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My Colorful West Coast Recruitment Story
Hello everyone!! With so many schools in the middle of recruitment right now, I’ve decided to put up my recruitment story ! My school was rather large and on the West Coast. I was a junior transfer but wasn’t worried because I had a high G.P.A and the school that I was going to actually has a large upperclassmen quota. I read blogs and GreekChat stories for months, practically studied what to say and what not to say, and bought the perfect outfits. Once the time came, I knew that I was ready to have a successful recruitment and find my future home!
My school had 12 Panhellenic sororities that year and here were my “thoughts” before starting the week. I realize now that I was influenced a lot with “ranks” and what my friends that had gone to the university before me thought that I should be in. It was a huge mistake on my part to take other people’s opinions as more valid than my own, looking back I wish I had relaxed a lot more during the week and stopped worrying about “tiers.” However, even though I was influenced by “tiers” I was never EVER rude to anyone in the chapters. I felt lucky to be invited into their homes and loved how sweet and welcoming everyone was. I love colorful pictures and paintings so I’ll name my houses after colors! RED: I knew about their philanthropy and had worked with an organization similar while I was in high school. BLUE: This house has (in my opinion) the prettiest house on the row. It’s absolutely gorgeous. GREEN: This was the newest house and I didn’t think that I would fit in with this chapter. PINK: I was really excited to meet the women in this chapter. My neighbor was in this chapter at a different school and wrote me a letter of rec. I saw (through Social Media) that they had a lot of cheer/dance girls and it looked really appealing to me as a fellow dancer. One of the main social media accounts had followed me at the beginning of the summer (which now I realize is a big no no), but I felt super excited and special at the time thinking that they wanted me. ORANGE: This chapter had an amazing philanthropy that was close to my heart. TURQUOISE: I was really excited to meet this chapter as well. For some reason I just really liked the “vibe” that they seemed to give off on their social media accounts. I had a close friend that was the previous president of her chapter and panhellenic at her school write me a letter of rec. HOWEVER, this chapter had a lot of girls that were friends with my ex-boyfriend. He had gone to the school previously and after a nasty/immature breakup, he became friends with a lot of them. I really hoped that he hadn’t said anything about me that would sway their opinions negatively. PURPLE: My best friend wrote me a letter of rec for this chapter but I didn’t know much about them. GREY: This house was known as the sporty house because of all their athletes. While I wasn’t sporty in the least, I still hoped that I would be given a chance haha. BROWN: I didn’t know anything about this house. LAVENDER: This was the “top house” on campus. They were all beautiful and poised. A lot of them had amazing internships in the industry that I was hoping to get involved in and I was really excited about the connections that this house could bring. CYAN: This house didn’t have the best stereotype and was considered the “party” house. NAVY: This house wasn’t holding formal recruitment this year and their nationals was hoping to rebrand without leaving campus. Off to day 1!!! |
Looking forward to reading more!
Pretty sure I know the university. ; ) |
Day 1
DAY 1
We were going to visit all 12 chapters today and everyone in my Rho Gamma group knew that it was going to be exhausting. But, we were all so excited and we headed off bright and early with our Rho Gamma to start the day. RED : Since this was the first party of the day I was super nervous. I had read so much about recruitment that once I was actually there it seemed surreal! The girl who picked me up though was super sweet and we were able to have a funny conversation about how tired we were and then Zac Efron haha. The house was decorated really beautifully. Their goodbye song was super catchy as we were leaving, and it was stuck in my head for the rest of the day. TURQUOISE : Once we got to the second house I felt a lot more calm. I was grabbed at the door by a girl that had done pageants with the same organization that I had. We didn’t know each other but had a mutual friend and immediately hit it off talking about pageants. Another girl came over and we had both been cheerleaders and talked about everything to do with that. I felt SO welcomed here and walked out of the house feeling like I had found my home. CYAN: After walking out of TURQUOISE I was in such a good mood but it was dulled by this house. The girls were sweet but seemed very monotone at the same time. They were giving off more of an edgy/cool vibe rather than bubbly and the girl I talked to only wanted to talk about herself which was kinda of off putting. ORANGE: My fourth house of the day was ORANGE. I was picked up by a super peppy and sweet girl and was taken into the back T.V. room which was super quiet and air conditioned. I had a really nice conversation with the first girl who picked me up but when another active came over and the first girl didn’t leave, I felt super overwhelmed by both of their outgoing personalities. They were both trying to talk to me at the same time but with different conversations and I was so confused haha. They both walked me out to the door when it was time to go, and I left feeling like I had had a tornado of a conversation. PINK: Then we went to one of my favorites. I was super nervous and wanted to make a good impression. I was picked up at the door by a beautiful active who had a great sense of style. We talked about fashion and trends before one of the dance team girls came over. She was the captain of the dance team and we talked about competing and football games before it was time to go. I left this house beaming. GREY: We then headed over to GREY. The girls I talked to in this house were very laid back. They were dressed pretty casually and gave off a very boho vibe. They were all really welcoming though and one of the girls I talked to was really awesome. She kept hyping me up when I was talking about what I wanted to do for a career. I’m telling you this girl could’ve been a motivational speaker. LAVENDER: By the time we got to this house I was exhausted. The president and recruitment chairs were stunning and when they opened the doors some girls actually said ‘wow.’ Their house was decorated in a really cool theme and seemed a lot more done up than the rest of the houses. The three girls I talked to here were very sweet and I felt like I had good conversations, but I felt intimidated by their reputation and was constantly thinking I wasn’t good enough during the conversation. (Not a good way to feel when looking for somewhere your comfortable with haha) BROWN: This house was gorgeous I was sat in their formal living room which was really beautifully decorated and a lot quieter than the rest of the house. The conversations kinda fell flat here though. They felt a little awkward and I just couldn’t relate to the girls that came by. A girl did come by that I had met at the club fair the day prio and said hello which I thought was really, really thoughtful. BLUE: This house was SO beautiful and really decorated nicely. The girls I was pair with and I had a lot in common. One of the girls was in one of my classes. We talked about how that class was part of our minor and how weird the teacher had been the first day. Overall I really enjoyed this house. NAVY: We then went to the house that was only participating in the first round of recruitment. Their nationals was there and they gave a presentation about how they were “rebranding” and gave a speech about their philanthropy. The active girls handed out water and they seemed really sad that they weren’t able to recruit this year. I left this house feeling a little upset for them. PURPLE: By the time my group got to this house it was pretty late at night. Starting at 8 in the morning and now having it be so late was really killing all of our energy. Nonetheless, I gave it my all in this house and pulled out whatever pepI had left in me haha. While the girls seemed interested, the conversations were really awkward. The girls would pause and then ask a drastically different question rather than carrying on the convo that we had been having. We would be talking about zero week at first and then suddenly they would ask me a question like “who’s your celebrity crush” I felt like I was being interviewed rather than connecting. GREEN: Last house of the day!! I only talked to one girl in this house. We talked about musicals and connected but I didn’t feel like I would’ve fit in with this house. I then went to rank and ranked them 1. TURQUOISE 1. PINK 1. LAVENDER 1. GREY 1. ORANGE 1. PURPLE 1. CYAN 1. BLUE 2. BROWN 3. RED 4. GREEN |
Day 2: House Tours
Day 2: House Tours
After a much needed sleep I spent the day relaxing on campus. When my call time finally came around 2:30, I headed over to the row to get my schedule for the day from my Rho Gamma. I was super nervous because I honestly had no idea what houses I would get back. I got my schedule and it said. -Turquoise -Pink -Purple -Cyan -Brown -Green -Red -Blue I was so so happy to have my top two choices, Pink and Turquoise back!! However, I scanned for Grey and Lavender and was disappointed when I couldn’t find them. I thought that I had really good conversations with both, but looking now I realize that I wouldn’t have meshed perfectly with them anyway. Orange had been such a confusing and random party that I didn’t even realize they were gone until I double checked again. Oh well! I was happy that I had a full schedule for the next day as a lot of girls in my group didn’t and were pretty upset. Even with the upperclassmen quota, my Rho Gamma group (all of us were juniors/junior transfers) had taken large cuts. After comforting my friends I headed off to my first house. BLUE: I was picked up by a girl at the door who had the same major as me! We talked about all of the requirements, how hard it was going to be, our schedules etc. She was really nice and I enjoyed talking to her! The another girl picked me up and took me on a tour of the house. We had some small talk but I remember the housing being mostly a 20+ sleeping porch which (at the time I wanted to live in the house my senior year) did not seem appealing to me. RED: I then ran to the next house in my wedges! I was on almost the complete other side of the row and with all the PNM traffic, I just barely got there on time. I was excited to see this house again even though I had ranked it low the day prior. I was picked up at the door by an active who grabbed the other PNM behind me. Walking in I noticed that I matched the actives completely (same color dress and shoes) and it cracked me up but at the same time I remember feeling really uncomfortable about it. Kinda like walking into a party and realizing you have the same dress another person times 140 haha. The active tried her best to talk to both of us at the same time but really failed with it. I felt like I was the active for a good portion of the conversation. I knew that I did not want to come back here tomorrow. CYAN: While I didn’t have the best conversation at this house the day before I knew that this house (while being the “party” house) was well liked on campus. I tried to tell myself that not every girl fit this stereotype and headed in hopeful. And I was so glad I did!! The girl I was paired with was absolutely amazing. We bonded on so many levels within just a short conversation. She was a junior transfer as well and we talked about traveling, being older but still feeling like a freshman, and so many other amazing topics. I absolutely loved this girl and wanted to talk to her the entire party. I was a little disappointed when another active came to give me the house tour and we didn’t really click. She seemed really over recruitment and only wanted to talk about date parties and the bars. Which was totally okay! I was 21 at the time and I mean who doesn’t like a good date party? But it worried me that partying really was the only thing on this house’s mind. PURPLE: I wasn’t super excited about this house going in just because of the previous day’s conversation but I was so so excited when I was paired with a girl that I clicked with immediately. We had been on the same type of dance team in HS, did pageants, she was a junior. She was so fun and bubbly and I really liked the house tour she gave as well. This party went really well and I left feeling super energized. BROWN: I headed over to BROWN and was given a house tour by a sweet girl. I remember thinking that the house seemed a little cramped and most of the rooms held a lot of girls. I was then grabbed by a different active who I talked to for probably not even 5 minutes before it was time to go. She walked me out and gave me a big hug right before I stepped out the doors (which I was not ready for after just meeting her 5 minutes ago haha). GREEN: Even though this house was the newest on campus, I still wanted to give them a second chance and an open mind. They didn’t have to invite me back and I was happy to see all that every sorority had to offer. However, the girl I was paired with did NOT seem like she wanted to talk to me at all. I was talking to her and noticed that she kept looking over my shoulder. I glanced over too and here’s pretty much how our conversation went. Her: “Oh sorry I keep looking over your shoulder that girl over there looks like my old dance instructor.” Me: “Oh that’s cool! You used to dance! I dance too! What kind of dance did you do?” Her: “Wow she really does look exactly like her. I should go over there and say hello once we’re done talking. Anyway’s what’s your major again?” I was cracking up at just how awkward the conversation had gone. That plus another active being rude to me while on the house tour made me feel so upset. I knew that I did not want to come back the next day. PINK: After the horrible party at GREEN, I was excited to head over to PINK after the exciting day I had yesterday. I was picked up by a senior who had been a junior transfer. She told me that they always took really big transfer classes (around 15 or so) and that they all hungout with the seniors that had been previous junior transfers and how fun it was. Some girls came by to say hello that I had talked to the day prior, which really made me feel so welcomed. Then the sisterhood chair came by and we talked about sisterhood bonding events that they had in the past. We had a great conversation before another active, who I really connected with as well, came by to give me a house tour. I once again left this house feeling so happy. TURQUOISE: After a long day, I was ready for house tours to be over but was so excited to be invited back to this house. A sweet sophomore picked me up and gave me a tour. Their house was one of the biggest and all of the rooms had just 4 girls that lived in them. We talked about sisterhood events and formals before she led me into a room to say hello to the President and Vice President. I felt a little intimidated being in a room by myself with three actives (especially 2 that were on exec) but they were super welcoming and mentioned that they had heard great things about me from the first day. I’m not sure if they did this to every PNM in that party, but I felt super special anyway. I loved this house and knew that it would possibly be my home. I then went and ranked 1. TURQUOISE 1. PINK 1. PURPLE 1. CYAN 1. BLUE 2. BROWN 3. RED 4. GREEN |
Great that you got the max 8 invites. Ready to read more!
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I love your details about each house! It sounds like you're having a good rush, so good luck the rest of the way!
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Day 3
Day 3: Philanthropy/Sisterhood
I was exhausted. I felt like I hadn’t slept at all the night before from nervousness. I knew that I really wanted my top choices and would definitely be a little disappointed if I got my schedule that afternoon and didn’t have any. My rho gamma group had slowly gotten smaller as well. There were a few that decided to drop for various reasons but there were also many extremely sweet and well rounded girls that had been dropped from the process entirely. I headed over to the row and was surprised to see just how many girls were upset this day. SO MANY girls were in hysterics because they only had one house left, or only had their bottom choices. It was honestly terrifying for me haha. Not only was I nervous to see my invites, but I just really didn’t expect so many girls to be sobbing at a school that isn’t necessarily known to be a “Greek School.” I had read about it at really competitive schools, but to see it here increased my stress at seeing my results. It really just shows how 1. Bad it is to fall in love with just one house before recruitment and 2. To look at a “tier system” or take other people’s opinions into consideration of how good a house is. I finally reached my Rho Gamma and she gave me my schedule. BLUE CYAN PINK PURPLE TURQUOISE AHH I WAS SO HAPPY!! I got back my top 5! I was ecstatic and was absolutely pumped for the rest of the day. (Looking back now, even though this was philanthropy and sisterhood round the emphasis was really placed on sisterhood. I don’t remember talking about philanthropy with any houses. Only two of my houses showed a video/gave a super short presentation but the conversations after never dove more into the details of what they did, which was different than what I was expecting.) BLUE: My first house of this round was BLUE. I went in super excited. This house had been super wonderful to me all week and even though it wasn't necessarily a house that was on everyone’s radar, I really liked the women here. I was picked up by one of the executive board members and she took me to their beautifully decorated patio/backyard. She was an absolute gem. We didn’t necessarily have anything on the surface in common like majors, hometowns, etc. but we immediately connected. I don’t know what it was but I felt like I had known her for years. We were laughing and joking around and even talked about some semi-serious stuff like bad breakups. I just felt so comfortable at this house. Another girl, which happened to be her little, came over to say hello and took me to where they were going to show their sisterhood video. I watched their video with the other PNMs while the actives stood around us watching it too. They were dancing and laughing and overall just having a really good time. I was having fun too but something about their video made me look around the room and really feel like I wouldn’t necessarily fit in with this house. I don’t know what it was exactly, the type of video it was or maybe I started to think about the “tier” this house was (so so so dumb looking back now), but something changed by the end of the party and I left feeling not so great even though everything had gone super well and I had a great time. PURPLE: I headed over to PURPLE and was picked up by a really bubbly girl. She immediately sat me down to watch a video on their philanthropy which was super sweet and made a few girls around me tear up, but I wasn’t feeling it. They then showed their sisterhood video and I just kept thinking to myself that I didn’t really want to be at this party. I just felt awkward again with the video and the actives dancing around while we watched. I probably sound crazy but this house, while I had ranked it higher and had better conversations than the houses I ranked low on previous days, had not been my favorite and I was feeling it now. Everything just wasn’t clicking personally. After the video I talked to two more girls. They were really sweet again but I never got the feeling that they were genuinely interested in me. At this house I just felt like a number. CYAN: Walking into CYAN I was grabbed by an executive board member and we had such a great conversation about animals and our pets. We started to talk about fun sisterhood events that they were going to have when another active came over. This girl was bubbly but also gave me a ditsy vibe. I honestly can’t remember what we talked about, but before long she told me it was time to go watch their video. As we were walking over she was walking ahead of me when she turned around, super super quickly, and accidentally smacked me right in the face with her hand. I was kind of stunned at first, not because I thought it was rude I totally knew it was an accident, but because it kinda hurt haha. She immediately started apologizing but what I thought was upsetting was that the other actives (who had been lined up without PMNs to watch the video) laughed when she had hit me. Now it could’ve been a nervous laugh, but it came off as kind of rude and I honestly got a little upset. My active sat me down in a chair in the back row when, not even 10 seconds later, a different active comes up to mine and says “Uhh I was going to sit my PNM there can you move her.” Like what?? There was another chair open and instead of this girl moving her PNM to the open spot she wanted me to move. So my active lead me all the way over to the other side of the room to this open chair. Maybe I was being overdramatic, but the combination of being smacked in the face, having actives laugh at what happened, and then being moved after I was already placed, just really made me upset. I held back some tears during their video and was really happy to be led out at the end. -Side note: As the actives had stacked in the door and were doing their goodbye song there was a sudden shuffle as if someone was trying to get out. Suddenly, a PNM was thrown (like literally pushed, I’m not over exaggerating) through the actives and the president, who had been holding the door, slammed the door shut in the middle of the song. The girl had probably been in the restroom but we were all so confused and were definitely feeling sorry for this poor girl. PINK: I was so excited for this house and I felt so happy that they had decided to invited me again. The recruitment chair gave me a hug at the door and said how happy she was to see me again. I was picked up by a girl who is bestfriends with one of my best friends. We had never met because we only had one friend in common, but we shared the same hometown and so many other interests matched. She was amazing and gave me a big hug before a senior (who had been a junior transfer) came over and we started chatting. She was so cool and I really saw her as a role model for who I wanted to be at this school. She was involved, had a similar major and was just cool. She said how much she loved me and I saw her as a potential big even after meeting just a little bit before. Girls from previous days came by to say hello as I was led over to watch their sisterhood video. This time I didn’t feel awkward as the actives shouted and danced while we watched the video, I felt at home. I didn’t want to leave but soon it was time to go and I left this house, for the third day in a row, beaming. TURQUOISE: I was on a high from PINK and couldn’t wait to go into this house as well! I was picked up by the cutest active who lead me to watch their video afterwards we went to another room to sit and talk. We talked about the Bachelor and clubs, formals, honestly we talked about everything like we had been friends for years. Another girl came over and we clicked right away as well. The president and recruitment chair both came over at separate times also to say hello and I really felt welcomed and happy when it was time to go. Walking over to rankings I knew immediately who I wanted to have for Preference the next round. PINK and TURQUOISE had been my favorites all week and I was practically glowing over the thought of being in these two houses. However, I knew that nothing was 100% and that how I ranked my other houses was extremely important as well. It was really a toss up between PURPLE and BLUE. CYAN was definitely not my favorite after that last party. While I had a great time at BLUE on the other days, today was I left feeling weird even after it being fun in the beginning. However, I had only liked PURPLE the day before and didn’t like it much on day 1 or today. I knew I should put BLUE down in my number 3 spot but I just couldn’t shake the fact that they weren’t really a super wanted house. I feel so dumb looking back and realizing that I thought like this now but at the time I felt so pressured by my friends to be in the cool house and the popular house. So I ranked them… 1. PINK 1. TURQUOISE 2. PURPLE 3. BLUE 4. CYAN |
looking forward to hearing how this resolves!
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Oh no, CYAN, what are you doing?!
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*tenterhooks!!*
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Quote:
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Day 4: Pref Morning
After a quick break for a football game, it was finally the day everyone was waiting for: Preference Morning and Bid Night. I was honestly the most nervous this day. Going from 5 houses down to 2 could be either really great or really bad depending on what order you got back. I was a nervous wreck as I got ready that morning. It was so hot, I was exhausted after such a long week, and nothing with my hair and makeup seemed to be working. I honestly just wanted to sleep, but the excitement of Bid Night later that night and being with all my new sisters was keeping me going. I put on my dress, grabbed my heels, and headed across campus to the row. I found my Rho Gamma and my group and talked with some of the girls as I waited for her to find my schedule. She finally found it and it said
TURQUOISE PURPLE Wait. Where was PINK? I didn’t understand. They had introduced me to so many of their “top” actives, I had a letter of rec (not too common at this school), they followed me on Instagram! How could they not invite me back!? To be honest, I was super upset about not being able to go back to PINK for their preference round. At first I felt a bit played. I thought that with how they treated me all week that I was going to be on their steps at Bid Night. But now I realize that they are an excellent recruiting chapter that makes everyone who walks into their house feel like how I did. That’s why they are so popular and have high return rates. I was just so upset that I wouldn’t be able to be a part of their large transfer classes and have the experience that I had conjured up in my mind over the summer when they had followed me. However, I still had TURQUOISE and that house had also been one of my favorites the entire week. I called my mom, held back a few tears over the loss of PINK (something about my mom’s voice can make me cry the second she asks me what’s wrong) and headed over to TURQUOISE. I was determined to have the best Preference party there was and have this house know that they 100% wanted to give me a bid. TURQUOISE: We all stood outside and nervously waiting for the party to begin. When it was finally time, a group of actives walked out in all white and started singing a beautiful song about their sorority. Actives who would then be preffing would step out of the group, say a little bit about the PNM coming in, and would lead us inside. My active stepped forward and I immediately recognized her as one of my friends from pageants that had grabbed me on the first day. She said how much she had loved getting to know me better on day one, some of my accomplishments, and how she couldn’t wait to talk to me some more. I was led in and the house was decorated so beautifully. The President and Recruitment Chair were there again and gave me the biggest hugs. Even without a name tag they knew my name and said how happy they were to have me back. My active took me upstairs to a balcony that was set up with roses and beautiful centerpieces. The balcony was super crowded and loud however and didn’t really give me an intimate preference vibe. She told me that the letter on the plate was for me and that I could read it real quick while she went to grab our refreshments. The letter was from a girl I had talked to the day before and it was so sweet and I teared up a bit before I was brought back some orange juice and a donut. I wasn’t really hungry because of how nervous and hot it was outside, but I took a couple nibbles while we talked. We discussed a little bit about how recruitment was such a long week and how tired we both were before I mentioned that the exhaustion of the week had really made me miss home and my family. This is where the conversation, while it had been going good before, suddenly became a bit awkward. I was trying to connect to this girl on a little bit more of a deeper level, I didn’t bring up my family in a sad way but figured (since it was true, I was pretty homesick) that instead of talking about surface level things like how we had, we could chat about some other stuff. I didn’t get crazy awkward, but after that point she changed the subject and I felt like I had done something wrong after I brought it up. It’s hard to describe. She then led me down to their living room where the president gave a really tear-jerking speech about how someone close to her had passed away recently and how her sisters had been there for her. Everyone was crying and it was a really moving speech. I decided that I was just being dramatic about what had happened earlier, one little conversation blip wouldn’t change an anyone’s opinion after such an amazing week. She was probably just tired and it had been SO hot where we were sitting. She was also a sophomore, so I could’ve been the first person she had ever preffed. They began singing a farewell song and we took the “gift/token” that was given to us at the beginning of the party, made a wish, and placed it onto a sculpture that they had. I walked out knowing that I wanted this house I headed over to PURPLE even more nervous than I had been when the morning started. I just felt like I hadn’t “done enough” to win over the girls at TURQUOISE. Even though technically they were supposed to be trying to impress me, the girl that preffed me seemed like she didn’t care too much. PURPLE: This house took every PNM in together and led us over to their patio. They gave a short speech before actives stepped forward and said our name and a little something about us (pretty much the same as the last party) and led us to where we would be preffed. I was paired up with a girl that I had talked to on the first day. I didn’t remember much about her and was nervous that we wouldn’t connect. She took me to a table with cake pops and sparkling apple cider and guided me upstairs to a private room with A.C. (I was so thankful for some A.C.). I sat on the bed and she sat on a chair and we started talking about more surface level stuff. She was really sweet though and I could definitely feel that she was happy I was there. She read a letter about how her sisters had been there for her after she came to this school from out of state and it was nice. We talked some more about family but the convo still stayed surface level. She never asked me anything deeper. Soon it was time to head back downstairs to hear some speeches. The actives stood around us in a circle as we stood in front of them. A girl gave a speech about how a family member had been abusive to her her entire life and how this chapter gave her the strength to stand up to what was going on. It was an extremely sad speech and so many girls around me were crying, but I just felt a little uncomfortable. I looked around the courtyard and barely recognized any faces like I had in TURQUOISE and in previous houses throughout the week. I just wasn’t feeling it and as I tried to picture myself standing in their position the next year, I couldn’t see it. It was soon time to go and we once again took our “gift/token” to their centerpiece they had and made a wish. I wished that I could be given the chance to be a TURQUOISE. I walked to rankings and easily put in my choices TURQUOISE PURPLE I began the walk back to my dorm and called my mom to tell her how it had gone and I just started sobbing. The exhaustion and stress of the week had caught up to me and I just really deep down in my heart knew that I wanted to be a TURQUOISE. PURPLE had only thrilled me with one girl the entire week. And while I knew that there were probably a ton more girls exactly like that one girl in PURPLE that I would like as well, everything I had experienced just hadn’t won me over like the other houses that week had. This was also the time I wish I hadn’t listened to the rankings and had put down BLUE for Pref morning. Those girls and I had gotten along way better and I liked their parties more than I had with PURPLE but I couldn't get over their rank. My mom calmed me down from my episode. She told me to just relax and that the girls at TURQUOISE had really seemed to like me all week. It was up to fate now to decide where I would end up. |
Hoping for Turquoise. Crossing fingers.
Figuring out several of the chapters. |
please post the rest, especially since this is a completed recruitment..... looking forward to seeing where you found your home
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Bid Night
After a short break to get lunch and somewhat unwind, it was finally time for Bid Night. I was so so so nervous I couldn’t stand it. I walked over to a ballroom where they were having us meet up with our groups. I was so sad to see how small our little Rho Gamma group had gotten over the week. So many amazing girls decided not to continue or were dropped and it really broke my heart. Then there were the girls in my group who had gotten all of their tops back for the week and were acting like they were only joining for the most random reasons. One girl literally said that she was only joining to get a discount on car insurance haha? Okay girl okay you do your thing, I’m looking for some sisters over here haha. We walked into to ballroom and sat down so Panhellenic Exec. could give their speeches and the Rho Gamma’s could reveal their houses. Mine ended up being a CYAN and it made so much sense to me that she was one. She finally handed us our bid cards to hold and they started to count down.
10-9-8 I opened up the corner of my envelope and just waited. 7-6-5 I pictured myself running home to TURQUOISE and throwing up their sign surrounded by my new friends and all the amazing women I had met the past week. 4-3-2 1!! I ripped open my card and saw PURPLE To say that I was disappointed would have been an understatement. I was absolutely devastated. So many girls around me were screaming and bouncing up and down and I just wanted to go back to my dorm room. I felt so conflicted because I was definitely upset but I didn’t want to seem ungrateful. It was a weird mix of emotions to feel all at once. Holding back tears I called my mom really quickly in the midst of the chaos to let her know what bid I recieved. She knew that I was very upset and asked me what I was going to do. I sighed and wiped a couple of tears away and told her that I was at least going to try it out, even if it was just for bid night. I didn’t want to be rude and not even give this house another chance, they obviously had saw something in me that made them want to extend me a bid so I wanted to try at least. Besides, I figured that there would be someone waiting at the house to be my Bid Night buddy and I pictured how sad she would’ve been if I hadn’t shown up. I hung up with my mom. Ran over to where the other PURPLE girls were and put on my Bid Night shirt to run over to the house. Once we got there I was surprised to see that there weren’t any girls holding signs with our names on them like there were at other houses. Us new members were left to kinda hangout and mingle on our own around the house. Not knowing anyone, and not having any dorm friends there with me, I kinda stumbled around trying to socialize with taking some pictures. An active I recognized made eye contact and she came over to say hello before leaving to hangout with her friends. Let me just say, Bid Night can be an extremely intimidating and awkward night, and not having an active there to show you around and hangout with you made it even worse. A group of girls came up to me as I was taking some pictures with a small group and asked me if I was a freshman, when I said no they seemed a bit disappointed and left. Oh okay that was random? (I later found out they were a family, ggbig, gbig, and big looking for a freshman little to claim that night.) We were then gathered into their patio and had a frat group come and serenade us and give out roses and we were then pinned by a randomly assigned active. A different active came over and finally invited me to come over to her friends. We chatted for a little bit before it was time to head back. Walking back from the house I took a backwards way from the usual pathway all the other new members were taking back from their houses and finally had time to let out a few tears. I felt horrible. Horrible because I hadn’t gotten TURQUOISE and horrible because Bid Night hadn’t even been fun. I was just extremely disappointed with the process and how everything had turned out. And then at the same time, I felt ungrateful for feeling this way. So many women had been cut the past week, I had a bid and yet, I felt so sad. And this is where my story takes a bit of a turn. Over the next couple weeks I threw myself into the New Member process. I went to meetings, sat with girls in class, went to some mixers, and studied at the house, and yet it still just wasn’t clicking. All of my transfer friends had gone to other houses with big transfer classes and my house didn’t really have one that year. I was definitely sad about missing out on that experience that I had wished for. One night I was driving home from running an errand when I got into a car accident. While I was okay physically (Rest in Peace to my poor car) I was mentally shaken. I began having serious panic attacks that would prevent me from doing almost anything. Any little thing could set me off and my mental health began to drop. That, compared to the homesickness I had been feeling, made me extremely distant and I began to grow apart from the few friends I had made in PURPLE. I finally talked to a counselor and she supported my idea of transferring so that I could be closer to home and could have my family there with me as a support system. I called the New Member Educator later that day and formally dropped from PURPLE. That next week I withdrew from the school. Over the next year, as I waited for my transfer applications to go through, I sought more counseling for my panic attacks and they helped immensely. I applied to the same school I had been at again, and another school closer to home. I was accepted into both and decided to not return to the school I had been at. It was an extremely hard choice as this had been my dream school for so many years but I knew that it would be best for me to pick the school near my home. That summer before classes started for my new school, I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to join a sorority anymore. I wasn’t sure if I could handle the stress and nervousness again but my mom (honestly she is an angel in disguise) knew how badly I had wanted to be one and have all the experiences that come with one. In September I started at my new school and started the rush process once again…. PART TWO COMING SOON |
Wow.
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Wow, indeed!
Can’t wait for chapter 2! |
sounds like you're grounded and open as you gave it a chance. can't wait to read the next installment!
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Ditto on the wow. Didn't see that coming.
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Have you gone thru Recruitment at your new school yet or will that be this fall?
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Biting off my nails here! This is a thrilling read!
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Plot twist! Can't wait for Chapter 2!
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RECRUITMENT ROUND 2: DAY 1
Okay, here we go part two!! I was beginning my my new school and preparing myself for recruitment a little bit more than I had for the last year. My school is still on the West Coast but has a smaller Greek Life presence on campus compared to my last school. There are 9 NPC chapters and one associate chapter. However, one NPC chapter and the associate chapter don’t participate in formal recruitment. I got Letters of Rec for nearly all the chapters this time instead of just two. Eventhough most girls going through recruitment at my school didn’t know anything about sororities and I’m sure Letters of Rec are somewhat rare, I wanted to be extremely prepared this time around.
I had all of my outfits picked out and was ready to go. During 0 Week, I went to a Meet the Greeks/Activity Fair event and made sure to talk to girls at each chapter. This time I wasn’t going to focus on the “ranks/tiers” of the houses, but rather how I felt when I was in them and how they treated me. Focusing on other people’s opinions had hurt me the year before now I knew that this wasn’t the way to go. With 8 Chapters, instead of using just colors I’ll use colorful fruits instead! Watermelon Strawberry Grape Green Apple Coconut Orange Blueberry Kiwi DAY 1: OPEN HOUSE I drove to school and met up with my Rho Chi group where the Greek Houses were. We were a super mixed group of freshman, sophomores, juniors, and even a senior or two. It was nice to have such a diverse group. The Panhellenic website had said that today everyone should dress casually and showed examples of jean shorts, jeans, tank tops etc., but I didn’t feel like that was appropriate so I wore a casual sundress with fancy sandals. I'm glad I dressed up a bit because I felt like it would've been better to be overdressed than under. With the actives wearing dresses and heels, a crop top and ripped jeans (what most girls were wearing) didn't feel like it would've made a good first impression BLUEBERRY: My first house of the day was BLUEBERRY. I went in and was picked up by a sophomore who was super bubbly and asked me the usual first day questions like ‘what’s your major, and where are you from.’ She was really pretty and sweet. Another girl came over and was so outgoing that we were cracking up the entire time. I remember this house being so hot, because of the way their house faces it gets direct sunlight all day. Which is nice in some occasions, but with no air conditioning, we were all sweating during this party. The active I was talking to then led me out to their patio where they did a little song. They had remixed a current song with stuff about their sorority and I thought it was cute but a little cheesy at the same time haha. GREEN APPLE: My group was then led over to our next house. I really liked how the outside of this house was designed and where it was located compared to the other houses. I was picked up at the door by one of their girls that they showcased a lot on their social media. She was on the cheer team and had a major similar to mine which made the conversation really flow. Another girl came over and we both had the same minor as well. She brought me over a water bottle with the paper wrapping being designed to say their sorority’s name. I thought it was really cute and I greatly appreciated how well they had done trying to match me up with girls they thought I would get along with. Coconut: This house was known as being the struggling chapter on campus. They were super small and normally only got about a third of what quota would be for a new pledge class. I was picked up at the door by a junior and she grabbed the girl behind me as well. This other PNM was in my Rho Chi group and I had already gotten the feeling that she was a girl who would just say whatever was on her mind, no matter the context. This girl was so rude to the active and kept bringing up super inappropriate topics. I was shocked. I tried to ignore her and just talk politely with the active, even changing the subject a few times on my own away from what this girl was trying to talk about. I didn’t want the COCONUT girls to think I was rude like this girl was! Another girl came over and we chatted for a bit as a group of 4 before we were led out. GRAPE: The next house was right next door to COCONUT so we didn’t have to walk far. I was picked up and led to their patio where the active I was talking to had the same major and was also a junior transfer from an area near me. We had a lot to talk about and the conversation went really well. However, when the next girl came over there were a couple of awkward pauses which made me feel like I had not had the best time there. ORANGE: ORANGE was the next chapter that my group went to. I had a close friend who had gone to my community college in this sorority and she was super excited that I was going through recruitment. The active that grabbed me was so outgoing and nice, but there were sometimes where she came off as being a little to “tryhard-ish.” She was selling her chapter HARD and I felt like it was a little much for it just being the first day. My friend came over for a little bit to chat and say hello which I thought was really sweet. She was one of their sisterhood chairs and told the active I was talking to how awesome I was. Overall, when I left I could definitely picture myself in this chapter. STRAWBERRY: I was a little nervous going to this house next, as it is known as one of the more competitive houses to get into. But I reminded myself not to feed into the stereotypes that each house had and to base it on how I felt coming out. I was picked up at the door by a super beautiful active who was extremely involved on campus. She made me feel at home right away and the short party flew by. Another active stopped by to say hello and chat briefly, but I only talked to that one active for the entire party. It made me a little nervous not to have been able to talk to more girls and I hoped I made a good impression because I really wanted to come back to this house the next day. WATERMELON: At this point in the night I was so tired from such a long day. But when I left WATERMELON I felt renewed. A petite senior picked me up at the door and led me to their patio. It was finally cool outside and was a welcomed relief compared to the heat we had experienced during the day. She was from out of state and we didn’t have much in common on the surface but she was so kind and welcoming that we clicked right away. I talked to four more girls that party including, a sporty waterpolo player, a girl who was in a campus program I wanted to join, one of their seniors who (based off of social media) was really well respected in the chapter and who I had met at the Activities Fair, and their Recruitment Chair. It was a whirlwind of a party, but each one of them connected to me in a different way. I walked out absolutely loving this house. KIWI: After having such a great time in WATERMELON I was hoping to have a great time in KIWI too but the conversations here felt flat. I honestly can’t even remember what I talked about in this house but I left not really wanting to return. WOO! Day 1 was done! I walked back to where we would be ranking our houses and talked to my Rho Chi a bit before submitting 1. WATERMELON 1. STRAWBERRY 1. ORANGE 1. GREEN APPLE 1. BLUEBERRY 1. GRAPE 2. KIWI 3. COCONUT |
I think I know which university this is, but know nothing about the chapters other than what’s on the internet/social media. Since we know that you have a happy conclusion (yay!), can’t wait to hear about your journey!
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You are so descriptive. I feel like I am there!
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please post more quickly if you can! I may be being totally selfish, but it's rough to go back and have to reread previous posts to figure out what was going on before reading newest installments. Are any of the chapters from previous school at new school?
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DAY 2: PHILANTHROPY
DAY 2: Philanthropy
I woke up bright and early this day, super excited to see what my invites back would be! Today was philanthropy day and the suggested dress code was Business Casual. Panhellenic recommended wearing pants, a blazer, and maybe flats or small heels but that wasn’t really my style (plus it was probably 90+ degrees outside). I had bought a long sundress over the summer that I thought would be perfect but I was worried about straying too far from the dress code. My mom gave me some great advice, saying, “Would you want to be in a chapter that cuts you just for dressing in your style and what you feel comfortable in?” and so I wore the dress. I was glad I did too because a lot of girls decided to ignore the blazer suggestion and dress a little more fun instead. I walked over to my Rho Chi and was handed my schedule… BLUEBERRY WATERMELON GREEN APPLE ORANGE STRAWBERRY GRAPE I was so happy that I got my top 6 back!!! I couldn’t wait to meet more actives and learn about their philanthropies! All of the chapters I was returning to today were also at my last school but I wasn’t super familiar with all of them so I was ready to see more! BLUEBERRY: Once again my first house of the day was BLUEBERRY. I was picked up at the front door by an active that had such amazing eyes. She was so pretty and we sat out on their patio to talk. It was super hot again at their house. Being out on the patio in the sun, I was dripping sweat trying while trying to keep a good conversation haha. We talked about where we had travelled that summer before another girl came over and grabbed me, leading me to a table where they had little philanthropy set up and a craft to complete. They had little felt squares that we would draw on with markers and they said they were going to sew them together and make a quite to donate. I knew that the type fabric they had wouldn’t have been able to make a quilt so it felt like a bit of a white lie to me. Either way, the girls I talked to were sweet and I had a pretty good time here. WATERMELON: I was a little nervous going into this house for the second day because I had such a good time the day before. We were all led in and placed in a semi-circle in the house. Before any actives came to pick us up, the president said that they had a speech and a video to show us. The video was from their national offices and seemed a little outdated but was still quite heartwarming to see what the chapter was involved in not only at this school, but what this sorority worked on throughout the country. After the video, an active stood up and gave a sweet speech about a philanthropy event that they had the year prior and how being there and working with their group really showed that they were making a difference. She was extremely poised and I knew that she had been a junior transfer which showed to me that even older PNMs had the chance to make a difference and get involved in this sorority. After the speech an active grabbed me from the semi-circle and we walked around the downstairs as she showed me the different tables they had set up for each of their events. However, when another active came over our conversation felt a little forced. She had a somewhat sarcastic personality but it came off as a little too sassy, so I didn’t really like her too much. GREEN APPLE: I then headed over to GREEN APPLE and talked to some amazing women. I don’t remember exactly what we talked about during this party but I remember that the actives were so welcoming and I felt pretty at home here. They showed me around the living room again with tables of their events they had throughout the year. My active then sat me down and another active gave a speech about how she had been affected by this cause personally and because of her chapter and the philanthropy work she had done, that it had changed her life. It was a super personal speech, and could’ve been considered “risky” considering how it was only day 2, but I thought she was really brave to be so open and her sisters really seemed to be there for her. ORANGE: GREEN APPLE’s party had run a little bit late so I ran to ORANGE and made it just as they were calling the final lineup. Feeling a little flustered from running all the way there, I quickly caught my breath before I walked in. They started off their party with another video and it was a tearjerker. Having a cousin that was supported by this philanthropy, it hit super close to home and I held back some tears. The active I was paired with talked about their events and showed me their tables again and my friend came by to say hello. Overall it was a really successful party and I definitely wanted to come back. STRAWBERRY: STRAWBERRY was next and I was grabbed by an out of state active who told me all about their event and how much money they had raised the past year. It was really impressive and a really cool philanthropy. The girl I had talked to the other day came over to say hi, as well as their recruitment chair. I was then taken out to their patio and two girls talked to me about a philanthropy event the school put on annually that they had both been a part of. It was definitely something I was super interested in and so the conversations went really well. GRAPE: Last party of the day and I was so exhausted. This house didn’t show their philanthropy and what they did as well as I thought they would have and the girls seemed a little uninterested (they were probably just tired like me) in the conversations. I kept trying to keep the convo going but they kept falling flat. I found myself at one point holding back a yawn as to not be rude while the active struggled to find something else to talk about. I left GRAPE and headed over to rank my houses again. I was pretty sure about what I wanted to rank but I wasn’t too sure about where I wanted to put GREEN APPLE and BLUEBERRY. I had good conversations in both and knew that I would be happy to return to either. BLUEBERRY was considered the more “prestigious” chapter of the two, but I thought about their philanthropies’ and how the sisters had seemed to act with each other, and ultimately decided that I had enjoyed GREEN APPLE more. Their speech had been really moving for me and I thought about how much I had liked it there the first day. So I ranked… 1. STRAWBERRY 1. WATERMELON 1. ORANGE 1. GREEN APPLE 2. BLUEBERRY 3. GRAPE |
DAY 3: SISTERHOOD AND HOUSE TOURS
DAY 3: SISTERHOOD AND HOUSE TOURS
It was another sweltering day when I woke up and started getting ready for Day 3. I felt extremely confident and couldn’t wait to get there and see the houses. I walked up to my Rho Chi group and talked for a little bit while she looked for my schedule. There was a lot of gossiping about different chapters going on and a lot of my group had decided to drop out already. (including the rude PNM that was with me during COCONUT). With this school not being super Greek, a lot of girls figured that if they didn’t get their top choices, it wouldn’t really make a difference in their college experience if they didn't go greek. My Rho Chi finally found my schedule and it said STRAWBERRY GREEN APPLE WATERMELON ORANGE I had my top choices again!!! I was so grateful and so excited to have my top 4! STRAWBERRY: STRAWBERRY was first and I headed over there excitedly. My Rho Chi had seemed particularly happy about this being my first house and I wondered if she was one or just trying to trick us. I walked in and was greeted by another pretty and put together girl. She led me over to a seat by a couple of their sisterhood tables and we talked about their different sisterhood events. A couple of girls sang a little song/chant about STRAWBERRY and it was a super upbeat party. Another active then came and grabbed me and gave me a tour of their house. We talked all about a music festival I had just attended as we sat on a bed in one of the rooms. The house was decorated really nicely and the active was really bubbly. I had a really good time here. GREEN APPLE: I was super happy to be going here again! The actives opened the doors and serenaded us as we walked into their living room and then to the patio. I was paired up with a girl that had a similar major as me and she told me how excited everyone was to have me back. We talked about their sisterhood events before she led me back from their patio to their living room and showed everyone their sisterhood video. It was cute, but not the best made video. While it did really show that they were fun and had a lot of closeness within the chapter, it gave me time to look around the room and not really feel like I would fit in here. Another active came and grabbed me afterwards to give me a house tour and she was a little bit awkward to talk to. She seemed really nervous. The house was cute but not decorated as nicely as STRAWBERRY’s house had. We chatted a bit as we walked through but soon it was time to go. As I was walking out the active suddenly started saying how happy everyone was that I had come today, and that she really hoped that she would see me tomorrow, and how I was amazing etc. I mean it’s always nice to be flattered, but it felt a little bit like overkill. It had been a been a good party, but what she said at the end made me feel a little bit weird about this house. WATERMELON: I couldn’t wait to get into WATERMELON again. They led us into the house and did a really cute chant with some small choreography before grabbing us. The active that picked me up was so outgoing and was on the Dance Team. She showed me all of their sisterhood display tables and also showed me a connections table. They had a picture of a recent alumnae on display that had written a letter of rec. for me and it was super exciting to see and recognize a familiar face. Girls from the day before stopped by to say hello as well as the Recruitment Chair again. A junior came and grabbed me to give me a tour of the house. I loved the way this house was decorated and the hallways had a ton of accomplishments hung up on the walls. I could tell that this was a really involved house on and off campus. We then headed back downstairs where the president gave us a wonderful speech about what sisterhood and WATERMELON meant to her. This girl was an amazing speaker and, even though I didn’t know her, I looked up to her so much just based on how poised she was. ORANGE: My next house was ORANGE and after having a super nice day before and really enjoying their philanthropy, I was excited to see them again. However, my time here ended up being a little bit lackluster. I was paired with only one active for the entire 45 minute party. She was one of their girls they showcased a lot on social media and was sweet but we didn’t hit it off at all. I was sat out on the patio and it was quiet (which was nice) but she never took me inside to see their sisterhood tables. I don’t even remember talking about sisterhood events with her, we only talked about surface level first day topics. She then went and gave me a house tour. The way they had timed out their party didn’t really work too well because everyone had moved upstairs at the same time and it made the rooms/hallways really crowded and loud. After such a long time only talking to one girl, we had run out of things to talk about and I was definitely ready when it was time to go. I didn’t even need to think about my rankings or talk to my Rho Chi about my decisions for pref. I felt good about how I had felt during the day and confidently ranked... 1. WATERMELON 1. STRAWBERRY 2. ORANGE 3. GREEN APPLE |
Interesting. Sounds like you enjoyed Green Apple more than Orange, but that's based on a short paragraph. Hopefully it won't matter and you'll get strawberry and watermelon back!
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DAY 4: PREFERENCE NIGHT
We didn’t have any parties the day after Sisterhood because of a religious holiday so I waited patiently, and nervously, for two days until it was finally time to head over to campus and see what invites I would be receiving for Preference. I knew that I really wanted to see STRAWBERRY and WATERMELON on my schedule but, as I had learned from recruitment at my previous school, anything was possible. I knew that if I had ORANGE or GREEN APPLE I would be happy to be in either of these chapters, but I also knew that it would sting to lose my favorites. I drove to campus and walked to my Rho Chi. Girls in my group were already there comparing their invite slips with each other which made me even more anxious to have that piece of paper in my hand. My Rho Chi handed me it and it said….
STRAWBERRY WATERMELON I absolutely ecstatic!!! I had my top 2 back!! The top two that I had been so in love with all week!! I felt so much more relaxed as I headed over to STRAWBERRY. I knew that no matter what happened tonight, I would definitely be happy with whatever chapter I ended up in the next day. STRAWBERRY: Standing in line at STRAWBERRY, I recognized so many other PNMs that had been invited back as well. I kept reminding myself to look around at the girls next to me, these women could be my future pledge sisters!! It was finally time for the party to begin and the president came out and welcomed us to their house. She then went back inside and the doors were shut by two pretty alumnae. The actives then opened the doors and individually invited us inside of the house. I waited in line excitedly thinking about who could be the girl that picked me up at the door. The door then opened for me and I was so happy to see the girl I had talked to on the very first day. She was my first impression of STRAWBERRY and we had really connected. She gave me a big hug and led me through their foyer. There was white tulle and small, white twinkling lights that covered the entire entrance to their living room. Actives were on the other side of the tulle tunnel, singing one of their songs about STRAWBERRY(except you couldn’t see them at all. It was magical). It honestly felt like going through a fairy’s winter wonderland. I then reached the entrance to the living room and was announced to all of the actives. They welcomed me back at STRAWBERRY all at once and I was then led to my table. The tables were decorated absolutely beautifully with elaborate flower centerpieces and gold glitter sprinkled throughout. There was a letter written for me with a rose dipped in gold glitter. The living room was covered in white tulle and lattice with beautiful flowers wrapped through. Even on the ceiling there was lattice with flowers! It was really impressive! My active told me to read my letter while she and the other actives stood to greet other PNMs coming in. My letter was so sweet and beautiful. A girl I had talked to the day prior wrote it for me and I teared up a little bit reading it. Once all the PNMs were seated a glass was rang (kind of like at a wedding) and the party began. My active handed me a little menu and told me to select which cookies and ice cream combination I wanted. The menu was so cute and there were so many options! I chose snickerdoodle and vanilla and my active chose the same as another active came by to grab our selections. We started just talking about our day when the active came back with our desserts in the cutest martini glasses with mini gold spoons to eat with. It was absolutely the cutest thing and I loved that we got to choose. My active and I just started talking about everything under the sun. How stressful recruitment is, the chapter’s sisterhood, how close we were with our moms. I even opened up on how transferring from a different school had been a really hard decision and how my car accident had affected my mental health there. We hit it off like we had known each other for years and I felt so comfortable with her. Then she asked me what other chapter I was preferencing that night. I felt a little uncomfortable knowing that this was not necessarily a question you should ask someone and knowing that this chapter had been fined in previous years for dirty rushing on preference night. I told her WATERMELON and she told me that she had the same two houses on her pref night (these two houses compete with each other) and how happy she had been to choose STRAWBERRY. I knew she was just trying to sell me on the final benefits of her chapter, but I felt like it could’ve been started a different way. She then led me outside to their patio where another active gave a speech about how she had lost a family member the year prior and how the girls of STRAWBERRY gave her the strength to continue with school. It was a very moving speech but as I looked around to the other actives, I noticed that I didn’t recognize very many of them. We were then led out as four women sang a beautiful song about sisterhood. My active gave me a huge hug and wished me luck and love as I left the house. Walking over to STRAWBERRY I knew that they had set the bar extremely high for my decisions. I had such a wonderful time there and couldn’t wait to experience WATERMELON’s pref. A bunch of girls from STRAWBERRY walked over to WATERMELON together and got in line. WATERMELON: WATERMELON’s doors opened and the president gave a speech very similar to STRAWBERRY’s as they began to welcome us in two at a time. It was finally my turn and my active came forward and called my name. I was so excited it would be her preffing me. We had met on philanthropy day and had totally connected, both of us were junior transfers and I saw her as role model from the second I met her. She gave me a token to wear throughout the party and led me in to the living room as other actives greated me along the way. She sat me down and told me to read my letter while she greeted more PNMs coming in. The room was decorated all black, including the actives dresses. The centerpieces of the tables were white and blue lilies with beautiful ribbons wrapped around the large vases. There were candles placed all around the table and it felt very mysterious (but in a good way). My letter was written by another girl that I had met the first day of recruitment. She was involved in a program that I wanted to be involved in and she said that no matter what I decided after this night, she hoped to see me in that school’s program with her. I really liked that idea that these girls would be my friends even if I didn’t decide to join this house. Once all the PNMS were in my active showed me the macarons on the table and sparkling apple cider that was for me. The macarons were so delicious and we laughed together on how many crumbs were getting everywhere and I felt totally comfortable enough to not worry about how I was eating those pesky macarons. We talked about the same things that I had talked about in STRAWBERRY but with my active here I felt more of a down to earth vibe from her. We talked about the struggles of being older and joining a new school and I once again opened up my rough time the year prior. The girl that wrote my letter stopped by and gave me a big hug saying that so many women wanted to pref me that night and that my active was so lucky. I felt so special and really felt at home here. Another active stood up and gave a similar speech to STRAWBERRY’s that had the entire room, including myself, in tears. We were then all led outside and surrounded a totem of the sorority. Another moving speech was given and we each walked up one by one, placing our token on the totem. The actives were quietly singing all around us and after I placed mine, I looked around the patio and recognized so many faces. I remembered so many girls that I had wonderful conversations with throughout the week and really didn't want this party to end. But, alas, it was time to go and we were led to the front door through a tunnel of actives holding candles. My active gave me the biggest hug saying that she hoped to see me the next day. We stood outside in a group as the actives paused at the door, still signing their farewell song, before blowing out their candles simultaneously and shutting the doors. I got chills. I walked over to voting and quietly thought about my decision. I felt so conflicted and knew that I would love to be a part of either chapter. I looked through my notes in my PNM handbook and noticed that I had enjoyed WATERMELON a little bit more each day (except for one where STRAWBERRY had beaten them out slightly) I also noticed I had met so many more girls in WATERMELON than I had in STRAWBERRY. Girls came by each day to say hello if I had met them before and I could actually remember their names and what we talked about exactly. With STRAWBERRY, eventhough I had loved my time at their house this week, I hadn’t met as many women and of the women I met, I couldn’t really remember their names as well. While I LOVED the girl that preffed me in STRAWBERRY, she was the only girl I had really remembered. While the girls in STRAWBERRY were similar to me, I saw the women in WATERMELON as leaders and role models, the women that I knew would push me to be my very best and would be there during the highs and lows. I went to my Rho Chi and confidently ranked… 1. WATERMELON 2. STRAWBERRY |
Thanks for the updates this weekend. Can't wait to see how it turns out. Hoping for Watermelon, as Strawberry sounds like they had a pile of infractions and such going on and weren't the most genuine. Wishing the best for you!
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Hoping for Watermelon too even though the member at Watermelon said that she hoped to see her the next day — which is a no-no. (Since you’re going through Recruitment as an active this year, you can say “I’m so glad you’re here at Pref. The chapter has loved you all week.” You might be okay with saying something like “I know you have a big decision tonight. I hope it’s the same as mine.” Or “Great minds think alike.”)
Please finish so we know where you found tour home! P.S. I know the university and know who Blueberry is (from instagram pics of morning sunlight on the house), though that doesn’t matter much since you hadn’t gone back there since day 2. |
BID NIGHT
The day was finally here!! I was BID NIGHT!! After waiting all morning and afternoon, it was finally time to head over to the school and find out what sorority I would be invited to join! I called my mom and she wished me good luck and reminded me that I had loved both chapters all week and that she was proud of me for getting through (another) recruitment! I headed over to campus and met up with my group. The nervous energy surrounding where we were was crazy. Everyone was so anxious and just wanted to get out hands on our bids!! We lined up with our Rho Chi groups once everyone was there and our Rho Chi started to pass out our cards. She made us sit on them so we couldn’t look through the envelope and see. I turned to the girl next to me and asked her who she had preffed, she said WATERMELON and STRAWBERRY too! We both were wanting WATERMELON and were super excited at the thought of being sisters! They did a Rho Chi reveal before the countdown and my Rho Chi ended up being a STRAWBERRY. I had really liked her all week and figured that even if I did get my second choice at least I would know one more girl! I wanted to be a WATERMELON so badly but kept on reminding myself that I still had really loved STRAWBERRY too and that I could find my home in either. After what seemed like hours it was finally time to open up our bids. Everyone began to count…
10-9-8 7-6-5 4-3-2 1!!! I reached underneath me and grabbed my envelope quicker than I think I’ve ever grabbed anything. My hands were shaking like crazy as I ripped it open and saw. The ladies of WATERMELON cordially invite you to become a sister of our chapter. Also known as DELTA GAMMA!! I WAS SO HAPPY!! I stood up and jumped up and down screaming like crazy with all the other girls in my group! The girl next to me got a bid to Delta Gamma as well and we hugged each other so tight. We then ran together to where the other new Delta Gammas were gathering and immediately started chanting and taking pictures with each other. We were all so excited and pretty much ran to where we would meet up with the actives before heading to the house. Running over there I felt so excited and relieved to have found my home. I ran into the arms of the girl who had preffed me the night before as she screamed how happy she was to have me in DG. The Rho Chis were then reunited with their chapters and we ran to the house to start all the fun! Bid night was so amazing! We got our new shirts to change into, a bag full of goodies, and a beautiful Hawaiian lei to wear and take home. It was so nice to relax after a long week and take pictures and eat food. My bid night buddy (or anchormate as we call them) was the first girl that had I had talked to in DG. She was so welcoming and made me feel so at home. Over the next few weeks I got even more comfortable in Delta Gamma. All of the women were so welcoming and constantly made sure that everyone was included. I immediately signed up to be a coach of a fraternity for our Anchor Splash Philanthropy and it totally helped me feel included super quickly into Greek Life at my school. I got a big, and a grandbig, and was completely spoiled during reveal week. Initiation was absolutely beautiful and it made me fall in love with the chapter even more. In the spring I was appointed to a position (after a girl went to study abroad) and I was able to plan a huge event that we hold and the end of every year and I’m currently planning some events for fall. I am so happy in Delta Gamma and feel so blessed to have been able to officially find my home. After the disappointment that recruitment was the first time for me, and the difficult and extremely hard decision of leaving my first school, I wasn’t sure if I could handle another week of long days and harsh cuts. I am so glad that I gave it all a second chance. My advice for any one reading this who is going through recruitment (either right now or in the future) is to trust what fate has in store for you. You never know when a blessing in disguise might suddenly change what you thought were concrete plans for the better! Thank you everyone for reading my story!! I’ll be an active in this upcoming recruitment and I’ll update a little bit on how it goes during my first time on the other side! xoxo |
Congratulations!
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Thanks for sharing your story. I enjoyed your detailed descriptions- I felt like I was at Pref alongside you! It was a long journey, but I am sure Delta Gamma is well worth it!
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CONGRATS to you. This is yet another journey that should be required reading for any young lady preparing to go through recruitment. Nicely done!!
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Welcome Aboard! So glad that you stuck with it and found your home.
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