Originally Posted by AlphaFrog (Post 2112446)

Ok, I've seen people write retro stories and people's MOMS write retro stories, but a mother/daughter team effort retro? Weird. I'm not quite ready to call FanFic yet, but I'm leaning that way.

Oh, and I'm kinda over the "I'm not your typical sorority girl". No one ever is.

Also, go ahead and call me a meanie, and then get on with your story, because regardless of my opinion, I'm sure the recruitment thread whores are dying for one In the off-season, FanFic or not.

Originally Posted by keyplayer (Post 2112441)

Let me begin this story by saying I’m not the typical sorority girl. I was an athlete in high school and was never into partying, makeup, boys or any of that stuff. I’m the girl with a million guy friends but only a few girl friends. The only reason I went through rush is because my mom made me. Yeah, I know, I shouldn’t have done that, but to be honest I’m so glad she did. She’d been in a society in her school because there were no sororities and had had a wonderful experience. Some of her sisters are still her closest friends and my godmother. I was unsure about the recruitment process because it sounds so dramatic, catty and just too…girlie for my taste. I received a Facebook message from a friend who had graduated a year earlier and gone to the college I was attending. I didn’t know she was Greek, but she gave me all kinds of tips regarding rush, though she refused to tell me which sorority she was a part of. (I found out later she’s a Rapunzel, but that was an accident when she introduced me to sister who was visiting her for the summer and the sister let it slip.) The advice from this girl, in addition to all the tips my mom and I picked up lurking on Greek Chat (thank you all for that, by the way, because it really did help) made me feel a little better about recruitment, though I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure Greek life was for me. I planned on going in with an open mind, and on just letting it all happen and see, knowing I could drop if I really hated it. I secretly loved the idea of sisterhood, since I grew up with nothing but brothers. I am not going to reveal my school, so please don’t even ask.

Mom is jumping in her to give you, the reader, some background. Subjectively, my daughter is stunningly beautiful, exceedingly intelligent and breathtakingly charming-recruitment should be no problem, right? More objectively, while she is not beauty contest material, she is really pretty and very petite. She is smart, and is in the highly competitive honors program at her school. However, her high school gpa is a fairly unimpressive 3.6 because she took a total of 16 AP level courses in high school. One mom told me that her daughter’s sorority had to make so many first round cuts, they just cut everyone below a 3.75, so I worried that her gpa might hurt her. Also, she is a really fun and funny person to be around, but her wit tends towards sarcasm and irony, which doesn’t always lend itself to good first impressions. I also knew that she would not change one thing about herself during recruitment. She has always had a strong sense of herself and does not particularly care to fit in with any particular group. She also did not have the most positive attitude about participating in recruitment. Needless to say, I really worried about whether I was encouraging her to do something that might hurt her in the long run. I did firmly believe that, if she could get through recruitment with her sense of self intact, she would benefit from being a part of a sorority because she is at a large school, and sororities are a wonderful way to become a part of a smaller group.

My school has ten NPC sororities:
Mulan
Aurora
Pochontas
Belle
Ariel
Jasmine
Cinderella
Tiana
Rapunzel
Snow White

I’m sort of a nerd, so I spent the weeks leading up to recruitment reading the chapter websites obsessively and googling the national organizations to learn as much as I could. I had letters of recommendation for each sorority except one and I spent countless hours looking for the perfect outfits. I figured if I was going to do this, I should do it the right way. I hope I never have to stress out about clothing that much ever again.

Originally Posted by keyplayer (Post 2112487)

I promise you, this isn't a fanfiction. It is from earlier this year, Fall 2011. You don't have to believe me and I know many of you probably won't, and that's ok with me. Also, just an aside: I'm the sort of girl who doesn't do things half way. I might not have been super into the idea of sorority recruitment, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to give it my all.

Recruitment started and I found out one of my two Pi Chis is in the same honors program I’m a part of. That made me feel so much better knowing that it is possible to be a nerd and still be in a sorority. Recruitment stretched over two weeks, and round one was over two days. We visited five houses the first day and then the rest on the second. My very first house was Pochontas. The girls in my Pi Chi were freaking out because they were a “top” house on campus. The girl next to me alphabetically was sort of snobby and continued to talk about how she was a shoe in here because she knew a bunch of girls at the house. I tried to tune them out, but it’s not easy to do.

The doors to the house opened and I was blown away by the noise. I knew to expect cheering, but I had no idea it was going to be that loud! The girl I talked to at this house was really sweet and I felt like I had a good connection here. This was probably the best way I could have started recruitment, because it helped to ease my nerves and just made everything seem less scary.

The next house of the day was Cinderella, another “top”. This was one where I was pretty sure I wouldn’t fit in, because they have a reputation of being blonde, rich girls who are very dramatic and girlie. I know, I shouldn’t have listened to the reputation, but I did. There was no way to resist it really. I entered the house and it was beautiful, but I didn’t feel a connection. Though this house has one of the top GPAs, the girl rushing me talked about how a lot of girls have easy majors. Grades are very important to me and this sort of left a bad taste in my mouth. She also mentioned something about how all the boys want to date a Cinderella and how the girls party a lot, which to me didn’t seem like something that should be shared on the first day, but maybe I was just naïve.

Tiana was next, and the girls in my Pi Chi group kindly informed me this was a bottom tier sorority and that they could care less about it and that they were purposefully going to blow it. That seemed beyond rude to me and I told them that (which might explain why I never really made friends with the girls in my group). I went into the house ignoring them, and met a really sweet girl. The sisterhood here didn’t seem as strong as in some of the other houses, nor was their rush quite as well put together. The house was beautiful and I loved the symbols, so I put it down as a maybe.

I really wanted to make a good first impression at Rapunzel, because that was the sorority where my friend belonged and I knew that if she loved it so much, there had to have been a good reason. The girls I talked to were nice enough and they were certainly enthusiastic, if perhaps a little girlier than me. I did like it though, enough to go back and try again.

Belle was the last, so I was beyond burned out at this point and don’t really remember anything about the sorority other than I what I wrote in my book, which was just that the sisterhood seemed tight and their colors.
At the end of the day, all I wanted to do was go back to my dorm and shower! All the walking in the hot sun had been exhausting and draining, so I went straight to bed after dinner.

Day 2 was more of the same as Day 1. I was visiting another “top” (according to the girls in my group any way) house first: Jasmine. I loved this house! The girl I talked to was so sweet and funny and she seemed genuinely interested in me. The motto of this house was a little off putting though, something about how only the best girls get to join. I didn’t like how exclusive they seemed because of that, but it’s not like the girls in the house had any control over that.

Snow White was next, and I expected to like this house. A friend I’d met in my dorm had mentioned how his sister, who shared my major, was a sister here and loved it. It was another “top”. I was starting to get annoyed about how many of the houses were “top” according to the girls in my Pi Chi, and their attitudes were really starting to get on my nerves. I HATED this house. The girl I talked to clearly didn’t care about school at all, and talked about how she sat in the back of her classes and copied notes and homework from the smart kids. As one of the “smart kids”, I was offended, and I knew I couldn’t be a part of a sisterhood with this girl. This was also the moment I had an epiphany. I didn’t have to listen to the girls in my Pi Chi. Their opinions meant nothing and I should go based on how I felt, not what they said. This attitude definitely made the rest of recruitment so much better and I wish I had realized this from the beginning. As much as I tried to go in with an open mind, I still let their comments get to me until this point.

Ariel was good; I was rushed by two girls who were clearly close here. They seemed more into talking to each other than to me at first, but the conversation flowed and I really liked them.

The next house was Aurora. I wanted to like them because based on what I found out on Google they seemed like a great group. I loved the girls I talked to, they were so down to earth and chill.

Mulan was the last one. I loved the website for this house and it made it seem like this was the perfect house for me. They seemed very academically motivated and I liked how they separated girls and took them to different rooms in the house so we could hear each other. Most of the other parties took place in the chapter room and so it was a little loud. The sisterhood here seemed so tight, and it was definitely my top pick for the round.

We had to list two houses that we didn’t want to go back to, then the rest we just listed not based on order. I knew right away I was getting rid of Snow White, but the second spot was tough to fill. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to get rid of Cinderella or Belle because I didn’t feel completely comfortable at Cinderella, but I could barely remember anything about Belle. I also didn’t want to cut two of the “best” houses on campus, because what did that say about me as a person? That I was a huge loser? I talked it over with my Pi Chi, and I decided to cut Cinderella. When I explained my reasoning to her, I realized I knew what I wanted to do, I just needed someone to tell me it was ok to get rid of the popular ones. She also reminded me this was an individual decision and I needed to focus on me, not other people.

Originally Posted by keyplayer (Post 2112583)

Day 3 and 4
We could get invited back to seven sororities for skit day, but I was a little disappointed when I got my list back and only had six. Then I realized there were a lot of girls who didn’t have a full list, and that it only takes the one to give you the bid and that’s what I needed to focus on. I was asked back to Ariel, Tiana, Belle, Rapunzel, and to my delight Mulan. I also found out I have to go back to Snow White. That was the last house I wanted to visit again and I’ll admit I had a pretty sucky attitude about it at first. I called my mom and threatened to drop out of recruitment all together because that house just made me so uncomfortable and there was a chance that I could have to join it. I realize now how silly and stupid I was acting, but at the time I was scared, stresses, tired and out of my mind. She calmly reminded me that it was my choice, but if I dropped out now, I might never be able to join a sorority again and that I had just as good a chance at becoming a Mulan sister. I went back inside and sat with my Pi Chi group, and was a little freaked out to see girls crying because Snow White had dropped them. I realized that maybe if these girls had liked them, maybe I’d just had a bad experience and I couldn’t let the girl I spoken to first dictate my opinion of the whole sorority.

This round was spread out over two days, and on the first day I visited Ariel and Mulan. The skits at both houses were good, but I was in love with Mulan. Their skit was hilarious and the girl I spoke to talked to me about how they have movie nights and sleepovers in the house and just the general day to day things they do as sisters. I really liked that, because most of the other houses only talked about functions they had or other events like that. I knew in my heart this was the place for me, and could totally see myself in this sorority. I liked Ariel well enough and the girl I talked to was really nice and we had a good conversation about Harry Potter, which I love. The skit wasn’t anything super special.

The next day, I was excited to go to the rest of the houses to see the skits, because they’d all been really cute and really funny. The first house on my list was Rapunzel, and I was excited because I’d heard they had a great skit from girls who had been the day before. It didn’t disappoint. My friend from high school rushed me here, and it was great to see her again, but the second girl I talked to there seemed kind of superficial. This was when I realized that maybe I didn’t belong here. I wanted so badly to like Rapunzel because of my friend, but it wasn’t the one for me. The girls here were way too girlie for my taste and there wasn’t a real click with any of them.

Snow White was the second house of the day, and I tried to go in with a positive attitude. I loved their skit and thought it was really funny and creative. I had a much better girl rushing me than during the first round, but I still didn’t think I’d fit in well at Snow White.
Belle was next, and their skit wasn’t nearly as good as some of the others. It was informative, but not particularly funny or entertaining. The girl I talked to was amazing though. You could tell she genuinely loved all of her sisters and she got this light in her eye when she talked about Belle; it was infectious. I still didn’t know if this was the one for me though, because it wasn’t that memorable the day before.

Tiana had a skit themed to one of my favorite TV shows and I had some great conversations. The girls I was with waiting outside had some awful things to say about the sorority, but I didn’t listen to them this time. I met a really sweet girl and we got along really well. I liked this house a lot more than I had the previous day.

So I had a choice to make. Seven had to become five, and I only knew of one sorority that I was positive I wanted to get rid of, Snow White. I genuinely liked all of the others and had no idea who list at the bottom. I narrowed it down to Belle and Ariel as the two I wouldn’t mind cutting. I talked it over with my Pi Chi and in the end, I decided to list Ariel in the bottom along with Snow White. I knew I made the right decision.

The next round we could have up to five houses, but I only had four: Belle, Tiana, Ariel and Mulan. I was so excited to have Mulan on the list still, and the others I was willing to look at again, though I admit I was sort of focused on Mulan. The others to me were just places to visit until I finally made it home. Having only four seemed like a good thing at that point, because I knew exactly where I was going and it meant wasting less time to get there.

I got to start at my favorite house, and was once again blown away. We did a craft for the philanthropy and it was really cute and the girls I spoke with were so genuine and sweet. They all seemed so beautiful in their cocktail dresses and heels and so put together and I wanted to be a part of that group more than anything else. It was my top pick before I even looked at Tiana and Belle again.
Ariel was fun and everything, but the girls were wearing super preppy, super girlie outfits and I had no idea if I’d fit in with them if that was what they liked to wear. I was able to joke about wearing kids sized clothing with the girl rushing me, but I knew it wasn’t for me.

Tiana was good; I talked to a girl who had rushed me earlier in the week and we got along pretty well, but I still didn’t feel any real click. I liked the craft we did and the philanthropy they supported. The girls here were so nice and everything, but there was just something telling me it wasn’t it.
At Belle, I was so surprised. Their philanthropy was a cause close to my heart and I was rushed by the same girl who had rushed me the day before. We joked about how we were going to light our heels on fire at the end of rush and we talked so much that I never even started on the craft. Another girl joined our conversation and even though it was obvious she wasn’t close to the girl rushing me, it was so cool to see them interact. You could tell they loved each other and cared so much about the other even though one was a senior and the other was a sophomore and they might not have been super tight. I mentioned this and the first girl told me about how even though it’s a big sorority, the girls are close and even if you aren’t, if you need a friendly face on campus and you see a girl wearing her letters, you’re automatically best friends. They sit together in classes on the first day and eat together so no one feels awkward and I just loved that about Belle. This round certainly gave me a new perspective on the sorority.

I knew I was getting rid of Ariel as I narrowed it down to two, and that Mulan would be my first choice, and Belle was my second. I went to bed that night envisioning going to pref night at Belle and Mulan and then getting my bid from Mulan. It was perfect, at least in my head.

Originally Posted by keyplayer (Post 2112638)