Once you get your bid you think it’s all crafting, socials and big/little loving. There is a lot of that, don’t get me wrong but that’s not what being in a sorority is all about. Being in a sorority comes with obligations and one of them, while an obligation, is also an amazing privilege. Recruiting sisters to become the next pledge class of your sorority will be bittersweet. You are no longer the fresh faces on the row and the glitter and glamour of getting a big and your first social are sort of fading. You are kind of sad the excitement has sort of worn off but you are incredibly happy because you know your sisters, you have memories together and you’re excited to make plenty more. But most of all? Most of all you are excited that you aren’t the one walking the row in five inch heels in the middle of August stressing about which letters will be your own.

For new recruiters, the glamour of recruitment can sort of act as rose colored glasses. That is until you figure out the torture that ensues during recruitment. Bouncing, clapping, shuffling and chanting at the same time is hard. In the August heat? Even worse. Not to mention you have to slap on that smile while you are told to chant louder and learn to take and elbow or two to the rib when your sister shoves you down the line after a drop off. It’s rough and you are stressed about how you’re going to talk to PNM’s, if anyone can see how much your sweating because the AC is obviously not cranked low enough and you are so worried that you won’t convey the absolute amazingness of your sisterhood.

I get it.

We ALL get it.

It’s rough and stressful but that is what recruitment workshops are for. To sharpen those skills. As much as you may dread the soreness that comes after the bouncing and clapping or the sore throat you will definitely get after chanting for hours, it’s all really worth it and you should try to enjoy it while you can.

So throw on your Norts and Chacos and get ready for a great time because it's Recruitment Workshop Time!

Time with your sisters!

If this isn’t a good enough reason to get you to stop binge watching the newest episodes of Orange Is The New Black, I don’t know what is. You have probably been out of school for a few weeks which means you probably haven’t seen a few of them since before the evil of finals ensued. You’ve missed them and after many hugs and {probably} some squealing you can’t deny that just being around your sisters makes you feel amazing. You are going to have lunch dates and crafting time. You are going to be making amazing memories through the sweat and sore thighs. The bouncing and clapping definitely won’t be so bad with your best friends doing the same right beside you and the smiles won’t be so forced after a day with the people you love most. 

You Get to Work on Your People Skills

As bored as you may be in those lectures you will, no doubt, get from either an alum or some speaker you know nothing about, you can really learn a lot. As awkward as walking up in front of all of your sisters to pretend you are talking to a new PNM may be, it’s going to be just as hard talking to a real PNM. Might as well get out all your nerves on your sisters who won’t judge you for stuttering or awkward pauses. If you are like me and have no problem talking to brick walls, this should be a breeze for you so raise your hand when no one else will and show to your sisters that it’s totally okay to feel awkward and it’s okay to not. For those who don’t feel that comfortable, remember that these are your sisters and they are not here to judge or hurt you. Everyone from you FRC, the Alum/Speaker and your sisters are here to help you and in the end this isn’t only making you easier to speak to PNMs but to speak to anyone. 

Your Formal Recruitment Chairs Worked Really Hard

They are going to yell at you until they are blue in the face. They are going to bitch at you, piss you off and make you more exhausted than you’ve been in a long time. Your FRC isn’t going to be your favorite sister during recruitment workshops, spirit week and recruitment but you have to remember she is still your sister and that she’s doing everything for the betterment of your sisterhood. She is stressed, unimpressed and ready to rest. And making her job harder by bitching or not doing what she’s asked you about eight hundred times is only hurting your sisterhood, not just you or her. So slap on that smile and just remember that your FRC is just as anxiety ridden, ready for a nap and hangry as you are. Remember that in the end, all of your hard work this will not only get you a new, beautiful pledge class but possibly the best night’s sleep you will get all summer. 

So yeah, you are going to have to wear really uncomfortable shoes and Spanx in the August heat but you still have a while, so enjoy the company, be brave and have fun! Make memories and just remember that all your hard work will show itself in a beautiful new pledge class. Just envision your happy place and remember you are one step closer to Bid Day and new Pledges. Because what is better than that?

Love ya.