Looking back, were you right?

[AZPPL]

Bringing this thread back from a couple months...

I rushed as a sophomore in spring, so "informal rush" for our school. My sorority recruits a week before the others in spring, so when I was invited to rush, I didn't think anything of it. Because I was always a "non-sorority girl", I didn't pay attention to Greek Life at my school except for the occasional roll-eye at Greek letters (I hate to say it now, but I did!). When I went through their rush, I had absolutly NO idea what I was doing. Pretty much going in completly blind. My eldest brother had been a DTD at USC but I hadn't really heard any stories from him and only had one, not-so-great experience of his to go off of. The second day of recruitment I still didn't know what I was doing (I honestly thought that I was just going to different events with this sorority. I never really got the clue that I was "rushing" until initiation...sad, right?). I got a tip from my brother telling me to ask fraternity guys on campus about the different sororities because they "had the dirt" on the sororities (his words).

I talked to a few teammates who were in the same fraternity and asked them which sorority would be a good one to rush, without mentioning the chapter I was rushing. They automatically said this one, then a few more. Over that week I gathered information about the different sororities on campus and realized slowly that the group I was rushing had, according to Greeks and Non-Greeks alike, one of the best reputations on campus.

Looking back now, I wish I could have had the chance to rush each chapter to see what would have happened, but even looking that way I know I made the right choice. Not only do we have a fantastic reputation on campus, but we're one of the strongest chapters in the nation, not to mention our region. It's sometimes overwhelming that I joined a sorority because it is not what anyone would have expected, and overwhelming that I have this reputation to keep up.

But things that I heard about other sororities throughout the spring, some things have been correct and some have been wrong. I like to think that our campus Greeks work very well together, albiet some arguments. But I wasn't too influenced in that aspect. I do know that talking to fraternity brothers and asking about different chapters helped my decision, though...I guess that would be influence. All I know is I am most definitly a Pi Beta Phi and proud of it!!

So that was a novel. And I kind of went in circles. Ah well. I love writing about it!

[barbino]

I'm going to comment on the last two posts (the last two posters are also Pi Beta Phis).

First, I agree with Carnation that I could have been happy at several other chapters. I has a difficult time deciding between my first and second choice chapters, and could have been happy at either. I had lots of friends in "the other house." I might have even been happy with my third choice. I always remember the conversation several of my sisters and I had once on this topic. One of my sisters said, "Sometimes I wonder if I'd been a -- instead of a Pi Phi. I think that I'd be an entirely different person than I am now." Most people could fit into more than one chapter on any given campus. Some chapters are much more diverse than others, and can encompass very different personality types.

But I also agree with the last poster. I, too am most definitely a Pi Beta Phi. And just like you, I am very proud of it. Looking back, I would not have changed anything about my experiences. You can always play the "What If" game. However, the best GLO will always be your own. Before I went Greek, I could not undertand this, even when my best friend tried to tell me. It all goes back to the "on the outside, looking in" versus the "once on the inside, total understanding" theory. You have to be Greek and have your own Greek experience to understand just how special your own chapter really is.