YES!!! I bought some post its yesterday with "File it under Who Cares" on them. Love them, love the whole line.

Leslie knows that I'm reading..but rarely post


GO LESLIE!

A naive girl makes a bad decision
 

Invitations Day!

Heading down to the Student Union to see if I got any invitations, I was struck again by how amazing it would be to be a part of any of the sororities on campus. I was nervous but excited and hoped that some of them might have wanted to invite me back. I was trying to be realistic though. My shyness was definitely a problem that might leave me bid-less.

I got my invitations card and I was absolutely shocked. I was invited back to 16 of them! I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t completely fallen on my face like I thought I had.

At the time, I didn’t bother to think about which ones cut me. I was just so excited to have invitations. (The ones that did cut me were Football and Skiing.)

Now here’s where things are a little strange. Back then we didn’t really have Rush Counselors like there are today. We were assigned a group and 2 Rush Counselors for the first two days but from then on we were on our own. We had to go to all 18 chapters for the first round but apparently, from looking at my schedule, we didn’t necessarily have to go to the maximum number for Set of 10 or Set of 4. Or maybe we did and I just got away with not doing it.

I clearly had no idea what I was doing. As you’ll see…….


I went through my list of invitations (we would circle either Y or N next to the name of the sorority, then go up to various tables for each party time and sign up). First I chose my favorites which were: Soccer, Ice Skating, Diving, Water Skiing, and Tennis.

I could pick 5 more to go back to. Looking over the list I decided to say “no” to Hockey, Racecar Driving, Bowling, Aerobics, and Surfing right away.

I thought about going back to Croquet but those girls, although super nice, were so intimidating. Polo was intimidating too and completely out of my league. I knew I didn’t have a shot of getting in there. Common sense would have told me to give up on Polo and go back to Croquet. But, common sense? I wasn’t working with a large supply of that. I ended up doing the opposite; accepting the invitation to Polo and saying “no” to Croquet. Very dumb!

I had 4 invitations left. I should have accepted all of them. But, since I didn’t know what I was doing I just decided to say “no” to Cycling and Fishing. I have no idea why. I had actually liked both of them. Sunbathing clearly wasn’t where I belonged; “N” for them too. Then I decided that even though I wasn’t really comfortable at Golf I would go back there as well.

I ended up accepting only seven invitations for Set of 10. :eek: It really would have been nice to have Rush Counselors like you have today!

My schedule for the following day was:

Party #1 - nothing
Party #2 - nothing
Party #3 - Diving
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush-diving.jpg

Party #4 - Golf
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../rush-golf.jpg

Party #5 - Water Skiing
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...terskiing2.jpg

Party #6 - Tennis
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush-tennis.jpg

Party #7 - Ice Skating
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ceskating3.jpg

Party #8 - Polo
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../rush-polo.jpg

Party #9 - Soccer
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh-soccer2.jpg

Party #10 - nothing


I've gotta get this story moving so I'll try to post the party details later tonight.

Thanks for tuning in! :)

Yeah, it really was an exhausting experience. I can't reveal who's left because there's a serious twist coming up and I don't want to spoil the surprise. (if anyone's left reading by that time) eek

Oh, we'll be reading. I feel confident.

I have a guess as to what the plot twist may be.

We're not only reading for the story, but for the graphics!

And, you are a GREAT storyteller!

Set of 10
 

Thanks for the compliment, OldAOPi. And "violetpretty", you're freaking me out. You have the same exact signature as Jess. Are you Jess in disguise or one of her chapter sisters? (nevermind, I figured it out)


Set of 10

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush-diving.jpg
My first party of the day was Diving and once again they were so sweet. I was paired with a girl named Sarah. I saw Jane and she said ‘hi’ to me. Sarah was really nice but I preferred Jane. Still, I felt really comfortable there. We went on a tour of the house which was really exciting for me. I had never thought about living in a sorority house before. It was a pretty house; very cozy. Going back to this chapter after completing the first round, I finally noticed that this was one of the smaller chapters on campus. I didn’t have a problem with that at all. All I wanted was to find a sorority that felt like home to me. So far, I felt comfortable there. Just comfortable.


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../rush-golf.jpg
My next party was at Golf. This time I was paired with a girl named Juliet and I knew fairly quickly that I didn’t belong there. She was a nice enough girl but the very golf-ness of the chapter just wasn’t a match. Pearls? Plaid? Was anyone in this chapter named Muffy? I thought back to a comment my father had made when I told him I wanted to join a sorority. He had said, “they probably won’t like you because you’re not old money.” Good ole Dad! I adore my father but he’s an expert with the zingers. The sad thing is that he was probably right, at least about some of the chapters.


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...terskiing2.jpg
My third party was at Water Skiing. I met this girl named Andrea and I just fell in love with this sorority. Andrea was so warm and so funny. She had a dry sense of humor that I just loved. And she was Italian, like me, too! We went on a tour of the house and I learned that they had a separate sleeping room on the third floor that was always kept dark and cool. The second floor had rooms with daybeds, desks, and dressers. I had never heard of this kind of arrangement but Andrea said that it worked out really well. She introduced me to a pretty blonde named Sally. She was great; very warm and funny. Everything about this sorority seemed wonderful and I was reluctant to leave when the party was over.


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ush-tennis.jpg
Tennis was up next. I was paired with a very pretty girl named Missy. Here, again, we went on a house tour. This chapter house was gorgeous! The girls weren’t as warm and fuzzy as the girls at Water Skiing, but I still really liked them. I admired them actually.


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ceskating3.jpg
My next party was at Ice Skating. I was matched with this really adorable girl named Patty who was so bubbly. She took me on a house tour, which I loved, and introduced me to another girl. Once again, I thought that these were just the smiley-est girls around.


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../rush-polo.jpg
Party number 8 (my 6th) was at Polo. I looked up at this beautiful house and knew I was doomed. I was paired with a girl named Claire who I thought took an instant dislike to me. We went on a tour of the house and while we were upstairs we stopped and she talked briefly with another sister and her rushee. There was a pause and then Claire very obviously looked me up and down. Afterwards we talked for a while in the living room. It was awkward. She was being nice but I could tell she didn’t like me.


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...sh-soccer2.jpg
My last party of the night was Soccer and I was so excited to go back there. I met a girl named Stacy and felt very comfortable with her. We had an easy, fun conversation. She gave me a quick tour of the house then we sat and talked. I saw Robin who I had been paired with during the first round. She smiled and waved and then about a minute later she came over and gave me a hug. I remember this really well because it was so nice to feel liked and it felt so genuine. I really sensed the warmth from these girls and I absolutely loved them! I could very easily see this as my home.

I hadn’t signed up for the 10th party so I just watched as the girls went into the chapter houses. I walked slowly around the sororities back to where the shuttle pick-up was and thought about things for a while. I had been so scared of this whole process but so far things had been working out pretty well for me.

I picked up the shuttle just before the last party was letting out so it wasn’t too packed yet. At the first stop this girl got on. She looked familiar but I knew I hadn’t been paired with her at any of the parties. Still, I knew she was a member of one of the sororities. She looked at me before she took a seat, smiled, and said “Hi, Lady!” I smiled back and felt happy; a bit puzzled, but happy. :)

Maybe she was just feeling extra nice that day. Or maybe she genuinely remembered you. I guess we'll never really know.:rolleyes:

Okay, so my guess is, you join SOCCER!

Go Leslie!!!!!

(I wonder if the upcoming twist has anything to do with the fact that you did not "maximize your options"-as we so often hear it said on here.)

I bet there's something else with the girl who looked familiar...
And I LOVE this story! More please!

Maybe for round 3, she goes to a chapter that she didn't visit for round 2? Or maybe this mystery woman on the bus entices her to join her chapter? Oh the possibilities!

Later that night
 

I got a call from my friend “Suzanne.”
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ry-suzanne.jpgShe asked me how Rush was going for me and said, “Isn’t it FUN?” Oh, yeah, loads of fun. :rolleyes:

We compared notes a bit. Suzanne could talk to anyone about anything. Her favorites so far were Football, Croquet, Tennis, Golf, Ice Skating, and Sunbathing. All very strong chapters. For the most part, I kept my opinions to myself. I figured she knew more about the sororities than I did and I didn’t want her judging my favorites. In hindsight, I could have told her the truth and she would have been supportive and helpful.


I’ll be back with my invitations in a short while. I love my little cheering section on this thread! :)

Any updates on Laura Ashley Laurel or Iris from back home? Iris was going through recruitment at UCLA right? And about the housing shortage at UMD, it looks like some things NEVER change.

ooh.... i am all about the waterskiing.

and i think that that the sorority member who just got on the shuttle, had just crept into the chief rivals house and destroyed all their props for skit day!