Invitation Pick Up for Pref (3 Party Day)
 

With much trepidation, I walked to the Student Center at that" wonderful" hour of 7am to pick up my invitations. Once *again* one of the chapters was late with their list, so there we sat. And sat. And sat. Some girls even curled up on the floor and went back to sleep.

Finally the waiting was over. My Rho Chi handed me my paper, and I remember not looking at it for the longest time. I mean, for the loooooooongest time. My Rho Chi had thought that I had gone mad. Finally, I opened it up and I had been invited back to:

Carol Seaver
Tootie
Winnie Cooper
Mallory Keaton

Oh my goodness! No cuts! And Mallory was still there too! While I really felt no bad vibes toward Winnie, I just found that I enjoyed Tootie, Carol and Mallory more. So... I marked those three and turned my list back in.

I was so excited I almost floated back to my dorm.

What a great feeling! (you were in demand)

More please! :)

I'm hooked!

I can't wait to find out what happened at Prefs!

Pref Night (3 Party Day)
 

So, I wore some atrocious floral dress that also had shoulder pads. Bleg. However, that isn't near as bad as one rushee, who was in a full length velvet dress. Umm… it’s friggin 102 degrees! What are you thinking? Most people wore nice dresses, but no one except velvet girl was in semi-formal.

Tootie- The girl that had picked me up on the first day picked me up again. I really, really liked her, and she had made a point to greet me at every party. We both really opened up with each other and she told me what Tootie had meant to her. After about 30 minutes of talking, they started the ceremony part. We stood in a circle, each Rushee had a lit candle, and we were asked to make a wish as we blew it out. Following this, the Tooties did something that if I shared, it would give away what group it is, so I won’t. It was meant to be a serious, moving experience, but I noticed that the Rushee next to me was stifling a giggle. Yeah, come to think of it, this was a bit cheesy, and it kind of made me smile too as she and I made eye contact. Following this, we paired back up with our active for a few last words. I was kind of sad to be leaving Tootie, and I remember hugging the girl that preffed me.

Next up was Mallory. I was paired with an active that I had not met before. They too had a very moving ceremony, but at this one we stayed in our seats. The actives presented us with gifts (that we weren’t allowed to keep… confusing!) and with personal letters. I distinctly remember being moved by her words and tearing up. I am still perplexed as to how I keep getting invited back, but am really starting to believe that they see something in me that maybe I don’t even see in myself. The Mallories have such a tight bond, and everyone that I have met has been so impressive. Everyone wanted to be a Mallory and I did too.

Last party: Carol Seaver. Again, I was paired up with someone that I had not met before, but I saw this a as a positive since I had really only started truly meeting people here yesterday. She was a sophomore, so this was her first rush on the other side. The first thing she said to me was “it’s been a long week hasn’t it? I bet you are pretty wiped out… I know that I am, and honestly I am kinda tired of all this.” Huh? I didn’t know whether to be appalled or to hug her! All night people had just wanted to talk about how great their chapter is, while we had to sit there and be "on." But... this girl admittedly just wants to chill with me. Although I was taken aback at first, this actually proved to be just what I needed for the last party of the night. We ended up just having a real conversation, occasionally she interjected something about Carol Seaver, but mostly we just kind of laughed (quietly) together. It was great, and I decided that I really liked her. The Carol Seavers also had a brief ceremony… more lit candles involved… and seniors shared why they liked Carol so much.

So we were required to walk back to the Student Center in silence. Once there, we were asked to rank the houses that we had preffed. Some people quickly marked their sheets and left. The girl whose name was right after mine in the alphabet (and thus, we had been next to each other all week) was in tears. I mean serious all-out crying. She had not been cut by a single house all week and was now distraught. I remember how she just kept saying “this is a lifetime choice.” “Tonight I have to decide my entire life.” I remember thinking that wow- that is pretty heavy. I was honestly just thinking about the next few years.

Turns out, out of the 50ish folks in our Rush group, she and I were the last to leave. I loved each house that I went to, but for such very different reasons. Even my reaction in each house tonight had been different … warm fuzzies at Tootie, tears at Mallory, and laughter at Carol Seaver. I made pro and con lists, and I still couldn’t get things straight. I loved every single person at Tootie, but should I be concerned about a possible negative reputation? I felt that Mallory really saw something in me, but would I spend the rest of college feeling like I didn’t measure up? Or was I really good enough for them, but was just insecure at the moment? The Carols were certainly fun and I liked that they were laid back. It was also impressive that so many campus leaders were a part of this group. But why did I never get warm tinglies there?

I changed my order at least 5 times before I turned the paper in.

Bid Day was tomorrow at 4. We were told to be in our dorm rooms between 9-11am so that the Rho Chis could find us in case there was no match. (remember… no cell phones back in the day…. We used these cumbersome things called “land lines” and they even had cords!!)

So, what do you think? What order should the houses be in?

Wow...what a tough choice! I guess it really is hard to decide even when all the choices are good ones. I'd put Tootie first, then Carol then Mallory. It seems like you have like people in each so you'd probably have a good time as a member of any of the three. Tootie, however, gave you the "warm fuzzies" so you should stick with them despite the cheesy bad rep!

Loving the story, but the line in bold, really bothered me. Someone needs to knock some sense into whoever put that much pressure on a teen.

Regarding being Preffed by someone you didn't know...that is always the kiss of death (IMHO)

Tootie, Carol, and then Mallorie. I went back and reread a few things and this is how I think you went.

LOL!! Yeah, I remember those days..

please update..

Yep, that is what I would have done. Tootie, Carol, Mallory.
Tootie first because it is where you felt the strongest connection. Carol felt comfortable enough. Mallory made you feel insecure about yourself.

At your age at the time, I think I would have gone Mallory, Carol Seever, Tootie but today I'd encourage a girl to list Carol, Tootie, and Mallory because your feelings at Carol and Tootie seem sincere where at Mallory you seemed a little bit awed and at arm's length.

You were very fortunate to have three chapters at which you would sincerely be happy to have bids. So many times in threads, it's expressed like, oh, I'd love to be a Mallory, I'd be okay being a Carol, but I don't know if I should even list . . . . And you seem cool with all the groups that your preffed.

ETA: looking at previous days, maybe Tootie should be ahead of Carol in the what should you list list.

I think I'm pulling for Tootie, too. They seem to be a lot of fun.

Wow. Tough choice. The way you describe Mallory is the way I felt about my own sorority during Rush so I'm leaning towards them. You seemed to really feel the sisterhood at Tootie though. Hmm, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess Mallory, Tootie, then Carol. I'm probably wrong though. lol

The good thing is that they all sound great. I can't wait to hear what happened!

I can't wait to hear more!

I'd guess Tootie, Mallory and then Carol. Let us know soon please!!!

Well, everything that everyone has said so far went through my mind that night. Literally at one point in my multiple attempts at rankings each house had been listed as 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Now, a little background about me. You know those IQ or psych tests they make you take in school or at jobs? Well, every time I take one, I score off the charts in the analytical/logical section, and score lower on the more touchy-feely sections. That is not to say I am not touchy-feely (I promise that I am!!) but when I make decisions, I make them in a very methodical, logical manner.

So. I just had this gut feeling that Tootie was going to be a little too out of control for me. Yes, the active had said some things that were reassuring, but she was biased, and was trying to get me to join her group. And, I had heard from plenty of other people that things were pretty wild. Please don’t read that as that I am a prude and did not want to be around alcohol. Not true at all. We are talking reputations that would get you brought before the standards board in every other house. Should I have listened to others? Well, probably not, but I must be honest that I did. Therefore, as I sat to make the "final, official" ranking, Tootie went to 3rd. I just could not be swayed by the warm fuzzies... I had to go with what I perceived reality to be. I really hoped that I would not regret that choice, as I had loved their Rush.

That left Carol and Mallory. Someone posted about "always wondering" if I could have gotten a bid to Mallory. Believe me, this definitely crossed my 19-year old mind. But I also distinctly remember looking at the other Rushees in the room with me that night. I wasn’t sure that I would fit in with them as much as I would as the Rushees at the other two houses. Everything about Mallory was wonderful, but it just didn’t seem to be the best fit.

So, Carol. True, there had been no fuzzies. But... remember I laughed easily every single day while in that house. Logically... this seemed to be the better indicative of a good fit. The girls in this chapter were just so.. fun.. and "fun" not being a euphemism for "passed out drunk on the bathroom floor while only being half-dressed." Instead, they were genuinely funny people who made every occasion, well, a blast. It was a bonus that my best friend was in this chapter, but it did not factor too much into my rankings as I knew that we would be friends regardless.

It also made a *huge* difference being a sophomore. I had had a full year to make observations, meet members, etc. I am convinced that if I had to rank those three as a freshman I would have done so differently.

So, I marked:
1. Carol
2. Mallory
3. Tootie

I hoped I had done the right thing. I was fairly certain that I would get a bid somewhere (though we did not have guaranteed placements, quota additions, or the like back then), but I would have to wait until bids were opened at 4pm to find out where. Carol seemed like the best decision, but I would be happy with a bid to any of the three houses.

LOL. ^^

You are very lucky to have three that you could have picked from. Now, on with the story.

It's taking longer than that to tell the story...hurry up! :D

she must be having too much fun at her bid day to post. ;)

Actually, I am right on time!! :)

So at 4pm we gathered in the quad area of the Greek and were each handed an envelope that would contain our bid. Because it takes a while to pass out 420 envelopes, we each had to sit on ours until every single person had theirs.

After what seemed like forever (I guess kind of like this thread!) we were told that we could open.

I opened my envelope to find an invitation to:














Carol Seaver



Better known as....












Kappa Alpha Theta!

Yay for you and Theta!

Congratulations to you and Kappa Alpha Theta!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations!!!! Please post your code! This was such a fun story to read. :)

I had to keep quiet this whole time!!!!!

I am sooooo happy you found your home with the Black and Gold of

Kappa Alpha Theta!

Congratulations! Haha you're right, you are analytical!

And now to tie up some loose ends...

My roommate and her friend both became members of Flo.

And the rushee that started giggling in Tootie... turns out both her mother and grandmother were Tooties. But the moment that the cheesy thing happened, she knew it just wasn't for her. She wound up being one of my pledge sisters, and we were great friends throughout college.

Sadly, Chrissy Snow closed down that fall due to declining numbers. I can't remember how many pledges they got that year, but it was a very small amount. (quota was 42).

As far as regretting my rankings... not once in all the years since. I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say that over the next few weeks several experiences and observations confirmed that I had indeed picked the house right for me.

Congrats on your choice. It is nice to look back and feel good about the decisions you made, the memories you have, etc.

Please let us know the real names of your houses on campus. That is always fun to see.

I love a happy ending.

Oh I am so happy this story ended in a bid from KAPPA ALPHA THETA!!!

Congrats (belatedly) on Theta! This may be bad form but could you reveal your code? Or maybe just Tootsie and Mallory?

Just like you, I make my decisions by weighing pros and cons. However, I do get gut feelings and hunches that tend to lead me in the right direction. That is how I chose my current career of librarianship. And I got a similar gut feeling that Theta Phi Alpha was right for me.

Congrats to you and Kappa Alpha Theta. Shows that you made the right choice and that you enjoy Theta so much.

Can we at least know who Tootie and Mallory were, since you liked them so much?

I'd kind of like to know what school too, unless I already missed it.

I didn't get much of a chance to post today, but I was going to guess Carol! Congratulations on going with your heart and getting the best bid for YOU - and to Kappa Alpha Theta!

Texas Christian.

Our student affairs intern at my school was a theta at TCU and she was fabulous! I'm sure you have a wonderful chapter!

Yep, that is fair.

Mallory is Kappa and Tootie is ZTA.

My friend that started giggling in the ZTA ceremony did so when they put the crown on her head, and said something pretty cheeseball as they did it. (I can't remember what they said). I didn't think much of the situation until I saw her giggling, then all of a sudden it hit mit... There is a friggin crown on my head, and I saw some humor in that too (flashes of Miss America....). I think the eye contact that we made then and there sealed us as friends forever.

That is not to bash ZTA (anywhere) or any part of their pref or their symbols. I loved the ZTA house, the girls in it, and their pref was great. It was probably just the cumulative stress and fatigue that hit us both at that moment.

And violetpretty got the school right.

Great story, Blondie!! :)