of my last night of recruitment with a laugh, including the part about where I changed clothes in a hallway. I've found friends at Tech who have lifted me whenever I felt down and have made my first year of college as great as it has been. Some are in sororities and fraternities, some aren't. Whether or not someone participates in Greek life no longer matters to me anymore.
I've also met many people who were in the same boat as I was during rush. Like me, they just wanted to find a home away from home and find a good support system while in a completely new environment known as college but didn't end up finding that in a sorority.
Before you think that I am bashing on Greek life, let me say this-this is just my experience with rush. Everybody's experience is different, but I personally think that my first semester would have gone better had I not rushed. I would have focused more on connecting with people in general, rather than paying attention to the Greek community at Tech.
I'm lucky enough to have still found that home and have still have made memories that I'll hold close to my heart during my freshman year here. The only difference is, mine doesn’t come with the price tag of thousands of dollars just to wear three Greek letters on a frocket.
