MusicLVR's Story...SOOOOO Excited!
 

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03-02-2007, 07:10 AM
:p SOOOOO Excited!
Hello everyone! I'm here to announce that I am going through rush. This is probably the most nerve wrecking yet completely exhilarating thing I have ever decided to do. All the ladies I have met so far have been so sweet and friendly. I hope that I can keep my wits and not let my nervousness take over because then I won’t talk! That’s NOT GOOD, of course.

I have taken the time to read through many of the postings to get some advice to help me through this journey. I think about what an honor it would be to have a group of sisters to share the rest of my life with. It is such a huge commitment and such a huge gift! Sometimes I’m so excited it’s hard for me to fall asleep at night. :D

Wish me luck and send me TONS of positive thoughts. I’m going to need them. Thanks everyone!


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03-03-2007, 10:34 PM
:) Thanks Ladies!
I'm going through recruitment now. It has been a great week for me so far. I've made sure to talk to every single person present (even when I get all nervous) and it's made it a lot easier to get to know everyone. It even gets to a point where I don't have to think about it (what I should say, how to say it, when to say it so I don’t interrupt because I don’t want to be rude and so on) and we are just talking and laughing. I LOVE it!!!! It's really very nice. I hope that I have been able to make a good impression on the girls so far. I’m really proud of myself. :D I'm so excited right now I almost can't contain how happy I feel inside.

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So there is my story so far. ;)

VTMom
 

Good Luck with recruitment. My daughter will be a student at Virginia Tech next Fall, 07 and in the Spring I hope to post a recruitment story about her experiences. I hope you find everything you are looking for!:)

Good luck! Can't wait to hear the rest. :)

Good luck! I hope all goes well and I can't wait to hear about it.

Good luck!!! When did recruitment start? How long will it go for? Is it formal or informal? Details, details, details, please!!! :p

Ahhhh! I've become addicted!!! I love reading these threads! I'm excited that we still have a few more going... I thought I was going to have to wait until August for another batch!

Thank you so much for all your positive thoughts. I'm so nervous because at this point it's just a waiting game... tic, toc, tic, toc, tic, toc, tic, toc, tic, toc, tic, toc... These sure are heavy experiences! :o

By the way I apologize for leaving details out but I want to be as discrete as possible. Don't worry ladies, all will be over soon and then I can reveal all. :) Plus if I keep you in suspence then I know I'm not the only one going through it. ;)

Has anyone seen the cute sorority rush/bid day videos on youtube.com? They are great! Too bad we can't post video clips on this site.

Talk to you soon ladies & wish me much luck!

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I knew that my decision to go into a University was going to be something life changing. I wanted to have my college career be as enhanced as possible. I thought a sorority would be an excellent place to learn about leadership, about helping others and ultimately about tapping into the potential that I have always felt stirring inside of me.

In the beggining I had no idea however that my journey was going to end like this. Even as I try and describe my journey to all of you I cannot describe how I feel inside.

????

I'm so confused by your post! It really doesn't sound like things are good for you right now... I hope everything is okay. If you need encouragement, words of comfort, or anything please let us know. We're all pulling for you.

Generally I'm a shy person especially when I first meet new people. I've gotten better over the years about it but it still takes me time to adjust to new situations- like going to a new school for example. Once I'm more comfortable I'm still only really comfortable talking to a few people but once it gets past 5 or more I again tend to just sit back and watch more than join in anyway. Thus one of the reasons why I thought joining a sorority would be good for me.

So before I went to school I did all my research and knew I was going to go for it- just do it because if I don't take lots of risks everyday I'll never be challenged and if I'm never challenged then I won't grow as an individual. I also knew immediately which Sorority I was going to go for.

So off I went, called, emailed, and met with some of the girls and asked lots of questions but only really spoke to 2 or 3 of the girls over time. I was always looking forward to seeing everyone, but I was too shy or afraid or something to just say that. Then the semester began and since I had not a clue of what going through recruitment was or ANYTHING (wish I had found this site earlier) I went through the whole process very very cautiously and ignorantly.

The only real perception I had of Sororities and Fraternities where through movies, t.v., and of the news reporting that some woman had been beaten to death (or something similar- but very negative non-the less) while "rushing" a sorority. I was assured of course by the sorority that it was not like that at all. I was still nervous I have to admit (not cause I thought I'd come into harms way but because all of it was still very new to me), but the energy of these girls was very positive and I could see how much they cared about each other and that made me look forward to seeing them. However, cautious me remained cautious through the whole process- remember I didn’t know there was a process taking place at this point- and I kept on going to events but still mostly watching not very much interacting although I asked many questions.

Then one day I went to pref night and I remember being so happy I smiled the WHOLE time. I didn't know what this meant (until I came here and read from other posts). Everything was beautiful. That was the night I thought I'm going to start taking the risks and no matter how shy or awkward I get I'm going to talk to more people. I'd still only pretty much spoken with the same couple of girls and some of the other interests. And when I spoke I was awkward (sometimes) and still cautious, I kept my answers very short and very proper. I didn't want to be rude of course.

So a few weeks went by an I didn't get another email. I didn't get a call. I didn't even really see anyone, although when I did see the girls they would've wave to me, come up to me and hug me- they were very nice to me. I felt sad and didn't want to show it to anyone. I felt sad because I knew something was wrong.

After seeking the advice of a few, I wrote the sorority an email expressing my interest and really for the first time being open about how much I wanted to be a part of their sorority. It was hard for me to do but I knew I had to have some sort of closure either way. So I got a very polite email response letting me know that the sorority had made its selection for the semester. I was encouraged to try again the semester that followed.

I was in shock (although come on- NO calls, No emails I felt the truth in my gut), I was sad and basically felt like I had no idea what had just happened. The whole thing was over in an instant- I mean it was FAST!

:(

i'm sorry to hear that things didn't end up well for you. :/

you definitely should try again next semester. it's hard when you're shy... i know i have some sisters that don't feel comfortable in large groups of people. but it is recruitment, and if the sisters can't get a good glimpse of your personality, it's hard for them to decide if you and their house are a good fit. if you keep seeing the girls around campus and being friendly and open, you might start feeling more comfortable talking to them next time around. if you really liked the feeling you got from the sisterhood there, i think you definitely should go back to their house next semester.

If you are still interested in it.... You could talk to some of your friends who are affiliated with a sorority and ask them what they were really looking for. That could give you valuable insight for if you want to try again. I also have some friends that were given bids just because they were always stopping by a particular house to hang out with friends or pick them up. I am in no way encouraging you to try and dirty rush. I am just saying that it may happen for you in many different ways. If it is meant to happen, it will.

In my case, I went through rush my sophmore year and didn't get a bid (age and major were sort of an issue). Then ZTA recolonized at my school and I decided to give it a try. One of the best decisions I have ever made.

If informals are an option for you, consider it. You may have to deal with rejection, but if you don't feel at home in the org. it may be for the best.

I was a little older and didn't really feel at home in any of them during the process, so I didn't really have any bad reaction to it. If you felt otherwise, that is another issue entirely.

I strongly disagree with this.

I know that general answers like "great personality, outgoing, etc. etc." are harmless, but it leaves the door wide open for discussing membership selection -- and every sorority member knows not to talk about membership selection.

I agree. I apologize if it came off that way. I was referring to asking her friends who are affiliated what area about her conversations could have been improved to show her personality better. Going into specifics is not good for either party, especially when it comes down to membership selection. Members should also not be allowed to do that, and doing so would most likely cause frustration for both parties.

Being shy is really hard and friends are a great place to start in helping with this. I used to be a shy person and that helped me a lot.

I'm sorry that you felt shocked by the way the process ended. Please understand that most sororities can't/won't inform PNMs that they weren't selected via email or phone call during informal and that many sororities just assume that a PNM knows she wasn't selected if she hasn't heard anything by a few days after a preference party.

Please try again next semester. By then you'll have had time to make better connections with the sorority women and you might have a better shot. It might make you feel better to know too that during informal, spaces are often extremely limited. If a large number of women show up to COB events when there are only a few spaces available then lots of women will be disappointed. It sounds like the women in the chapter like you if they're coming up to you, hugging you, being friendly. I think you should try again.

Like the other girls have pointed out, it doesn't have to end here. I know how discouraging it can be, but it is definitely worth another shot. If I had to go through it all over again, I would. Hang in there and remember that there may be a home out there for you--whether it was with that chapter or another one. :)

MusicLVR,

I know this is kind of late and I'm a little behind. I just wanted to advise you. I had a very similiar thing happen to me. I am an Alpha Gam legacy and while I love everything about Alpha Gam there is not a chapter at my school. My freshman year I attended some informal rush parties just to find out what sororities were like. Then, the following semester I participated in formal rush. I'm at UNCG-in NC and it's not horribly competative here. 5 NPC sororities and 4 NPHC sororities and Theta Nu Xi (I'm not sure which category they fit into cuz they are our only multicultural greek org here.) I did not get invited back to pref night and I was crushed to say the least. Being in a sorority was what i wanted more than anything....I had prepared for it for weeks. After that ended, the sorority I was really interested in had not met quota through formal recruitment (gave out 25 bids and only got 12 girls) so I attended their informal rush parties, but never heard anything back. I was amazed...I have an excellent gpa, was VP of a student org....I was involved before recruitment...to say the least. Following that, I contacted greek life and extension and whether or not I could begin the Alpha Gam extension process and even though I had the support of local alumnae and my sisters school, my campus was not open for extension.

I am here to tell you that it is okay. Everything happens for a reason and you will find you home, I promise. I have always had a strong interest in music, even though I am not a major. I studied voice privately for 5 years and auditioned and was admitted to the school of music. So, Sigma Alpha Iota seemed like a good place for me to try. (It's an international music frat for women founded in 1903.) I rushed, was given a bid, and was eventually initiated. It was probably the happiest day of my life. Like I said, I've always been uber involved in everything. So, the semester after I was initiated in SAI, I rushed Phi Sigma Pi (it's a National Honor Frat founded in 1916 on the tripod of scholarship, leadership and fellowship). I was extended a bid and began the long, long pledge process. *If you know any Phi Sigs, you know what I mean.* I love Phi Sigma Pi more than anything. As a brotherhood, we are so close. We are always there for eachother and it's just amazing to know that those are my bros and they always have my back. I also love love love all my SAI sisters. They were the first org to take me in and I will always love them for that. This upcoming year (2007-08) I was elected as corresponding secretary and editor!! SAI is also an amazing organization of women. Everytime I experience our ritual it reminds me of how lucky I am.

I guess, what I'm trying to say is that, don't give up. You will find your home. It may not be with an NPC sorority. It may be with a service sorority, or local sorority, or special interest sorority. Heck, maybe even Phi Sig (you have to have a 3.0 gpa to be considered for membership). I'm not going to lie...sometimes I still wonder what it would be like to be in an NPC organization and do all the stuff that they do. Sometimes, I think about rushing again. But, juggling 3 orgs...I HAVE ENOUGH TROUBLE WITH TWO! If a sisterhood is what you are looking for, don't give up. Check out other orgs because I promise, you will find the place you love that also loves you. YOUR HOME IS OUT HERE! And, do what I did. When I joined each of these orgs, I promised myself that I would work to make a name for each of us on campus. And, my SAI chapter, though we were chartered at the school of music in 1999, had never completed the university affiliation process. AND, NOW WE'RE AFFILIATED. This year, I wrote a letter that won my chapter of Phi Sigma Pi the human relations award through the office of multiculutural affairs.

YOUR HOME IS OUT THERE, MUSICLVR! I CAN'T STRESS THAT ENOUGH!! PLEASE, DON'T GIVE UP.

I doubt she'll see this post at all.

You're probably right, centaur. I realized that she had not been on in months after I spilled my heart out on the board. Anyway, I left it up because...maybe she will see it or maybe another discouraged PNM will see it and continue her search for a home because of it. :)