If you had told me senior year of high school that I would soon be a member of a sorority, I would've laughed at you. Not that I had anything against Greek life - I didn't know enough about it to form an opinion.
From what I had seen and heard, it just wasn't for me. I spent four years of high school trying to avoid anything even remotely resembling a "swap" or a "social" and now I was expected to voluntarily pay money for them?
Besides, the idea of being defined by a few letters creeped me out.
But when summer rolled around, something started to happen. Instead of enjoying their last few months at home, my friends were spending all their time freaking out about rush, or as it's formally known, sorority recruitment. They didn't have enough recommendations, their new Lilly Pulitzer dress just didn't fit quite right or, God forbid, someone Instagrammed a picture of them with a drink in their hand.
At first I was actually embarrassed for them. How could someone spend so much time worrying about something so trivial? But then I realized-when we started school in the fall, I would be the only person I knew who was not involved in the Greek system. I had no idea how I would spend my time or even who I would spend it with.
So, very begrudgingly, I signed up for recruitment.
On the first day, I tried to have a positive attitude. How bad could it be? I mean, thousands of girls do it every year, right? But as soon as I got to my first party, I knew I was in for a rough week. I was met at the door by a group of jumping, screaming girls. The looks on their faces were somewhere between "Oh my gosh, I'm so excited you're here!" and "Oh my gosh, I'm clinically insane!"
I went from party to party, having the same conversations.
"Wait, you're a journalism major? No way! My sister's friend's boyfriend's cousin majored in journalism!"
The whole thing stressed me out. The word "awkward" is thrown around a lot these days, but there really is not a better word to describe how I behave in situations like this. I was tired, sweaty and annoyed. While the other girls in my Pi Chi group giddily discussed which sororities they wanted to keep and wanted to drop, all I really wanted to do was nap.
Half way through the week, I got sick. I can't tell you if it was because I was actually sick, or because my body literally couldn't handle the stress I was under.
So I quit.
It wasn't that difficult of a decision. I hated Recruitment, so I was bound to hate being in a sorority. A couple weeks of school went by and everything was fine. All my friends were busy getting to know their new pledge sisters, but I had classes to worry about so I didn't really notice. Eventually, however, I started to get kind of lonely.
Then I got an email about continuous open bidding, or a very informal version of Recruitment. The way it works is you get to know a couple members of a sorority, and if they like you, they give you a bid. Still unsure about the whole thing, I put my name on the list.
The first sorority to contact me happened to have been my favorite during recruitment. The conversation had been easy, or as easy as forced conversation can be and I had a very personal connection to its philanthropy. After a couple days, I accepted their bid.
After all this, I still wasn't sure I made the right decision.
Everyone I met seemed so confident, well mannered and polished all the time. I didn't know if I would ever be able to fit in with this crowd.
Pretty soon, though, I realized there were girls in my pledge class that were just as weird and lost as me.
I'm now great friends with people I never would've met if I hadn't joined a sorority.
So, in the end, it was the best choice for me.
However, just because it was right for me doesn't mean it will be right for someone else.
There's a common misconception, especially for women in the south, that you have to be in a sorority.
That if you're not in one, you don't have an identity.
That somehow you're an incomplete person if you don't have Greek letters on your t-shirt.
Those things are absolutely, without a doubt, not true.
Yes, joining a sorority has a lot of benefits. Members form great friendships, do a lot of hard work for deserving philanthropies and tend to have relatively high GPAs.
But there are so many other ways to get involved at Auburn. Don't feel pressured to do something you don't want to do just because it feels like you have to.
I love the people I've met through my sorority, and I'm proud to wear my letters. But those things are not the end-all, be-all of my existence and they most certainly do not define me.
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