At my University, there's only 6 sororities, which still feels like a whole lot. Our rush "week" is crammed into a high-stress, little to no sleep, sobfest weekend. Sounds like a blast, I know. I rushed freshman year which means I've been through recruitment three times. Once as the potential new member, or PNM, and twice as an active member of my sorority. To say I've hated every single recruitment is an understatement. When I rushed, there were only 5 sororities and after day 1 of recruitment, I got dropped by 4 of them. So safe to say I was one of those girls who hysterically sobbed all weekend, but I made it through and now I love it.
As someone who has also seen the other side of it, I can’t even lie, it’s quite brutal. Everything is very calculated and every little thing is planned. I can’t say too much as an active member in the off chance someone that reads this can get me put on behavioral risk (this wouldn’t even be the first time), but I want to share some insider scoop on why joining a sorority might be for you WITHOUT sugarcoating it.
Most people are under the impression that joining a sorority is like joining a cult. In a sense, yes it is like a cult but cult in the same way you would think of church. With church, there’s singing and certain rituals that have to be followed in a certain way, and there’s different prayers and such that you recite. Being in a sorority is basically exactly the same just with cuter, less modest outfits. Sororities all are very particular with the rituals to initiate you into it. Once you’re initiated, you can never join another sorority, even if you disaffiliate. The ritual process to get initiated is all scripted so it’s exactly the same for every chapter of that specific sorority. It seems freaky from an outside point of view but from the inside, it’s like 5% less creepy.
Sororities also have their own government. We have the President, then there’s a few vice presidents who all have their own branch under them. There is a position for almost everything you can think of and all of these people work together to keep the sorority running smoothly. These positions truly are like politics with people applying then fighting over the positions and then the sorority voting on election day. It’s honestly a great way to understand leadership and to find growth opportunities that will look good on your resume. I started in a small position which was Assistant to New Member Education. I also applied to a position connected to our national headquarters to be the 1899 Society Ambassador which is basically just another person who tries to get you to donate to the national foundation. Then when elections came around, sophomore year I became Vice President of Operations who is second in command to president. If you read my post about switching majors, you might be following along the time line, but basically you need a certain GPA to run for a position on the executive board so after failing two classes and tanking my GPA, I could not run for president like I planned. I had talked about being president since the first time I saw my sorority so this was truly heartbreaking. I was able to run for Director of Event Planning, which I currently still do, which means I got to plan our formal, as well as organize all of the parties. I also was feeling eager and ran for a position on the Panhellenic council which is a group of people from a few different sororities that are in charge of all the sororities, so basically congress. I was slated for two positions, one of them being president, but luckily I got the other position which is Vice President of Recruitment. Still a stressful position but as a rising senior I am starting to get sick of sorority stuff.
So now you can see why I’m talking about sororities. I have definitely gotten my money’s worth but not to fool you and make you think I’m some preppy girl who is just writing this blog to persuade you to join. That’s not the case at all. As involved and knowledgeable as I am, there are countless times that I have been Greek Life’s #1 hater. Like when I got screwed over cause my GPA was .2 under to run for president. I wanted to flame the world because what do you mean someone younger who has never had a leadership position is going to be president cause her GPA is better when I have all this time and experience and just because I had a rough patch with MicroEconomics means I won’t be a better fit for president? I also am a big hater of a lot more things but like I said, I don’t want to be on behavioral risk again. The first time was literally because I made a joking tik tok about talking crap on my sorority. Everyone who knows me knows I was our biggest fan and that was my villain origin story.
Last thing I want to touch on is not joining a sorority because you think you’re ugly and fat. Okay that was blunt but I’m only saying that cause I was in the same boat. I can go on and on talking about all the reasons you should love yourself and your natural beauty, and you should, but i’m also gonna be straight up. STOP JOINING SORORITIES THAT YOU HAVE TO MOLD YOURSELF INTO SOMEONE YOU ARE NOT. I see people do this all the time. I hear stuff like, “I need to buy some leather so blah blah blah will like me and let me join.” NO. Wear the clothes you like, do your hair how you want to, and act like your normal, authentic self and the sorority that loves you for you is the one to go for. My sorority has so many mixed personalities and I’m friends with girls who have hot pink rooms and wear heavy makeup as well as girls with multiple face piercings who only wear black. I found a sorority that I didn’t have to play dress up to get them to like me. I just acted like my weird self and they loved me. Find the one that doesn’t make you question anything because at the end of the day, these are your new friends so why would you join one with a bunch of girls you have nothing in common with? Yes they might have a cute leather jacket with shiny hair but then you go to have a conversation with them and you feel like you have to put a mask on to fit in. Join one that you can stand out and be yourself.
I can keep going on for days but basically, if you’re thinking about joining, just do it. Be bold and courageous and try something new. Pro tip: If you’re getting weird vibes from the one you accepted a bid from, as long as you drop before initiation you can rush again 1 year later. Don’t beat yourself up though over the process. My friend’s sister rushed a few months ago and she sobbed because she only got her bottom choice back. If you ask her now, she’s obsessed with her sorority. She loves her big, and she wears their merch. It all worked out because she had an open mind, and trusted the process. So keep your mind and your heart open and trust that it’ll work out cause joining a sorority truly is one of the highlights of my college experience.
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