People say that they regret what they missed out on more than the things they’ve done. I rushed AKPsi twice. No regrets.
My first time rushing was in the fall of my freshman year. Rush was overwhelming, intimidating, and exhausting. But it was also exciting, challenging, and motivating, and I wouldn’t go back and change a single second of it. At the end of the long week, I finally got the eagerly-awaited phone call but received upsetting news: “we had a competitive rush group this year; maybe next time.”
No regrets. I learned more in that week than I did in any other week of my life; I even wrote my first big kid resume! I grew more in that week than I ever thought possible and watched this awkward freshman girl transform into someone who could be comfortable making connections with strangers. But the rejection still hurt. I was upset. Maybe even a little mad. I took the news quite personally and decided to take a break from all things AKPsi to focus on other endeavors.
The summer after freshman year, a constant debate took place between my pride and my rationale. They didn’t want me. But it felt like home. I wasn’t good enough for them. But I still had a good time rushing. On and on, back and forth.
The week before sophomore classes started, I finally came to a dramatic, but very accurate, conclusion: I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t rush again. AKPsi was the only organization on campus in which I knew I could grow into the person I wanted to be. By going through the process again I wasn’t just giving AKPsi a second chance to see what I had to offer; I was giving myself a second chance to learn and grow and meet amazing new people, whether I got in or not. No regrets.
