GreekChat.com Forums - Recruitment Disappointment and Instagram/FB/Snapchat

GreekChat.com Forums (http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/index.php)

- Sorority Recruitment (http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/forumdisplay.php?f=217)

- - Recruitment Disappointment and Instagram/FB/Snapchat - Advice (http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=244367)

Recruitment Disappointment and Instagram/FB/Snapchat - Advice

So you did not get your first choice and you come in here super sad a week later wondering if you should depledge.

My advice: UNPLUG from social media and see if you still feel the same in 2 weeks.

Some history, for the young folk. I was active circa 2004. FB was in its infancy.

If you got a bid to your second or third choice, and you were salty about it, you only got that "fear of missing out" re: your strong chapter fave at an event. Like if you saw them at Greek Week, or they won Songfest and you were there and you got third. Or at actual bid day. So if you got Chi O and really wanted Kappa, you really only were like "omg love Kappaaaaaa" when you saw them out.

Then FB came on the scene. Then the fear of missing out and wanting another chapter was available to you all the time. All the Kappas post pics of Thursday night, and you could log on at anytime, see it in your feed, and boom, "omgg whyyyy am I not a Kappa!" and cue sadness.

Now we have that AND Instagram, Snapchat, etc. So if you really wanted Kappa, you are never far from that crummy feeling. Kappas do not just post pics. Now they post Snap/IG live stories of that awesome date party. So you somehow feel crummier.

These things are not bad and Kappa is not bad for posting it. But it will not help you to feel better about where you are.

Tip: take a day or two to unplug. It is hard. Hard for me and I'm 32. But your perspective changes when you are not exposing yourself to all things first choice group all the time.

Best of luck to you!

This is great advice that can also be used beyond just college. Posts like this make we wish there was a like button.

See also:

Did not get a bid at all?

The advice still applies.

You obviously can't control things like seeing (example) sorority dorm door decor everywhere when you walk to the bathroom (do they still even do those?) if you are in the freshman dorm. Or seeing the huge sorority sections at football games if you're at that type of school where sorority and football are huge. Unless you sit in your room all day and who wants that?

BUT.

You CAN control your exposure to Greek Life on social media, which is usually what makes you the saddest because you log on and everyone is just so smily and happy in all those snaps. If all you do is scroll IG and look at sorority-related IG accounts, you will be miserable.

Unplug. Hang out with some not-Greek friends. Watch some movies you like.

When you plug back in, you'll find that you will likely have moved on to some other activity that you like. Yes, there are other activities. Even at the heaviest Greek schools.

Those Big 12, SEC, etc. schools have HUGE populations so you can't tell me "everyone is Greek." Everyone appears Greek because that is your focus.

If you want to enjoy the rest of college, you have to change what you're looking at.

That time of year again.

Also remember, everything looks better on social media. It's designed that way. Girls use social media partly for a recruitment tool, so of course they are only going to post the absolute best and happiest, most amazing pictures a lot of the times. It can make it seem like you're missing out on the time of your life, but that chapter might just have a really good PR type person running their social media accounts. They're not over there having fun 24/7, just like your house isn't.