It seemed like my future happiness at Northwestern came down to the three choices of Greek letters in front of me. Tough decisions were not my strong suit, but with a final sigh I ranked the three and left the rest out of my hands.
My last weeks of the summer before Freshmen year were spent biking around my empty, small Minnesota town on school days and lying in my backyard reading the Medill book about a meth town in Iowa. Needless to say, Welcome Week was highly anticipated. My peer advisers were a collection of one funny, friendly guy and two bubbly and excited girls all of who had a passion for Northwestern and their involvement in Greek life on campus. Although at the time I had no idea which chapters they were a part of, their enthusiasm stuck in my brain.
Classes began and I admit I became disillusioned with the beautiful Northwestern experience I had built up in my head. It was difficult not recognizing people in classes or around campus, and I lived in a small dorm that was located nearly in Evanston’s downtown. I’d forgotten that making friends took shared experiences and time and I became pretty lonely.
My roommate and I quickly became inseparable and when registration for recruitment came around she pushed and needled until I agreed to go through rush with her.
When that first day of recruitment came around and I embarked upon my seemingly 30 hour foray into the cold of the sorority quad, I seriously questioned the decision I’d made. However, I pushed through the endless day and it wasn’t long until I found myself meeting and talking to real girls who I could easily picture becoming my friends.
The night before Pref night I received a teary call from my mom who told me that one of my lifelong soccer teammates had been killed in a car crash earlier that day. Although I hadn’t been particularly close to the girl, the event still shook me. The next day of recruitment looked artificial and meaningless to me now. But I’d never been one to quit something halfway through, so I slipped into my black dress, pulled on Uggs and went out for one last day.
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I had been invited back to three houses and each one felt like somewhere I could see myself. One felt like a house where my creativity could flourish and my artsy side would emerge. Another had friends from the equestrian team on it and girls from my dorm were considering it. But the last one had that extra edge.
It was the house of one of my PA’s and I had images in my mind of her walking around campus in their adorable merchandise; so proud to rep her sorority, and of their great philanthropy event in the fall. As the pref night ceremony occurred I finally couldn’t hold back my feelings about the girl from my soccer team any longer. I’m not usually a crier but the events of the day and the week in general brought me to tears and as the sister who was leading me around stood by my side and rubbed my shoulders I just felt embraced and accepted by not only her but the whole chapter. The conversations and girls I’d met at that chapter had been real, quirky, and beautiful in so many outward and inward ways.
I’ll admit when it came to ranking my choices later that evening the decision wasn’t easy. And when on bid night I found out three girls in my dorm got a bid from my second choice I had a moment of indecision. But looking back I know the house I’m at is where I belong.
The following quarters became a flurry of sorority activity and I jumped wholeheartedly into it. I found a best friend in my pledge mom and confidants, academic advisers, and wing-women in my other sisters. And I even helped my roommate to join my sorority during spring rush.
This fall when I came to campus weeks early for Peer Adviser training and met my freshmen I found myself being exactly like my PA before me; ready to rep Greek Life for every chapter not just my own.
I’m sure I could have found my place at Northwestern without Greek life, but I am also positive that I would never exchange my experience for anything. My sorority has brought me leadership, extreme joy, incredible friends, crazy stories, exciting events, and most importantly a sense of belonging.