An Open Letter to the House That Didn’t Give me a Bid

For the most part, recruitment is over, Big/Little season has begun, but some girls may still feel a pang of jealousy, seeing other girls wearing Bid Day shirts of the house they they had their heart set on. Somehow, the girls in that house look more perfect on Bid Day than they did during the week, but I would like to say, “thank you” to them.

Now hold up, why? Because if I had been given a bid to that house, I wouldn’t have my perfect sisters and my home. I would have friends, and I already had friends before I pledged my house. At first, I felt like something had happened, maybe something was wrong with me that made them not want me. My sisters made me realize that I’m enough, that I do not have to mold myself into someone that I’m not in order to fit into a sorority.  Looking back on recruitment week, I realized that when I walked into that house, I was running “Campaign Sarah for This Sorority” but when I walked into my house, I was me. A sorority should not be a place where you feel like you need to change something about you, or be someone that you’re not in order to feel like a sister. A sister is more than a friend. There is a bond there that runs deeper than friendships. Sisters are the girls who know your Starbucks order by heart, and they also know when to give you Nutella during a break up.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do not have a grudge against that house and I do not harbor bad feelings. I just realized that they were not the sisterhood for me, no matter how perfect they may seem on the outside. Do I have people that I consider friends in that house? Absolutely, my friends since freshman year are in that house but I do not think I would be able to say that they are my sisters. So why does this matter to you, the girl who may not feel at home yet? There’s a reason you were chosen for the house you are in, or if you can receive multiple bids, there is a reason that you chose the house you are in. There will be sisters who will have your back for years to come, and just because you may not be in the same house as your friends, doesn’t mean that you have to stop being friends.

All in all, thank you to the house that didn’t give me a bid, you helped me find my home.