If you’d asked me a year and a half ago whether I would ever join Greek Life, I would have said no. For the longest time, sororities just seemed like a place where I wouldn’t really belong. I’ve always kind of thought that you don’t rush (and you certainly don’t pledge) when you have a lesbian with a learning disability.
I’m not saying that for pity points. But to me, people in the Greek Life community always seemed to attract a certain type of people - your stereotypical members, for starters, followed by people who want to be involved in anything and everything on campus, followed by social people. Since I fit into none of those groups, it never occurred to me to rush as a freshman last year. I also had a lot of misconceptions about rushing, pledging, and the such. I assumed that mixers would have alcohol, your major had to be something like anthropology and sociology or something impressive like engineering or nursing. I could never really put my finger on it, but at the end of the day, I thought that there was just a certain type of person who would rush, and I didn’t have that something.
My opinion changed when I watched my friend Shawnee rush and eventually pledge to Tau Delta last year. She seemed really excited about joining a sorority, and wasn’t your conventional sorority sister. It made me wish that I had given rushing a chance. If she was happy with it (despite the amount of work), then wouldn’t it have made me happy?
This year I decided to rush. For the three weeks it covered, I was absolutely convinced that I wouldn’t get a bid from any sorority. It surprised me when I got three invitations to Novelty Parties, and even more so when all of those sororities invited me back to their Final Parties. During rush, I thought that I was too awkward or too quiet to be part of a sorority, because I still thought that sorority girls were supposed to be loud, funny, and social.
So, it really surprised me on Bid Day when I got a call saying I'd gotten a bid. It meant that a sorority had actually accepted me and wanted me to join their family and chapter (yes, I screamed into a pillow in delight).
I got a bid from EKT, and it was glorious. I knew when I went to their Novelty Party that I was clicking with their sorority the most. They were funny and weird and pulling it off, and I liked how goofy all the sisters were. It only made sense that I’d go through pledging because I’d finally found a place where I could belong.
