This year was my first year going through on the other side and it has been an eye opener to say the least. When I went through as a potential new member I had no idea how much work had to be put into the short couple of days that we got to meet everyone. 

Now that I have experienced recruitment from both sides, I now understand it a little better. But I still have so many ideas and opinions on the process. So many things could change for the better of Greek life as a whole. 

The reason I went through recruitment in the first place was because it was expected of me, I was a double legacy. I didn't think it was going to be for me, but if it wasn't for my mom forcing me to go through, I wouldn't have so many of the great memories that I have with all of my sisters. I have no regrets about going through, but now that I see it from the other side, I see how much potential there is for the process to become better.

To start, I think that it is kind of crazy that it is only four days. How are you supposed to get to know a girl in four days? It took me months to get to know all of the girls in my pledge class and in the rest of my sorority. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the recruitment process should be months, but let's face it, every organization has that one person that does not represent well and ends up quitting anyway. So, why not take more time to get to know the girls so that we can sort the great ones that will do so much for the organization from the bad ones that never really lead anyone to do anything good. If we would just spend more than a couple days trying to get to know people, retention rates wouldn't be so bad. Why don't we spend less time on skits and songs and more time on meaningful conversations and lasting impressions?

There are tons of people who could benefit Greek life, but are too scared thinking that they have to blindly jump in. And with the process as it is now, they kind of do. I think that if the process were longer and more intimate, people could really get the feel of just how great each organization really is. It is terrifying walking into a room full of beautiful girls in beautiful dresses that ask you questions like "what do you hope to get out of this experience" that is super intimidating! Instead we should have more casual get togethers where people can have real conversations and if you want to speak to someone for longer amounts of time, you can do that. I just think 30 minutes to speak to five girls is ridiculous, especially because that can be really repetitive. I think the retention rate for sororities would be a lot better this way because then they would know exactly what they were getting into and they would be able to benefit greek life as a whole for all four years.