Sorority recruitment: a process unlike any other.

I signed up for recruitment months before I even got to school in the fall. I was an incoming college freshman who knew exactly what I wanted (or so I thought). I had a plan. I wanted to get involved and I wanted to have fun.

Three weeks into my very first semester, I dove into it fearlessly. With some high heels and some even higher expectations, I was all set and sure I was about to join the sorority of my dreams. You're told to "trust the process" and I did, until it didn't quite get me to where I thought I was supposed to be.

It was right about then that I started calling bullshit on this whole "process".

It was a harsh truth - the sororities I loved didn't really love me back, and I was heartbroken. But I live on to tell the story of that young and eager freshman girl - the girl who learned that things don't always go exactly as you expect them to, and how that alone can be the absolute greatest blessing.

It is now two years later. I stuck it out. I showed up. I gave it a try, and I am grateful everyday that I did.

I rarely look back, and if I do, it's only to see how far I've come.

I know now that I truly ended up where I was meant to be. I found my home. I found my people. I found myself.

If I didn't stay, if I ended up elsewhere - I would not be the person I am today.

I have met my partner in crime, roomies that make me laugh uncontrollably, my wonderful Big, my inspiring Little, and over one hundred other girls who I am proud to call sisters. I have transformed into a leader and someone who isn't afraid to speak up. I have enjoyed making a difference. I have embraced every moment.

It is recruitment season once again. I look around the room - this time, as Recruitment Chair for the chapter I now have such consuming love for. I look around at the faces of these eager and excited women. I wonder about where they will all end up. I wonder if they will "trust the process". The one I almost gave up on.

I pray that they do.

The "process" led me to so many things, but ultimately it led me straight to love, friendship, and happiness.

Not getting my favorite sorority felt like the end of the world at first, but little did I know, it was just the beginning. Because I may not have gotten into the sorority I thought I wanted, but that's more than okay, because I ended up with the sorority I truly needed.