Let me start this out saying when I first stepped foot at Baylor, “sorority girl” was by no means the title I was looking for. I come from a family that has no Greek life affiliation, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be the one to change that. I didn’t grow up being the most confident person and I surely didn’t like the idea of being “picked”. In fact, despite her encouragement of me rushing, my mom told me once that if I didn’t think I could handle potentially being rejected by the sorority I loved, it wasn’t worth it. But despite all my apprehensions, I rushed anyway; and let me tell you, it was one of my best decisions. So for the incoming freshman girls worried about fitting in or finding the right sorority, I have some words of wisdom.
First, I want to debunk some Greek life myths. When I was in high school I thought the only way to make friends in college or fit in was to join a sorority. Though I have made amazing friends through Pi Phi, some of my best friends are in different sororities or none at all. As far as finding friends, a sorority is just like any club or organization; it provides an opportunity to surround yourself with like minded people.
Secondly, there’s no “better option”. As embarrassing as I now think this is, before I got to Baylor I looked up my prospective college on Greek Rank to try to find what the “best house” was — allow me to let you in on a secret, there is no best house. There were, of course, better matches for my personality, but that goes for everyone. The rush process at Baylor does an amazing job of allowing girls to get to familiarize themselves with the different sororities and find the one that matches them as a person, so don’t base your opinions on what other people think because their opinion is just as subjective as your own.
Beyond this, your chapter doesn’t define you. The bible makes it very clear our identity is not to be found in the world, but to be entirely rooted in Christ. It doesn’t matter what organization you are a part of because not only are they all amazing options, but you will be a Child of God regardless of what letters you wear. Rush can be stressful, trust me I remember going through it and being worried most of the time, but at the end of the day God’s hand was working through the whole thing. You could ask my freshman year roommate and she would tell you how much I overthought rushing compared to how unbothered she was by it. I wish I could’ve followed her example and seen that the world would still turn no matter what, and that regardless of what I wanted it would work out either way. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose,” Romans 8:28. It’s okay to be nervous, but I encourage you in those moments to turn to prayer instead of social media; it’s a much better solution, I promise.
My best advice is to go into rush looking for friendships, and to have an open mind. There are upperclassmen I met through the rush process in different sororities than the one I chose that are still dear friends of mine. Be yourself, it makes it easier to find an amazing group of girls who will match the vibe you have instead of finding people who love an artificial version of the person you are. You’re made just as you are for a reason, and God will place the people in your path that appreciate you for you. And lastly, have an open mind. You may find girls in a certain sorority you click with early on in the semester, but there are great people in other chapters too! It would be a disservice to yourself to not enjoy learning about all the different groups. Go to events, enjoy meeting new people and making new friends, and try not to worry too much about it.
If you ever feel like you don’t know what greek life looks like or what comes next, upperclassmen love answering questions because we remember being right where you are. Don’t be scared to reach out, we’re all excited to meet you. Maybe you don’t know if you want to rush, that’s totally fine too! Follow your heart, do what is best for you and not what everyone else is doing. Jesus is a beautiful example of swimming upstream when everyone else is going a different direction. So when it comes to rush, whatever you decide, decide it for yourself.
And don’t be fooled, I love my sorority and the girls in it, but that doesn’t mean my life suddenly became perfect when I joined it. I still had hard deadlines to meet and social life struggles and body image issues just like the rest of us. If you’re looking for something to solve your problems, I’m sorry a sorority won’t do that for you — but the good news is you are always able to invite God into your struggles and trust that He will bring you out of them. Rush is a fun, exhilarating process — don’t let stress get in the way. I would say good luck, but I don’t know if “luck” is a defining characteristic of the rush process, so I’ll leave you with ‘trust God’ instead!
this is EVERYTHING! thank you raylee for your wisdom💗
You are such a gem. So thankful to have met you.