Now, my story as a sorority girl is a lot different than most girls'. I didn't go through formal recruitment as a freshman. I thought about it for a brief second, but by the time I decided that it might be something I want to try, the price for registration had risen by about $30 to $120, and I realized that I didn't want to waste money on something that I thought I would end up dropping anyway. So I went through freshman year as a "GDI," and it didn't bother me one bit.
I saw sororities as vapid, pointless organizations that focused on and emphasized partying, being "pretty," and encouraged casual hookups and stupid social encounters. In my mind, they were filled with the mean girls that had tormented me in middle and high school, and I couldn't understand why such exclusive "girl clubs" existed, or what purpose they served. I saw girls in my dorm getting the precious little name placards and all the big/little gifts, and while it was all super cute, it didn't really faze me. They had their social and philanthropic events, and I saw the photos on my Facebook feed all the time, but I didn't care. I had found a tight group of wonderful best friends, and I was happy. I didn't need to "pay for my friends."
The next year, when I was a sophomore, I was living in a brand-new room with a brand-new view: onto the campus commons. One afternoon, right before the start of school, I saw big white tents and wooden letters being put up by battalions of girls... Bid Day. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my desk, but as more and more girls showed up, and the hubbub outside got louder and louder, I couldn't help but to turn my attention to what was going on outside my window.
That afternoon, I watched girls run to their new "homes" and hug their new "sisters," taking photos, and smiling uncontrollably as they embraced each sorority's "theme" for the day and posed with their "welcome home!" signs. It's stupid, but that moment gave me a twinge of longing in my stomach. Yeah, sororities seemed so vapid and pointless, but they looked so much fun, so welcoming, so loving. Also, most of the girls I had interacted with (outside of my close-knit group) the previous year had been in sororities and were some of the nicest, most intelligent, most well-rounded people I knew. I couldn't help but wonder if I had made a big mistake not rushing.
Of course at that point it was far too late to join a house immediately - they had gotten their brand new members, and formal recruitment had just ended. However, I set my sights towards the future and made the decision that I would attempt informal recruitment in the spring. I contacted some of my friends in sororities that seemed appealing to me, and one of them suggested we meet for lunch.
As we ate food and talked, I told her a little bit about why I wanted to join a sorority. She nodded enthusiastically and told me that she could contact me if her house decided to do spring rush, but she also mentioned that a new sorority was colonizing on campus: Alpha Omicron Pi.
I had heard rumblings of this organization the previous year, and it had definitely piqued my interest. A new sorority that was starting from the ground-up with no reputations, no rumors, no preconceived notions to its name? It was something that could help me leave a mark on TCU forever, and it was something that was different... Something that I could have an impact with. After my friend had mentioned it, I already knew that it was going to be my place.
I attended all the informational meetings and "recruitment events" that they held, and I was interviewed by professional women from headquarters, as well as chapter members from other universities in the country. I met one of my loveliest friends at our group interview, and I knew that I had made the right decision to get involved in this organization.
I still remember anxiously waiting to get an invitation to join the sorority. I was one of the final people they contacted - all the other girls that had interviewed had gotten their bids in the morning and early afternoon. I sat in the bookstore in the late afternoon hours, my stomach in knots, thinking that I had not been impressive enough to warrant a bid. Finally, my phone rang right before evening, and I ran outside to answer it. On the other line was one of the professional women who had interviewed me. "I'm happy to tell you that on behalf of Alpha Omicron Pi, we'd like to extend you a bid to join," she told me. I happily accepted and skipped back inside the store to tell my best friend. She was skeptical, but congratulated me nonetheless.
The colonization ceremony was the very next night, and I donned my little black dress and lined up with dozens of other girls who were to become my sisters. It's funny just how much of that night I remember so distinctly. I remember exactly who I stood next to, and it's incredible just how much better I know them, now that we're forever "bonded in our sisterhood."
Being in a sorority has been unlike anything I could have ever imagined. It has made my confidence go through the roof. It has made me outgoing, willing to talk to strangers at a moment's notice. It has made me feel so loved, so grateful, and so happy. It has made me proud. I am so proud to be a member of the Lambda Rho chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi because I know that I am in a great organization with some beautiful women, each of which I love very dearly.
If you had told me a year and a half ago that I would be in a sorority, I would have laughed in your face. Now that I'm in one, I can't imagine being anywhere else. And to those cynics that claim I "pay for my friends?" Fine. I'll tell you this: I don't pay nearly enough. The love and the bond that I have with all of my sisters is priceless. It is incredible, and it is forever. It wasn't bought by money. It was forged by hours of laughter, talking, and sometimes even crying. It was created through the shared fact that we are all sisters in a wonderful sisterhood.
And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.
xx
ola
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