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Here's the second installment, I plan to have the conclusion up after I finish classes this afternoon!
The Colony Recruitment (Fall 2015)
As my freshman year went on, I saw my friends enjoying their sorority experience and got to talk to them about what it was really like. By spring, I decided I wanted to give sorority life another shot. I remembered how overwhelming formal recruitment was, though, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that again. Luckily, a new sorority, Boromir, was colonizing on my campus in the fall, so I would have the opportunity to go Greek without going through formal recruitment again. I started looking into the sorority and got more and more excited the more I learned. Being a charter member sounded like an amazing experience!
After spring break a few colonization representatives visited campus. I loved talking to them and going to an informational session sold me even more on Boromir and the colonization process. We were given buttons and other small trinkets for publicity purposes and I was so proud to display my support of the new sorority. I was so sure it would be my home!
Over the summer I got more and more excited for the colonization process. I filled out a colonization recruitment application almost as soon as they were available, signed up for my interview, and started preparing for the process. It was suggested that we obtain recs from members of Greek life on our campus, so I got four, from friends in Bilbo, Elrond, Legolas, and a special interest sorority. I also exchanged emails with a member of the local alumnae chapter to learn what the Boromir active and alumna experience was like.
By the time fall finally arrived, I could hardly wait for colonization to begin. I met new colonization representatives, including the ones who would be staying to help the colony get on its feet. They were happy to see how excited I was about the colony and were more than willing to answer my questions.
I was so excited when the colonization process finally started! The first event was an informational session similar to the one I had attended in the spring but with a little more information. The next event focused on the sorts of events the colony would put together and planning an ideal month for the colony. A couple days after that, I had my interview. I shared how excited I was to participate in this experience and how being a charter member was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I didn’t want to pass up. I was awed to discover my interviewer was a former president of the entire sorority and happy when she told me she was impressed by the research I’d done on both Boromir and the colonization process. I made sure to mention how much I wanted to be a part of a strong sisterhood and participate in something that would last beyond my college years.
I left the interview thinking it went well. I thought I had really connected with my interviewer and the colonization representatives knew me well enough to call me by name when they saw me. I had to wait a couple of days for the email regarding the next event, but I got it the night before the first invitational event was to take place.
I opened it and as soon as I saw the word “Unfortunately…” my heart sank. I was in shock. I didn’t understand where I had gone wrong. I felt kind of numb about it until a few days later, when the girls who were invited to pref night were surprised with their bids. I saw girls I knew start to post pictures with their new letters, and that was when I finally cried. What did they have that I didn’t? Were they more charismatic? Were they prettier? Did they have better recommendations? Obviously, I will never know why I wasn’t selected. Looking back, I know it was for the best. I do better with a lot of structure, and I’m not sure I would have been able to handle establishing that structure myself. Besides, this rejection led me farther down the path to my true home. At the time, however, I didn’t know that. As a sophomore, I thought I had missed out on my chance to be in a sorority. I was convinced I would never have letters to call my own.
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