The girls in my rush group start trickling back in from Phase C. I bump into Suzy and ask how it went. She said it was going well - I think she's really hoping to join the house her roommate is in (Carl Carlson). She seemed surprised that I didn't go - I told her I was just a little overwhelmed by everything. She's pretty nice about the whole thing - said that she might have been overwhelmed too if she had tried rushing as a freshman. I wish her luck and head down to dinner.
On my way back from dinner, I bump into Bethany near her rom. She asks how rush is going - I tell her that as of this morning I've dropped out. She asks if I want to talk about it...I tell her the gist of it. That I'm confused about the whole thing - don't really know what sorority life is supposed to be about. I was joining to meet new people and make friends, but some people have been pressuring me to be concerned about "status" and other things that just don't really seem important to me. If that's what sorority life is actually about, I'm not sure whether I want to be a part of it.
(At this point, I also tell her that Gina, my good friend from home who is the one who talked me into rushing in the first place, is one of Bethany's new sisters - she pledged Tri-Delts, her first choice!)
Bethany shares her words of wisdom with me - you need to know what it is you're looking to get out of the sorority experience before you can decide which house is best for you. She tells me that some girls join primarily b/c of the parties they'll attend and the status the name will give them. Other girls join to make friends and experience new things. They might end up in the same house, but they'll end up with totally different experiences. She also told me not to put too much pressure on myself based on other people's opinions (like Steph's
)...the important thing is that the sorority is able to give you what it is that you're looking for based on what's important to you. Not what everyone else thinks of it - unless, of course, impressing other people is one of your priorities.
It all starts to make a little more sense after talking to Bethany, and I begin to wonder how things would have went if I'd decided to attend Phase C today.
Hybrid Mode
