By Eve Morris

Before rushing, I had assumed AKPsi only took extroverts majoring in Business. As a shy Liberal Arts major, the odds of getting in felt pretty stacked against me. Or so I thought.

I’m not going to lie; I was overwhelmed during the rush process. Introverts characteristically find large quantities of socialization to be draining, and even hearing the word “networking” made me want to drop out in the beginning. Despite my concerns, I went for it. And I gave it my all.

While it at first felt awkward to approach people and join in on conversations, I quickly fell into the pattern of rush and to my surprise, even started to enjoy it. What was so amazing was that for one of the first times in my life, I felt comfortable being myself while conversing with someone new. The brothers I met during rush were all so intent on learning about my interests, ambitions, and potential contributions to the fraternity. As someone who categorizes herself as a listener rather than a talker, I was pleasantly surprised at how secure I felt.

Sure, there were some conversations where I didn’t say enough, and yes, I had (more than) a few cringe-worthy interactions that I would stay up late over-analyzing, but by the end of the week, it did not matter. I told myself regardless of whether I got accepted or not, it was important that I got out of my comfort zone and as a result felt more confident and at ease being myself off the bat.

To all my fellow introverts out there, browsing the AKPsi website and contemplating rushing - you got this! Rush can seem challenging and intimidating and immensely overwhelming, but I know you have so much to offer and will gain something from going through the process, no matter the outcome.