(This article refers to this article from the website “The Odyssey”, which was written by Shannon Sons: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/the-girl-who-didnt-rush-this-year )
To the girls who didn’t rush this year, we are still equals. Being in a sorority, or not being in a sorority, does not change how we should view or treat each other. Women who aren’t in a sorority and those who are should be allowed to engage and like their own personal interests. Does each sorority girl have to be bleach blonde with a killer tan? No. Would she be cast out by her sisters if she was neither of those things? Not at all. In the same way, a girl can go to a pop-punk show every night, or dye her hair bright colors and she would still be loved and appreciated by her friends and loved ones.
Fitting into a type of “dress code” for whatever your stereotype may be, is a high school centered thought. Everyone has seen the movies where the bitchy mean girl wears all different shades of pink and has bleached hair. As the camera pans over in these movies you see the goth girl who wears all black, with studs coming out of all of her clothing. However, if you look at those movies and look at all your experience with these stereotypes – you’ll see that no one dresses like either of those things anymore. As a society, we have outgrown the dress code for living, and we are allowed to express ourselves any way that we choose.
Sorority women are stereotyped as being one certain thing, but if you look at the girls who rep their Greek letters, you’ll see that isn’t true. Joining a sorority may cost some money and time, however, the sisterhood and bonding that it gives a nervous freshman trying to find her way is so worth it. Walking into a sorority house that you feel safe enough to cry and laugh in is a feeling that can never be replaced. This doesn’t give one girl’s experience over another, it makes each experience special and unique. Having the ability to smile and laugh at a punk show or a frat party is what makes life so worth it. Having unique and complicated personalities and interests makes humans human.
If each girl dressed the same or acted the same, we would have too many carbon copies in the world. Go out into the world and wear your poufy pink skirts that help you tap into your inner princess. Stay in and wear your sweatpants to show the world that you are comfortable in what you own. Wear your neon yellow vans that make you feel like dancing in the streets each time you wear them. Rushing or not rushing, we need to have mutual respect for all of our interests and how each girl decides to look.
We need to be able to look back at those old movies, and know that those characters do not reflect how society actually is. To the girls who didn’t rush this year, I respect you.