Going through recruitment to be in a sorority can be nerve racking at best. It consists of meeting countless woman in a minimal span of time, and during that time you want to get across to the ladies who you are and why they should want you to be part of their sisterhood.
The preparation and competitive aspects of the experience were definitely heightened as someone living in the freshman dorm LaFarge, particularly when every one of your suitemates is also rushing.
Suite-style living is so confined. You can always hear people talking and if you’re in your room you can’t escape it but also can’t help but listen. Being so confined to each other during recruitment week made all of the fear and anticipation that comes along with rushing that much more transparent.
The first two days of recruitment were all nervous excitement. The talk of the suite were stereotypes of the different sororities and rumors surrounding what exactly we were getting ourselves into during rush. It was stressing over outfits. Someone was always coming into the room with a question about which shoe would look better, if their hair would look better pulled up or down, etc.
During the long week between the first two days and preference night, everyone had an idea of where they might end up and where they wanted to be.
Some of us were going in different directions as far as where we may end up than our other suitemates. This made for the inevitable comparison of yourself to your suitemates. “Why did she get dropped by ____ and I get dropped by ____?” Various nerves and suspicions were alive in the suite and were increasingly more present as we waited for bid day.
Bid day was the calm at the end of the storm and an eye opener. Our bids made us grow closer because we were all happy for each other, but also realize that we all had different places where we fit because of our different personalities and values. As long as you trust your own process and don’t compare it to your suitemates’, the conclusion of recruitment will all make sense.
– Colleen Duddy
