Dear underclassmen dreading Fall Rounds,
I know how you’re feeling, but please, don’t fret. Tomorrow morning, you will embark on one of the most beautiful adventures of your life as you are finally introduced to the wonderful, harmonious Greek community you’ve yearned to be a part of.
You’ve heard people say sororities are cliquey and judgmental. This could not be further from the truth. Greek women are probably the most open-minded on campus, and they normally seek to surround themselves by people who are not like them in any way, shape or form.
As you enter your first sorority house tomorrow, you enter at the same level as the girl walking right behind you. What you’ve done in the past, what your future looks like — it doesn’t matter. Every potential new member starts off with a clean slate, a tabula rasa.
It doesn’t matter if you went out too much the first few months. You’ve had some bad nights? Don’t worry; we’ve all had them. Not quite as bad as your night with a girl’s boyfriend while she was on a sorority retreat, but hey, she probably understands. And even if she doesn’t, her whole house won’t judge you based on the word of one girl.
Tomorrow you will be wearing the same shirt as every other girl who goes through rounds, which will make you equals. You might be worrying about your bottom half, though, because you’ve heard the elite houses go as far as to judge style choices. Well, you should definitely stop stressing about that. Whether you are wearing a $242 pair of True Religion jeans or that $20 pair you got from Old Navy, it doesn’t matter. Those Greek women won’t really be looking, and they probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway. Even if they could tell the difference, why would upperclassmen women care about something as petty as jeans anyway?
The same goes for shoes. You’ve got the Target knock-offs instead of the real-deal, $195 Tory Burch flats. So what? Sorority women will probably respect you even more for the financial responsibility you’ve exemplified in your attempt to be stylish.
You’ve become a groupie at a fraternity already and you’re worried it doesn’t mix well with the sorority you’re about to walk into? Stop your fussing. Sororities never limit themselves to one or two frats, but instead have groups that hang out at all of them. So you don’t go to frats, or really “out” at all? No matter! It’s your personality that truly defines your chance of getting a bid or not.
Sophomores and transfers might be worried they will automatically be cut from certain houses. That’s ridiculous, because no house predetermines your fate due to age, hesitancy to get involved during your first year at Vandy or the even fact you just didn’t do as well as you wanted the first time around.
Don’t worry about those embarrassing photos that were put up on Facebook the morning after Halloween. Sorority women have not been Facebook-stalking you, like you might have heard, and they definitely haven’t been looking over your shoulder at where you are online shopping during class.
If you are not a morning person, it’s not a problem. The excited juniors and confident sophomores, at it is their first times, will take charge and control the conversation. Juniors may even tell you where they are going abroad next semester and how sad they are about having to miss spring rush.
Hey, if things do go badly for you throughout the day tomorrow, remember: This was just practice. Sorority women will not judge you based upon how you act tomorrow. The slate will be wiped clean again come January.
I wish you the best of luck!
MFB
—Frannie Boyle is a junior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at mary.f.boyle@vanderbilt.edu.
