I didn't get my first choice - it gets better.

[psusue]

So to make my story long and sweet (sorry, can't do short apparently), once, during informal recruitment, I had a first choice sorority. They did not bid me and I was really, really bummed about it. I loved their philanthropy, their colors, their symbol, all the women I met, the whole shebang. I wondered why they didn't like me and thought that maybe I'd never get to be in a sorority.

Flash forward a semester and I started hanging out with Sigma at informal events. I had friends in the chapter, but not close ones, though I did like the women I was meeting and wanted to give them a chance. Well they also wanted to take a chance on me and gave me a bid. For the whole first semester I wasn't really sure if I'd done the right thing. I loved initiation though, and was looking forward to starting a chair position in the spring. That next fall (2010) I went through formal recruitment for the first time and started to really fall in love with Sigma. I also did Greek Sing and started doing a lot more for recruitment. This past spring I became ritual and sisterhood chairs and continued to help out with recruitment quite a bit. My involvement begot my love, because I became more connected from the inside out.

What else helped me to know I picked the right one? When I moved on the floor, my friends in Sigma became my family in Sigma. They truly became my sisters. We fought and stole clothes and laughed and stayed up too late and watched movies and shared our souls and were there for each other, no matter what. Living on the floor gave me a true sense of the sisterhood inherent in a sorority.

So still kind of long story short? You can't know, that day you see your name on the bid card, what will become of your next few years. Much less can you understand the stories of alumni and how they stayed involved in each others' lives forever. Though when I was a freshman and sophomore I thought I was above Sigma, but truly she was far above me, patiently waiting for me to come to my senses and seek her out for guidance. And guidance I've gotten, and I've learned, grown, and loved so much for the opportunity. So PNMs, give it a chance. This may just be the door that opens up to a wonderfully rich and diverse future. Close it and you can still go on, but keep it open and you never know what it could bring. There are hundreds of thousands of sorority women who would not trade their sorority experience for anything and you now have a chance to join them. If I were you, I would make absolutely sure in every way possible that this was not for me before I declined it.