Colonna
Back in September, I had a conversation with my mom about whether I should try rushing a sorority.
As an MSU student, she had never been a sorority member, but she was a little sister for a fraternity. It didn’t nearly entail the time commitment required of a sorority, but she still was somewhat involved in greek life. She enjoyed her experience going on trips and partying with the fraternity, so she cautiously advised me to try rushing while I was here.
But I could tell she wasn’t crazy about the idea.
I was disappointed to find the whole rush process was pretty disorganized. Confusion regarding exactly what was supposed to happen seemed to be the main concern the recruits had in common. Strike one.
Interviews seem to be my forte. But this one was a little different than the others. My one-on-one was quick and felt more like an assembly line of vague questions than a chance to actually sit down and describe myself.
Do I think they truly got to know the real me? Absolutely not.
I don’t think an eight-minute interview gives anyone a fair chance to introduce themselves. Strike two.
Still, I was surprised yet excited when I was invited back.
I wore a brand new dress, curled my hair and headed out. When I got there, the other women were clustered outside, all nervously chatting and excited for the night’s festivities. The night went great, and the women I spoke with were all very nice. Walking home, I thought I would become a member of that sorority.
So when I found out I didn’t get a bid, I was upset, angry, hurt and, most of all, confused.
I spent the rest of my day trying to figure out what went wrong. It didn’t make any sense. My interviews went great, and I felt the information sheet I filled out presented all of my best attributes. So what was it?
With so many women eager to be a part of the chapter, there’s no way they could have connected names to faces and actually known who was who when making their decisions.
And how can you make a judgment about someone after only eight minutes of talking? You can’t.
These recent feelings of exclusion sent a hurtful memory flying back into my mind.
I was that girl in the seventh grade who never exactly fit in. I was invited to a Christmas party that year at one of my “friend’s” houses. She was popular, came from a wealthy family and everyone wanted to be her friend.
Little to my knowledge, she had a limousine pick up 10 of the 12 girls invited from school the day of the party. She took them to lunch and the nail salon before heading back to her house before the party started.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make the cut then, and I didn’t make the cut now to get in a sorority.
But I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Maybe I wasn’t accepted because I couldn’t juggle an internship, sorority, sporting events and classes.
Maybe it was because there are bigger and better things in store. But the most frustrating part is that I’ll never truly know the answer.
Recruitment is supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be “the best decision of your life.” But in such a short time span, it is nearly impossible to present yourself in a way that will make someone else approve of you. Aren’t we then losing sight of being ourselves?
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Unfortunately, many women will end up hurt and without a bid, thinking back on what they could have done to change things.
But in reality, being “rejected” shouldn’t be taken too much to heart.
Being judged from one quick interview doesn’t show who you truly are, and it certainly doesn’t make you any less of a person.
Micaela Colonna is a State News staff reporter. Reach her at mcolonna@statenews.com.
