DG, Phi Mu and Alpha Omicron Pi. Many girls from my hometown went to one of several DG chapters around the state. I'd been keen on DG for a while through some hometown friends, so I don't think it was a big mystery where I would end up. Although one of my best friends is an AOII and many of the girls I was friends with as a freshman joined it, so AOII has a little place in my heart, too!
No regrets about where I joined, but I was nervous during the whole recruitment period. Ole Miss recruitment is mid-semester first term, so freshman girls meet and band together while waiting to go through recruitment. It's six to eight weeks of no formal contact with female Greek upperclassmen, rumors spreading about each chapter's selection process and ideal candidates, going to to frat parties to see and be seen, etc. My academic schedule was busy and the whole rumor mill/frat party scene freaked me out, so I spent more time with my upperclassmen male friends and non-Greek female friends. As a result I didn't know much of my new member class when I joined, but I eventually found my place. I loved the history and the alumnae support of our chapter.
I wish I'd gone in with a little bit more of an open mind and taken more time to get to know girls my own age. I gravitated towards older girls and alumnae. I do think part of it was that many of the Greek life events and pre-recruitment rushing on campus involved frat parties, and I was pretty firmly committed to not drinking until I was 21 (mostly because it's not legal...I have no real qualms with responsible, legal alcohol use). I tried not to look standoffish, but unfortunately that meant I wasn't immediately bonding over drinks with other PNMs and sisters. Things got a lot easier for me after I turned 21. I was much more at peace by senior year, but freshman and sophomore years were tough sometimes.
Even now, I'm involved with alumnae things much more than collegiate affairs
. Formals were fun, but swaps/mixers were
never my favorite part of the sorority experience. Our chapter was just so big, it was hard to have a lot of sisterhood activities that weren't in that form.
Threaded Mode
