Column: #Squad Goals aren’t exclusive

#SquadGoals is a phrase that has integrated itself into not only my internet vocabulary, but my IRL vocabulary, too. I’m not the only person this has happened to either.

Squad Goals, made famous by Queen of Everything Taylor Swift, is a phenomenon evident in 2015 — girl gangs are in.

While thinking about my own female squad and what female friendship means to me, my mind wandered to last week’s sorority recruitment on campus. Having several friends who are sisters in various sororities, I heard about the countless hours of practice and preparation that led up to last Wednesday’s Bid Day: the ultimate union of a girl with her destined Panhellenic squad.

However, it doesn’t always work out with a fairy tale ending. Some girls get dropped from the sororities they feel the most in tune with; some fall through altogether.

While that’s heartbreaking, I’m here to say that Greek life isn’t the only way to find your squad. It can be an incredible experience for reasons other than getting a bid; you can meet other amazing people in the process.

Before I came to UNC, I had very few girl friends. High school made me question how genuine female friendships truly were.

I passed off my few “catty” experiences as just that: Girls were mean, out for themselves and not the type of friends I wanted. Throughout my first semester last fall, I realized how wrong that philosophy was.

At the end of my first semester, I had accrued many female friends through my various experiences at UNC. Some were met by way of living across the suite from each other, another was met by chance after realizing we were already friends on social media, a few were met through classes and quite a number were met when I rushed at a Greek Alliance Council co-ed fraternity.

Rushing helped me make female friends in both the fraternity and through the rush process. For the friends I met through recruitment, it wasn’t about who got a bid or who didn’t, it was about sharing a crazy, hectic experience and then moving on from it.

We were able to continue to hang out even after recruitment had ended, and unsurprisingly, we had a lot in common.

My idea of female friendship has done a complete 180. Although I had bad experiences in the past, having mutual experiences with other girls has helped me realize how magical and wonderful a strong female bond can be.

So you didn’t get the bid you wanted. That’s okay; there’s always next year, but also try to remember the friends you made in the process.

Just because some of these girls might be on their way to joining a sorority doesn’t mean they can’t have friends outside of their organization. Sisterhood comes in all sizes, colors and modes — it doesn’t have to happen within a campus organization.

Sometimes it takes losing one squad to make a new one.