College life is dominated by the idea of change: we choose new classes each semester, adapt to differing professors’ expectations each term, and even spice up our social lives intermittently by joining a new club or two. Freshman year is particularly where change happens the most, as nearly every student is forced to leave behind the familiar routine of high school and become a part of campus life.
The first semester of my collegiate experience was wrought with a lot of distress, mostly over academic matters, but also very much socially concerned. I had a good deal of friends those first few months, many of whom I knew from Early Decision meet-ups I’d participated in before arriving at the school in August. We were all very much alike (in the sense that we all came from similar backgrounds and lived close to one another), and it was this connection that helped ease me into a school much larger and more diverse than my high school of 1,500 students.
Second semester meant sorority recruitment, which synonymously meant a huge change in the friend group I had grown so comfortable with. Throughout first semester I really only slightly considered going through rush, and by the end of first semester I felt a bit intimidated by how little I seemed to know about it compared to everyone else. While joining a sorority seemed fun to me, and a great way to expand my social boundaries, I was also frightened by it. I didn’t want a sorority to take away what I had only so recently been able to accomplish: a tightly knit group of friends who were not divided by various allegiances to sororities.
However, I had to reason with myself. Whether or not I decided to go through recruitment didn’t matter; most of my friends were going to, and so our friendships would change regardless. Although hesitant, I showed up that first day of recruitment determined to be myself and see what the deal was all about. I met so many new people throughout those four days of “parties,” many of whom I’ve been able to keep in contact with, despite the fact that I did not end up joining their particular sorority. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful recruitment counselor who was able to steer away my fears of being estranged from my friends, and thereby allowed me to make my decision based on what was best for me.
While we all ended up being scattered amongst the different sororities, I could not have wished for a better outcome. I made the effort to stay in touch with most – if not, all – of my friends from first semester, and while we may not spend all of our time together like we used to, they provide a much needed respite from my sorority sisters when need be.
Being on the opposite side of recruitment for the second year in a row now, I have realized that the “sister side” is not much different in terms of maintaining friendships. I accept that everyone makes decisions based on what’s best for themselves, and not for anybody else, so I intend to stay close with those girls who did not end up pledging my sorority. Now that two weeks have gone by, it’s easy to see how seamlessly transitions are taking place. If there is one thing I’ve learned from all of this, it is that change is inevitable; you can, however, affect its outcome.