Month: January 2017

Earlier this month, I participated in Furman’s panhelenic recruitment process.  Let me tell you, when I say that, I am still shocked.  Coming into Furman, I was fully convinced that I would never, ever, be in a sorority.  Over my dead body would you catch me labeling myself and fitting into a cookie cutter mold of perfect blondes decked out in their Lily Pulitzer.

Furman greek life however, had me pleasantly surprised.  Greek life here at Furman is very different from typical greek life at big state schools.  Personally, I see it as much more genuine, full of girls who are down to earth and care about a lot more than just looks and money.  One sorority in particular, however, spoke volumes to me in this particular category.

Let’s start at day one: open house.  During this round, I was able to meet all the different sororities here at Furman, and let me tell you it was very tiring.  What I realized during this round though, was that there really isn’t such thing as a “bad” sorority here.  That is the great thing, there is somewhere for everyone, and you really can’t go wrong choosing any sorority.  They are all full of amazing, strong women who will welcome you with open arms.  It all just depends on which is the best fit for you.

I will say this with a preface.  Going through this process was probably one of the most stressful things I’ve experienced.  While it was amazing to find my home and become closer each round, it sucked to be cut from certain sororities, or watch other girls get cut.  I was constantly worried and stressed, never knowing if one day would be my last day at a particular sorority.

Second round was philanthropy round.  During this round, each sorority shared their philanthropies that they supported and raised money for.  During philanthropy round, there wasn’t really one sorority in particular that drew me in, but I got an overwhelming feeling that this was definitely something I wanted to be apart of.  The stories that were shared and the causes that are supported were all so beautiful, and it solidified for me for the first time that I really wanted to be apart of something like this. I think a lot of people overlook this aspect of sororities viewing just in a social aspect.  However, there is much more to these groups of women than partying and looking pretty.

Third round was very much so the solidifying moment for me, because it was during this round that I realized which sorority I wanted to be apart of more than anything.  That sorority was Chi Omega.  During this round, I spoke to two amazing women who made me realize that Chi O had everything I wanted in a sorority.  That day, I was asking each sorority I visited the same question “What made you chose y/n?”  Each woman I spoke to gave very similar answers, all very good and valid, but the two that I spoke to in Chi O gave me answers that were different from the others.  They talked about how they weren’t necessarily comfortable in Chi Omega, but would be pushed to become a better person, and how the group of women in Chi O were just so strong, individual, and powerful.

Fourth round was super stressful for me because deep down I knew exactly what I wanted, but I knew my friends were about to choose a different way.  At first, it was hard swallowing the fact that they would be going on without me, but in the end, I realized that if our friendship was as strong as I thought, we would be just fine.  At one point in the other sorority’s preference tea, I started to doubt my gut feeling about choosing Chi Omega.  However, upon walking into Chi O, I was convinced within the first 15 minutes that that was my home.  There were various speakers who spoke about not looking for the prettiest girls with the best hair or clothes, but the ones with the best hearts.  And that’s what I wanted.

In the end, I made the choice to go Chi Omega.  I strayed differently from my friends, but I don’t regret it at all.  I can already feel myself growing in a positive way, and I cannot wait to see what’s in store the next 3 years with Chi Omega as my home.

No matter what sorority you choose however, they all have one thing in common.  They are full of welcoming women who want you to be apart of your home.  Going through recruitment and pledging a sorority has been an amazing, and not to mention very stressful experience that I have thoroughly enjoyed.  Sororities are definitely a great place to find an amazing group of strong women to call your sisters.

Dear Emily,

You are probably sitting at your desk right now trying your best to stay focused in another boring history class.  I know how much you hate history.

Right now you are about to make probably one of the most influential decisions in your life.  Well, maybe not that big, but still pretty important.  Choosing a college is not something to take lightly.  It can make or break your experience, and a college experience is not something you will want to miss out on.  Now don’t stress to much, because I have faith that in the end, you’ll make the right decision.

What you really need to think about is where you feel most at home.  Where can you walk onto campus and see yourself going to classes, hanging out with friends, experiencing your best life possible?  Where do you feel warm and welcomed, where do you fit in?  Don’t let yourself get caught up in where your friends are going, be your own person and make your own story.

Go somewhere where you can be your weird, spunky self.  Go somewhere where you can do what you love.  You love art, don’t go somewhere where you can’t have that.  Where do you feel like you will be challenged?  Where can see yourself being pushed beyond your limits, making you only stronger in the end? If you don’t exactly feel comfortable, that’s ok.  You need somewhere where you can be pushed to become better. I wish you could only know how happy you are going to be with your choice.

You are going to meet amazing people you never would have thought existed.  You are going to make some of the best friends of your life.  And get this one, you are going to join a sorority.  Yes, I said it, you are going to be a sorority girl no matter how much you may fight me on this one.  You are going to join and you are going to fall in love with it.  There are some pretty amazing girls in the sorority you’ll join, you’ll want to be just like them and follow in their footsteps.

You are going to grow.  You will grow so much.  You will be thrown curveballs, you will become very stressed and overwhelmed at times.  It isn’t going to be easy.  But, because you made the right choice, you will love every minute of it no matter how hard it will get.  You will have to work your butt off, but it will be worth it.

So Emily, take this advice.  Follow your heart, listen to your gut, be your own person.  You never may know where life will lead you, but I can promise you this:  It will be pretty amazing.

Love,

College Freshman Self