[xoStarr]

I'll try and touch on mostly everyone at once...

I actually went to some sisterhood events for an established organization last spring and was very inclined towards them, but still had some reservations. When I found out about the colony over the summer and fell in love with them (felt that extra spark), it wasn't because I was looking for the easy way, or felt that I would have a better chance, or that I said to myself that I'm a "shoe-in" for this colony. Rather, after reviewing their national site and hearing girls from other chapters talk about their experience I just felt like their motto and mission aligned perfectly with me, more than any of the other organizations on campus. Even so, I still went to the first round of Formal to make sure. I could have not gone to Info and Round 1 at all, and just expressed interest to my RC automatically and call it a day. But I didn't want to be so narrow minded just in case. I also had friends who were going through recruitment for the first time and wanted to do the same thing as me and I stressed to them that they needed to go through the whole experience and get to know the other organizations first, not because i was trying to keep them from trying for the colony (which I'm just saying because I'm sure someone reading this might make that assumption right off the bat), but because I knew from last year it's an experience that really truly helps one understand what each chapter is all about and helps one make their own perceptions and decisions based on personal experience - not just what everyone else is saying/thinking. I care about my friends too much to ever be mean/lie to better myself or something stupid.

With the organization I received a bid for last year, I did go to Bid Day. And I had some good talks with some of the girls, but as a whole it didn't feel like it was "the one", and I didn't want to stick around and fake it. It's not fair to them. It was a hard decision to make. I sat around for awhile, especially because I knew there were other girls out there that didn't even make it as far as me, so I really wanted to be all happy and everything, but it just wasn't working.