HAHAHAHA Awesome! I was only in 5th grade at this time so I missed the boat on the black pants...but I was way more into shoes anyways which is why I DEFINITELY remember these!!!

I had those shoes too! Of course, I was only 8-9 at the time- but I loved Limited Too!

I also distinctly remember a certain pair of Sketchers that I LOVED. They were purple glitter and they were high tops. I thought I was the coolest thing EVER.

I had these sketchers that I was in LOOOOVE with too! They actually looked alot like those black Steve Maddens ^^^ but they were like lightweight and made of a foamy material and were like 4 inch platform. I thought they were SOOOOO cool. My mom called them my "Spice Girl" shoes.

Y'all wore those pants in 5th grade? in 8th grade? during recruitment?

*remembers starting college 20+ years ago*
*waggles her cane at the younguns*

You dang kids, get out of my yard!

:p :p :p

I know, some of these comments are making me feel OLD! And I just graduated college in 2001.

Hells yeah I remember those. Of course I had the knockoffs LOL. And those rectangle shaped Kate Spade bags that made a triangle if you looked at them from the side. And MIDDLE SCHOOL? OMG now I feel really old.

Preference
 

I spent my day at work the next day and lo and behold, no call from Megan. That meant I would not have to release anyone for this round. I wondered nervously the entire day which chapters I had gotten back. Preference would start at around 6, so I had time between class and the parties. I changed on campus and did my hair and makeup. I wore a black pencil skirt, a blue iridescent ¾ length sleeved blouse (sounds really tacky but it WAS super cute, of course all these things from Express) and my highest, strappiest heels from Chinese Laundry. I felt very put together and confident as I went to meet my group. When I got there, Megan gave me my list, and this time, I REALLY felt upset. My schedule of parties read:

Nirvana
The Cure
The Smashing Pumpkins

Where had The Clash and Mighty Mighty Bosstones gone? I had LOVED those chapters too! I was upset, and Megan reassured me that I should cheer up. I DID get my #1 and #2 chapters back after all. I started to get excited again. She WAS right after all. Hopefully Nirvana would give me a better impression today, and I would grow to love The Smashing Pumpkins even more!

Nirvana: We waited outside as one sister at a time came out and invited PNMs into the chapter house. Imagine my glee when Melissa walked out and said, “The sisters of Nirvana would like to welcome ZetaGirl22 to our Preference party” She led me downstairs where yummy Caesar salad and baked ziti were waiting. I was really impressed about how fancy everything looked and she let me know that yeah, all the houses would probably look like this tonight, and I would probably go to rankings VERY full LOL. We had a great time, talking about funny stories with our wacky teacher from last semester, how my recruitment had gone, and she admitted that she was very happy to see me back tonight. Then I was led upstairs for the ceremony. I don't want to give too much away about the ceremony, as it will give the chapter's identity away, but again, I was blown away by how elegant the ceremony room looked. As I left, Melissa squeezed my shoulder and told me she really hoped to see me tomorrow. I started to think that this might be a pretty tough decision.

The Cure: I met Ashley again here. They had a table set up with some finger foods, but the decoration was very sparse. After getting food, she led me into another room where she just gushed about how everyone had loved me so much, how I was such a great fun girl, and how she could totally see me as a member of the sisterhood. It felt pretty “hard sell” to me, and while I really did like all the members here, I just wasn't feeling it. She then led me into another room for the ceremony. There were no pretty white chairs, dimmed lights, or anything. Sisters and PNMs stood in a circle in the room and sisters read off stories of what The Cure had meant to them. Most of them were crying, and I realized here how few sisters there really were. I left this party pretty sure where they would be ranked..

The Smashing Pumpkins: Again, I was thrilled when Honey walked out and said, “The sisters of The Smashing Pumpkins invite ZetaGirl22 to their Preference party” She led me downstairs where there was equally yummy food, including shrimp cocktail resting on an ice sculpture of their letters. I was impressed by how beautiful everything looked. Honey laughed and told me not to get any big ideas, because this was DEFINITELY not how the kitchen always looked. We laughed as I ate, then she led me upstairs into another room where she pulled out her photo album that had been given to her by her big sister. She told me how much her Smashing Pumpkins family had meant to her, and how it was the little things in the sisterhood that really meant the most to her. I totally got it. Little things tend to mean the most to me too. This girl really was exactly like me. She then led me into another room for the ceremony. The room was beautiful, and the chapter sang 2 songs which were also beautiful. I found myself getting choked up during the speeches. Then all the PNMs were to light a candle, make a wish and blow it out. We were told that the sisters hoped our wish was the same as theirs. I didn't want to leave and as I left, Honey gave me a hug and told me she REALLY hoped to see me tomorrow. I left the house knowing exactly what I was going to do. I also met a PNM as we left the house who was trying to get it together she had been so touched by the party. We walked back together as I thought that I was meant to be a Smashing Pumpkin and Honey was meant to be my big sister.


I had no trouble ranking when we got back to do so. I decided to rank all 3 chapters.
1.The Smashing Pumpkins-no question
2.Nirvana-if I ended up getting this chapter, I knew I could be happy here as well
3.The Cure-I started to think that if for some reason I DID end up here, it was a good opportunity for me to try to make a difference in the chapter.

I was one of the first PNMs to hand in my pref card.

I love seeing a retro Maryland story - glad to know already that it has a happy ending! cant wait to hear more :)

I like your attitude about this particularly, and I've really enjoyed your thread.

It's kind of sad how being a smaller chapter makes everything harder but I think it does. You don't have the depth in talent for skit; you might have more sisters who hadn't done formal recruitment pref themselves to make sure it's polished, etc.

We all called them our black bitch pants as well!! :p Even now when I dress up I still snicker a little when the outfit includes black pants.

BTW: loving this story!! :)

This is a great story - I am really excited to find out which band you end up joining :) Hoping for the final update tonight!

Bid day, new member period, and beyond..........
 

The next day was bid day. We could pick up our bids starting at 11 am. I was there at 10:30 LOL. I was the third person in line. As we waited anxiously, and I mean ANXIOUSLY, I was so nervous I was shaking, I overheard a conversation a Rho Chi was having with the 2 PNMs ahead of me. Basically how it isn't the end of the world if you get your second choice. A lot of PNMs did. She herself even had and she was very happy where she was. I felt like there was a block of ice in my stomach. Even though last night I told myself I could be happy in my second choice, now I was getting nervous that my first choice didn't want me. PNMs began to get called into the room based on group numbers. One PNM per group was allowed at that Rho Chi's table at a time. Megan wouldn't be there today as she had to take the Praxis exam, but Carrie, another Rho Chi would be filling in for her. Finally they called for PNMs from group 31. I was the first in line from our group so I nervously walked in, gave my name, and was handed a small envelope. With my palms sweating and heart racing I ripped the card open. The very first thing I see is that I have been invited to........................the chapter's greek letters, and I thought to myself, wait a minute! I never went to THIS chapter. I made myself focus and read the whole card.
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ZetaGirl22 is cordially invited to pledge the Iota Omega chapter of THE SMASHING PUMPKINS!!!!!!!! (Which of course is my beloved ZETA TAU ALPHA)

I started jumping up and down and crying right there I was so ecstatic and relieved! Carrie smiled at me and said, “So that means you're happy huh?” I nodded in sheer joy. I ran to the phones and called my mom, practically screaming into the phone that I had gotten into Zeta. She was very happy for me.

Later as I sat in Geology class, I see a girl walk in wearing Zeta letters. Silence unfortunately had NOT been explained well to PNMs, so I couldn't wait to introduce myself to her as her new sister. As I waited for the lecture hall to clear out, I noticed she was leaving the room with none other than HONEY!!!!! OMG I ran up to them and stupidly said hi. She seemed REALLY standoffish and basically just said hi and kept going. I felt like someone punched me. Here I was so excited to join Zeta and they HATE ME! What was I going to do? I called my mom again and told her what happened. She told me not to worry about it, just go to bid day and there must be some other explanation. What good advice from a non-greek mom huh?

So I go to the bid day ceremony in the chapel and meet with my group. They reveal our Rho Chi's affiliation. Megan was a Sigma Kappa and Sara was a Delta Phi Epsilon. Lynn was there. I told her I had gotten a bid to Zeta and watched amusedly at her reaction. She stuck her nose in the air and retorted that she had received a bid to Weezer. Soon after, we were called to the back of the chapel by groups. I was SO excited to meet my pledge sisters, and was doubly excited to learn that the PNM I had left our last party with was one of them! We ran down the hill, across Route 1 and onto Fraternity Row where we were met by the chanting, screaming sisterhood. Immediately I was tackled by Honey. She explained silence to me, that she wasn't allowed to talk to me before right then and had felt SO bad she had to blow me off. Bid night was wonderful and a night I will never forget!

New member period was awesome. Instead of hanging out in the Union or computer lab between classes, I hung out at the house! Honey DID in fact become my big sister, and we roomed together for 2 years. She really IS very similar to me, and she made the best roommate ever. I lived in the house for 3 years. As I suspected, my dad felt a lot better about letting me leave home because I would be living in an all female sorority house.

My experience in Zeta was wonderful. Sophomore year we began having membership problems following the closing of one of the chapters on campus. We had to work very very hard to overcome, but we did work our collective butts off and in 2007 and 2008 we have taken quota plus! I'm not sure yet what this year's outcome is. I myself took 2 littles and served as Music Chair, a Rho Chi, Ritual Chair for 2 terms and Greek Week chair my final semester on campus. I graduated in May 2002 having had one of the BEST college experiences anyone could have asked for. And the rest they say, is history. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

I loved the story, thanks for sharing!

Oh come on! I'm so enjoying this story!

And I didn't know black pants had a heyday... Aren't they a staple in every girl's wardrobe, a timeless piece of clothing, like a leather jacket or a white blouse?

ETA: you posted your ending as I posted this-great story! One of the best retro stories I've read.

a quick post script..............
 

I am sure you all are wondering WHAT in the hell was wrong with Lynn, the PNM in my group that was insistent on the fact that Zetas were bitches? Later on during new member period I found out why. Apparently she had come through informal in the fall. When it came time for invites to the invite only party to be distributed, Lynn didnt get one. The chapter had released her. Well clearly she couldnt take no for an answer and called our recruitment chair and informed her that she couldnt attend the invite only party due to band, but she could not wait to see the sisters on bid day :eek: Lynn told ME that she had been blown off by the sisters because of her involvement in band, when it turned out that she was just a presumptuous freak LOL. And here's where it gets weirder. She depledged from Weezer a few weeks into pledging. She really was a terrible fit for that chapter, she had been a legacy there. The next fall, who shows up at our informal recruitment parties? You guessed it. Lynn. She went through formal recruitment AGAIN the following spring. We had to sick our friendliest sister on her, who could basically talk to a rock as to not to subject any of the younger sisters to her. She was a second semester Junior by that point. Finally, in Fall of '00, she showed up YET AGAIN to informal. That would have been the beginning of her senior year. THANK GOD she finally got the message that time and didn't try to go through formal again. Yup, she was the PNM who never went away.