I adored my Pi Chi. She was the best!!

After we ranked, I returned to my hall and sat around with friends eating pizza and watching tv. We discussed the sororities, our favorites and some funny things that had happened during the day. I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was feeling anxious about the process, we all were. We all seemed really confused too. Our favorites seemed to change constantly. The next round we would only be able to go to 4 houses.

That night I talked to my mom, who wasn’t greek and really didn’t understand it, but with her “mom wisdom” told me to stop worrying about it so much and to just go with it. Eventually I would find my place, whether it was in a sorority or not. She made me take a couple deep breaths and told me not to take myself quite so seriously – which made me smile. She also told me that while she knew it was a stereo-type sorority girls are supposed to have fun, and that I needed to have some myself.

The next morning, I went to meet with my Pi Chi to get my schedule. She commented on how glad she was to see that I had a smile on my face and handed me my schedule for the day: Sunflower, Cherry Blossom, Orchid, and Lilac…Hyacinth and Daffodil had not invited me back. I was mad about Hyacinth – I had felt like I really had made a connection the day before! I was not surprised by Daffodil. Even though I had a great time during Philanthropy, I knew I wasn’t a Daffodil.

I took a few deep breaths, my Pi Chi asked me how I felt and before I knew it the whole story about the Sunflower “incident” started coming out of my mouth. I told her how confused I was because I really liked the Sunflowers I had met, but this one issue hung over my head and I was worried that if I became a Sunflower, this girl would make my life miserable. My Pi Chi told me that with 100+ girls, you won’t get along with all of them all of the time. People clash and since I keep getting invited back, some Sunflowers must want me there. I felt better talking to my Pi Chi and felt more comfortable with my invites when I left.

I returned to my dorm to find a few of my friends upset or angry. Apparently the cuts had been harsh. A few girls who had “known that they were going to be an X” no longer had that as a possibility. Some girls withdrew from recruitment, some were inconsolable, some tried to shake it off and go on, and some were keeping quiet because they felt lucky and didn’t want to brag.

Round 3 – Sisterhood (4 houses)

I got dressed, primped alone in my room (my roommate was not going through recruitment) and found my way down to my first party, Sunflower.

Sunflower – In the line outside Sunflower there was a weird mix of energy. Some were ecstatic to be there, others were upset or mad, some looked like they were just going through the motions. In the houses, the sisters were cheering and singing again and we were eventually let in. We were sat down and watched a video on Sunshine’s sisterhood. The video brought tears to my eyes! It was a mix of pictures and testimonies and I loved it. I was then met by a new Sunflower who was an excited bubbly mess. It was clear she had cried during the video, she told me that she was a senior and that she was so excited to meet me and get a chance to talk, and not to pay any attention to any smeared makeup on her face! Her honesty made me laugh. We spoke for a few minutes, actually about make-up, and then she introduced me to another sister who I also began to love. However, during this time I saw the Sunflower that I disliked and she saw me. She gave me a pretty nasty look and then whispered something to another Sunflower that was close by. I suddenly felt like I shouldn’t be there. I felt offended and embarrassed. I tried to keep reminding myself of what my Pi Chi had said, but I just kept feeling like I was invading in on territory that I shouldn’t be. I got through the rest of the party and left knowing that I couldn’t be Sunflower, but hoped that I could remain friends with some of the girls I had met there.

I got in line at Cherry Blossom knowing that I would have a good time there. Even though I had felt like things were “off” the day before, I still liked them and before even going in I knew that I liked them more than Sunflower.

Cherry Blossom – Again we were met with cheers and songs and were sat down to watch a video on sisterhood. Like on Philanthropy day, the tv was too small to see from where I was sitting so I couldn’t really see the video. I did look around the room at the sisters. They were laughing, smiling, and teary-eyed. They looked like they really cared about each other. I knew I wanted to share something like that kind of bond I was seeing. A new Cherry Blossom came and got me and we talked, she reverted to the standard recruitment questions. I tried to steer the conversation away from the “where are you from” “what is your major” topics and asked questions about Cherry Blossom and the girl I was talking to, but I didn’t get much of a response .She introduced me to a few other Cherry Blossoms. Again, I felt like I liked the Cherry Blossoms and I could fit in with some of them, but something wasn’t there. As I was leaving, Betty came up real quick and said hi, which I appreciated.

I trekked over to Orchid and to my surprise again, Frick was in line with me she seemed friendlier when Frack wasn’t around. Everyone in line seemed to be excited to go to Orchid, which got me really excited. This time however, the loud Orchids were not banging on the walls or cheering ultra loud, their house was silent.

Orchid – The doors opened and we walked in to a beautifully decorated room and to very nice music. The Orchids seemed subdued. We were sat down and watched a video on their sisterhood. The video was touching and funny – mixed with pictures and seniors speaking about their time with Orchid. In the video, I realized how many Orchids I recognized around campus. And again, I took a minute to scan the room – the Orchids, who had probably watched this video a bunch of times by now, were still welling up, leaning on each other or cracking a smile to one another. I was picked up by an Orchid that I had had my winter term class with. She told me how excited she was to get to talk to me during recruitment. We caught up about our final class projects and spoke a little about how she was planning to study abroad in the Spring and how nervous and excited she was. She told me she especially was going to miss all the other Orchids but was going to be back just in time for graduation because she didn’t want to miss it. I introduced to two more Orchids, one of which I had known was involved in a high leadership role in another campus organization. At first I was intimidated, but I found her so easy to talk to after a few minutes. The party was over before I knew it. I left Orchid on a cloud. I thought I had found my niche.

When we were outside Frick and I realized we were both going to Lilac next so we walked together. Frick told me that she was really liked both Orchid and Lilac the most, but all of her close friends wanted to be Daffodils and she wasn’t sure she wanted to be the only one of her friends that wasn’t a Daffodil. She had went back to Daffodil today and said that it was just “so-so” for her. I tried my best to be supportive and told her that of all the sororities that I had noticed the Lilac’s and Orchid’s seem to have the most friends outside their groups and so if she became a Lilac or an Orchid, she could still be friends with her friends that were Daffodils and plus, she would have new friends too. She seemed to like my answer and we lined up and wished each other good luck.

Lilac – The Lilacs were singing and cheering as we walked in and sat down for their video. Their video was just as good as Orchids and Sunflowers, but as I looked around the room again, they didn’t seem to be very into it. I understood that they had watched it a bunch of times, but it seemed like a presentation to them. I also took note again that they all looked the same. Sure some of them had lighter color hair or a shorter haircut but there was something very similar about all of them and then I realized I kind of looked like them too - without even trying. I was picked up by a Sophmore Lilac who I hit it off with immediately. It seemed like we spoke about everything and were so similar in all of our likes and dislikes. She also took me around to meet some other Lilacs. Before I left she told me that she had had a really hard time deciding who she wanted to pref during her recruitment and that I should go with my instincts and that she wanted to be friends and hang out even if I didn’t end up with Lilac – which I thought was the best thing she could have said.

When I left the house, Frick was waiting outside for me. As the Pi Chis ushered us up to the student center, Frick and I exchanged notes. We both had some decisions to make.




.

Why do I feel the urge to tap dance??!!:)

You and me both.

We got back to the student center and our Pi Chi gave us a speech about Prefrence and how important it was to be honest with ourselves and really think about what we wanted, and not what our friends or in some cases our family members wanted. She told us to take our time doing our rankings.

I sat down, the number one was easy: Orchid.
The number four was easy: Sunflower.

Two and three were hard. I thought about the week and although I had always liked Cherry Blossom – something just wasn’t connecting. The girls were nice enough – they seemed to really care about each other, but I didn’t know if I would really truly fit in with them. My friend from high school was a Cherry Blossom and she loved it, but she wasn’t here. Lilac – I had liked all the Lilacs I had met all week. I had liked that I had often seen Lilac’s hanging out with girls from other sororities. I didn’t like that they seemed “cookie-cutterish” and was afraid I would be forced to loose my identity.

I took a deep breath and quickly wrote my choices down and handed it to my Pi Chi before I could change my mind:
1. Orchid
2. Lilac
3. Cherry Blossom
4. Sunflower

As I was leaving I saw Frick she was crying and talking to her Pi Chi…


.

Can't Wait!
 

More more more!!! lol

This is definitely helping to keep me entertained on a dreary Friday morning!:)

more pleeeeease

That night I actually slept really well. I had been exhausted from the week and thought that as long as I had Orchid as one of my pref parties, I would be happy. I got dressed in a colored dress (because I had been told it was better to wear a color than black or white), helped friends with hair and make-up and headed down to meet my Pi Chi.

When I got to the student center again, some girls were jumping up and down they were so excited, some girls were crying, and some were just quiet. The criers seem to out number the happy PNMs. Again, it seemed like the cuts had been hard. Upon seeing this, I got very very anxious – to the point that I thought I was going to make myself sick (my only thought to keep myself from getting sick was that if I did, I would get something on my dress and be more upset!)

I finally got to my Pi Chi. She handed me my sheet...

oooo... its lunch time....

Orchid & Lilac.

I re-read the sheet about 6 times and jumped up and down and gave my Pi Chi a huge hug! I walked out of the room ecstactic!!!

When I left the student center I saw Frick standing with Frack and a bunch of their friends. One of the girls was visibly upset. Frick called me over and asked me where I was going back to; I told proudly and happily that I was returning to Orchid & Lilac. Frick told me she was returning to Daffodil and Lilac. Frack told me she was going to Daffodil and Hyacinth (not that I had asked her or anything).

I got in line at Orchid and reminded myself to breathe….

Orchid – The doors opened and I was met immediately by the Orchid who I had spoke with the day before from my winter term class, we’ll call her Jen. We were sat in a beautifully decorate room surrounded by candle light. A few of the sisters spoke and then Jen came and got me. Jen and I spoke and she showed me a few of her favorite Orchid things and told me stories and memories she had as an Orchid. I don’t know why, but as she teared-up, so did I. She comforted me, and told me how she understood that this was a really hard week – that last year she had had a really hard her recruitment, but when she opened her bid card and it said Orchid, that she felt happy and relieved. She then said that if either one of us were going to make it through the day, we should stop crying because it was ruining our makeup so she told me a funny story about one of her experiences with Orchid to lighten our moods. After our one-on-one time, Jen led me back to my seat and the ceremony continued. Members gave testimonials. I think I cried during all of them. I did take some Greek Chat advice and took a minute too look at the girls sitting down with me, a few of them I recognized from my dorm or my classes, some I had had some interaction others that I didn’t know at all. One of the girls who lived in my hall was also in this party, but she looked miserable. Finally when the ceremony ended, Jen escorted me to the door and gave me a big smile.

I walked to Lilac with a few people who had been with me at Orchid. I was surprised at how many girls were preffing these two groups. Maybe the Orchids and the Lilacs were more similar than I had thought.

Lilac – Similar to Orchid, the door opened and I was met again by the Lilac from my winter term class, we’ll call her Emily. Emily introduced me to the room fill of her Lilac sisters. The room was decorated absolutely beautifully. I couldn't believe that this was the same room that I had been in the day before. It was amazing! Again, there was a formal ceremony and several Lilac’s spoke. Emily then took me to a private area and we chatted about how much Lilac ment to her and how much she loved her sisters and that they were her best friends. Emily showed me some Lilac items that were important to her and told me a sad story and how her sisters supported her through a bad time. I was touched by Emily’s story and saw that she was getting emotional about it. I thought that maybe the Lilac’s do have a closer bond than I first thought. After our one-on-one the ceremony continued. Lilac’s gave testimonies, similar to those at Orchids. I think I cried during all of these testimonies too! I looked around the room, at the sisters and the PNMs, and I did feel a spark of something inside. The ceremony ended and Emily lead me to the door and whispered that she hoped my wish was the same as hers.

We walked outside and the temperature was quickly dropping. Our Pi Chis had us walk in absolute silence back to the student center. I kept running the whole week through my head although I was pretty certain that I knew which chapter I was going to put down first.

more more more!!! :)

I can't decide if you and Frick are going to end up in Lilac together, or if I think you're going to Orchid. Can't wait to find out!

ahh i can't wait to here what happens next! more more moer!

I really, really like this story. :)

more more more! i love this! :)