Why I dropped from rush

If you have ever gone through rush week you will know and understand that that week is exhausting physically and emotionally. First, you’re walking around in a fancy outfit in 100 degree heat. Second, you are having to communicate with multiple girls in all of the houses and keep a smile on your face even though you are completely drained. Third, you have to choose one house out of all of the twelve that you visit. Overall, it is exciting yet a nerve-wracking week.

When I began the recruitment process, I had no idea what to expect on the first day. I had no idea what to wear or what would be going on in the houses. Months prior to rush I began looking at Pinterest boards to see what outfits I should put together for the week. I was absolutely clueless and nervous, whereas all of my other friends were the exact opposite.

Somehow, I survived through all three of the sets. Every morning I woke up at six a.m. and managed to meet my group 10 minutes prior to when we began the day. As each day progressed it began to get harder since we had to select less houses each set. I thought I loved one house one day, but the next day it was a lot different than the day before.

By the time I reached the third set, I knew which three houses I was in love with and could see myself in. I felt as if it were a mutual bond between the three houses but as “Preference Night” approached, I did not get any of the houses I wanted. Quite honestly, by the time I got the list back for that day, I was already over it. That morning as I was getting ready, I knew how tired I was and I would have been OK with dropping if I did not get called back to the house I wanted.

It wasn’t that I did not enjoy rush or was just being a brat because I did not get the houses I wanted. I was absolutely burned out from the pervious day. Those who have not rushed or do not know people who have think that rush can’t be that tiring – that is exactly what I thought before I rushed. I had lack of sleep, drained by the sun and my feet were hurting from the amount of walking I did and my awful heels.

That being said, when I got my list on Preference Day and saw that the one house I wanted was not listed, I decided to do the one thing I thought I would not do: I dropped. When my recruitment counselor asked how I felt with the houses I got called back to, I was honest with her. I told her I wanted to drop just because I did not want to waste time and energy on two houses I felt weren’t my fit. Of course I totally could have gone to those two houses and maybe, I would have changed my mind about one of them, but I knew in the bottom of my heart I would’t. I also knew that I did not want to spend an enormous amount of money on a house I felt I did not belong.

You can imagine that on Bid Day I was devastated because I saw all of my friends’ Snapchat stories and Instagram pictures with their letters and how excited they were because that could have been me. I knew that I could have gotten a bid but I did not want to make a decision on a house just because it was my last resort. If I want to be apart of a sorority, I want it to be with a house I love and know that I feel true sisterhood there.