Though it may appear that I abandoned the blog forever,
sorority recruitment (rush) has brought me back.
After 3 weeks in my amazing home in Sydney I came back to
America. I wasn’t even coming “home” here, I was starting at a new university,
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (or UNC). I will be at UNC for
the semester as part of the Robertson Scholars sophomore “switch” (which I will
discuss soon!)
I didn’t really get a chance to settle in before sorority
rush started. This time, however, I wasn’t trying to show different sororities
why they should want me but rather show PNM’s (potential new members) why they
should want to be in Zeta Tau Alpha.
Rush is no less weird from the other side. You meet
innumerable amounts of girls and try to have interesting conversations with
them in about 7 minutes. You evaluate them and they evaluate your sorority
based on the 4 maybe 5 girls they met that round. All members in the sorority
will wear identical outfits each round eg: blue jeans, neutral wedges and black
shirts. My hair was straightened, makeup carefully applied and nails painted. We
chant… as in peppy American movie “Go Zeta!” style chanting. We complain of
sore feet, lost voices and tiredness, much as we did last year.
The difference was this year I had 100+ girls with me on my
side that I love. We danced in between rounds, shared lipsticks, took
innumerable selfies and laughed at each other and the whole process.
I fell in love with my Zeta sisters all over again. They are
fun, vivacious, hilarious, caring and crazy girls that in so many ways define
my life here in America. As our (now former president) said in her speech one
round, these girls make you feel like a strong, independent and powerful
person.
It’s funny because Bid Day last year I wouldn’t have thought
I’d feel that way at all. I wrote about Bid Day at the time but I was very
cautious. I didn’t want to offend my new sorority nor seem bitchy or
ungrateful. The truth is when Bid Day came Zeta was not my first choice, in
fact it was my last of three.
I cried on Bid Day.
At the time I felt a bit ridiculous. I went into sorority
rush for fun, promising myself I wouldn’t make it a huge deal like a lot of
‘Americans’ do. Now I was staring at a bid and was crushed. It wasn’t that I disliked
the girls in Zeta, not at all, I just had liked one other better and had gotten
caught up in the social standing of another.
I was late to my own Bid Day because I didn’t want those
nice Zeta girls to be insulted by a look of disappointment on my face. When I
arrived however, my Bid Day Buddy was waiting for me, all alone outside.
Katlyn, the girl that I loved from the first time I met her, the girl who would
become my Big, inspiration and role model, ran into my arms and shrieked with
happiness. I instantly felt loved, and accepted as every girl, both a new
member and a current member, made me feel so welcome.
Though I had fun those first few days, I didn’t forget my
disappointment completely for a few weeks. It was funny, but falling in love
with Zeta crept up on me and then hit me all at once. Now, I cannot imagine
myself anywhere else.
In Zeta I find myself constantly accepted, encouraged and
welcomed. These are the girls with whom I have wiped away tears, laughed until
my sides hurt, danced at Shooters, shared clothes, secrets and aspirations.
These are the girls that make me forget that a sorority seemed like a remote
American-movie concept and that I am so far from home. Our symbol, the crown,
isn’t inconsequential but rather a reminder that each girl here is the queen of
her own life.
I have had to find ‘home’ in different places since leaving
Sydney, but in Zeta I think home found me.
