Advice Needed...

[december]

I prefer not to say what school or GLOs I will be talking about simply because I know members of GC in real life, I would not want to offend or upset anyone.

I'll give a little backgroud first. I am going to be a first semester Junior this fall and I have been invited to a late rush, tomorrow night. The GLO that I would be rushing is late because they took some time getting their reactivation papers in this semester. I am also a very active student on my campus, a student leader in 2 organizations, and I have been involved in many orgs over the past two years. I have many good friends, and a good head on my shoulders.

My first semester at school, I was invited to rush the only NPC on our campus by a girl I know from home. As a freshman, I was thrilled to see a familiar face and she assured me that I would love the other sisters, so I attended rush and got a bid. She was right, I really liked a lot of the girls. But by my second week as a pledge (at our school we still use rush, pledge, and pledge moms), I was very unsure. I couldn't see myself natually befriending these girls and there were a lot of things I was uncomfortable with. So, much to their dismay, I decided to not finish my pledge process. I am still friends with some of the girls, but I know I was not right for them, and they are not right for me. I think I made a responsible decision.

A year later, I was invited to rush a professional group (local, non-NPC) on campus by my mentor. I attended the first night to see what they were all about (I made the mistake of not doing enough research the first time around) but I was informed that I could not pledge another group for a calendar year (Greek Council rules) and I was cut. I was fine with this decision because honestly, the group was not for me. I was just too large and would limit me in other involvement because of time restraints.

So now I am being courted by a local that consists of many of my friends. It's a very small group, so small that they are struggling to stay active. I believe in the work they do and their values and I honestly wish I had found them freshman year. So rush is tomorrow night and I've decided to attend.

My question is, am I doing the right thing? A lot of people think that once you begin pledging, you cannot join another GLO, even if you were never initiated. I can understand that, but I don't think it's fair if you made a rational, responsible decision. Also, some say that Junior year is too late, but I feel like I still have time to offer a lot, especially with this group. I guess I'm just looking for some guidance.

Sorry for the lengthy post and thank you for sticking with me.