This may sound extremely cliche, but if you told me two months ago that I would be excited for sorority bid day, I would probably laugh in your face. As someone who has dealt with an eating disorder, I used to be avidly against Greek life because so many people I knew that were in a sorority were actively being encouraged to engage in disordered eating.
At the beginning of the semester, my new roommates ended up encouraging me to sign up for rush. I showed up terrified on the first day, wildly out of my comfort zone, and had to talk to new people and regurgitate the same information for hours straight. However, I began to meet new people during the rush process who had the same feelings as I did. I found active members that calmed my nerves and made me feel like I was important and worthy of their time.
While there was definitely a lot of talk about food, I got the sense that it was a generally supportive atmosphere. Plus, I was able to meet more people in two weekends than I had in a whole semester. Even though we went our separate ways on bid day, continuing to hang out with friends I made during rush and meeting their new sorority sisters has made me feel so connected around campus.
Every person walked into the first day of rush with some level of nerves, and knowing that I was not the only person who felt really out of place was comforting. I was still able to find a wonderful home even though I felt like such an outsider.
Northeastern can feel like a really lonely place with so many people coming and going every semester on co-op, abroad or taking classes at one of the many campuses around the world. Having an instant group of people that I can turn to for support has already made me feel like I have a wonderful community even after just a couple of weeks. I have met girls that joined all different sororities, did not follow through with rush and girls that I now get to call my sisters.
I have never considered myself to be the stereotypical sorority girl. However, I have realized that is far from a requirement to find a great group of strong and supportive women in the Greek life community. Everyone has different quirks that make them stand out, and they are the most embraced traits by the people around you in a positive environment. In fact, the things that I thought might make me seem weird ended up becoming engaging topics of conversation.
During the rush process, I met so many people that I felt were truly interested in getting to know me, and I enjoyed even the short conversations that we had together. Coming back and chatting with the same girls who remembered something I had told them made me feel so welcomed and appreciated. I felt like I found people who truly cared about what I had to say.
Something that I have learned in my many years of therapy is that you should stick with the people who make space for you. Joining a sorority felt exactly like that. Girls I only met days ago are already treating me like a sister. People I had talked to within the sorority came up and hugged me after we ‘ran home,’ and said that they were really excited that I had joined them. Knowing that I have a group of girls who truly care about me is so comforting.
Rushing was a terrifying decision that I made on a whim and under pressure; however, I am so thankful that my roommates pushed me to try something new. Regardless of which sorority you end up in or if you even complete the rush process, it can still be a valuable experience, albeit incredibly stressful, in meeting a wide variety of new and amazing people.
I am so glad that I rushed and was lucky enough to find my home. If Northeastern feels a little too big and lonely, rushing is one of the best ways to easily make friends. There is a place for everyone at Northeastern and rush helped me to find an amazing and supportive group of people. Rushing can provide the same amazing connections to anyone else that decides to go a little bit out of their comfort zone and sign up.