If you knew then what you know now...
 

I was reading a couple of the newer threads with women gearing up for fall recruitment and asking about recs, clothing, etc. I almost felt a little jealous of them having the excitement of going through recruitment and (hopefully) starting their Greek life.

Knowing what I know now, I definitely would have done some things differently. I knew next to nothing about sororities when I went to college, I knew no one in a sorority, and there was no Greek Chat. :) But knowing what I do now, I definitely would have tried formal rush. Not sure if I would have made it through with the same result, but even just having Greek Chat and the info here would have made a huge difference in my decision to do formal rather than informal.

I also think I would have done less with my sorority. I know that probably sounds strange, but I gave so much that I was seriously burned out at the end. I wish I had enjoyed myself more rather than working so hard. I enjoyed it, but I wish I had enjoyed it differently - without the stress!

If you had it to do over again knowing then what you know now, what would you do differently? :)

I'm not even sure I would have rushed as a freshman. In any case, I would have made a bigger effort to stay close with my "dorm friends".

During rush, I definitely would have kept my mouth shut about my family members' affiliations. I didn't realize that this could hurt me, but I think I screamed "joining XYZ!!!". I also would have been more guarded in conversations I had in front of my rho chis. I don't believe for one second that most rho chis keep certain things to themselves.

I would have skipped formal rush altogether and then gone straight to Sigma Iota Phi's informal rush.

I would have worked harder on grades and not extracurriculars and I would have been really scared of rushing at Auburn as a junior.

If I knew then what I knew now, I would have gotten into Greek life just a little bit earlier. I can't say I'd go back and rush as a freshman, though, because Theta Phi didn't exist on my campus then but I would have liked to be a chapter founder. I joined 1 year later.

I wouldn't have signed up for an account on GreekChat.... :P

I wouldn't have worn a super heavy sweater to a packed pref party held in a tiny suite with tons of candles. LOL

I would have gotten more involved in Greek Life earlier and picked up my bid during my sophmore year instead of waiting another year.

I would have told my boss to shove it and that he promised me FR off freshman year when I got a job there before school started, and I would have gone through freshman year instead of just saying "okay I guess I'll just not do it" when he scheduled me for work.

I love Sigma, but the path to get me here was a long one.
Although it makes me appreciate it even more I think.

I wouldn't have dropped a chapter after first round. When there are only three chapters, declining an invitation* to one of those three on night one is pretty stupid.

Otherwise there are things I would have liked to change, but they were growing opportunities so I can rationalize "keeping" all of them.

*yes, that's how it worked there/then- you received invites and decided how many to accept each night.

Like!

I wouldn't have known what I know now if I hadn't made those mistakes, and furthermore there would have been a whole slew of new mistakes to be made if I had made different choices.

A Grook by Piet Hein

A MAXIM FOR VIKINGS

I would have kept my big mouth shut more, and taken recruitment a little more seriously

While I don't think the outcome would have changed, I wish I had gotten recs. I honestly had no clue.