Yet another retro recruitment!
 

Just feeding the retro rush thread addicts :p

Plus I've been reading all these threads and I want to do a retro rush story too! I'm sitting here bored out of my mind waiting for the washer/dryer repairman to get here so I figured why not! :D

There aren’t as many plot twists or unusual scenereos as some of the other threads. Still I think there’s a nice little message to my story and it might be beneficial to future PNMs :)

I went to a small southern school with a very strong Greek system. Rush wasn't as competitive as SEC schools and in fact several girls came to my school, rushed, initiated, then immediately transfered to an SEC school. Still there were many girls that ended up dissapointed when they realized that just because it was a small school the houses were still very selective and rush was not as easy as many people expected. Greek life was a huge part of the campus social scene and I had been told that all the GDIs were "artist freaks"

My situation was a little bit of a paradox because I always knew I wanted to be in a sorority and I was pretty much the typical PNM. I went to a very preppy, southern all-girls school high school where pretty much every graduate went on to join a sorority. I had decent social skills, dressed well, good grades, I had been a varsity athlete in HS, etc. Whenever I’d ask older friends who were already in sororities what to expect from rush they would just say “don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine.” However, I was completely clueless on rush and what to expect. I honestly thought that rush parties were just big parties with boys and beer and music and drinking games and the PNMs would show up and mingle with the actives. That’s what a party is right?!

Also a little more about me. I had a major inferiority complex. After our intro to Greek life meeting I was convinced that I would be dropped by every house because there was no way I could compete with all the perfect, gorgeous girls who were rushing with me. I got incredibly intimidated by people that I thought were better than me, i,e, the girls who were gorgeous, had boys hanging all over them, had tons of friends, designer clothes, etc. When I was around those girls I felt like I had nothing to say and would get incredibly shy. I was in awe of them. Those girls were my idols and they were who I wanted to be. To go along with this, I’ll also mention that when I was 18 I was immature, not very self-confident, and thought that my entire social future was based on which sorority I joined. I don’t want y’all to think that I’m still like this, I have grown up a lot! Still I think it’s important to realize that a lot of PNMs are like I was.

My parents were both greek but weren’t very helpful with prepping me for rush. I remember when they dropped me off at school my dad said “just be friendly and bubbly and people will like you.” I tried to take that to heart because I was worried that my insecurities with new people would really hurt me during rush. So the during the whole proces I kept telling myself “just be bubbly.”

We had 4 sororities. Since I'm going to France in a few weeks with some of my sorority sisters, I'll call the houses-
Bordeaux
Marseille
Giverny
Lyon

I'm excited about this one!!! I like the schools with only a few sororities so I can keep them straight.

I'm so glad you are starting a thread. I was afraid we were going to be stuck until Auburn.

So pretty much this is my rush story except my high school was co-ed and neither of my parents were greek!

The washing machine repairman still isn't here!

One more important thing about my campus... silence didn't start until the first day of rush so that meant you were allowed to talk with the sorority girls all you wanted during the first week of school before rush began. There were rules like the sorority girls could only talk about how great greek life was but not about their individual chapter. Still it was very easy to tell who was who and be influenced. They were allowed to invite us to go out with them so everyone's schedule that week was completely booked! There was only one official all-campus party that they were allowed to invite us to (the rest we would just "bump into each other") but we went out for lunch, coffee, dinner, ice cream, etc. every day. I met a lot of Bordeauxs and Marseilles but not many Givernys or Lyons. I remember specifically going to the all-campus party with the two incredibly beautiful Bordeauxs and we had a blast. I met more people that night than I’ve ever met in my life and it seemed like those two girls knew everyone in the school. I loved the feeling of having people swarming to me and I associated that with Bordeaux. I also remember going to a baseball game with a large group of Marseilles and having a great time. I met two Givernys for lunch which ended up lasting 4 hours because we had such a good conversation. I also felt like I got the cold shoulder from Lyon even though I did meet a couple of them.


My first impressions during that week were
Bordeaux – the stereotypical sorority girls. Hardcore partiers, beautiful, but still really fun to hang out with. I had a friend from high school, Sally, who was a Bordeaux and I was drawn to them because of her. She introduced me to a lot of her sisters and I thought they were all really cool.

Marseille – Didn’t have the best reputation but I wasn’t really sure why. They all seemed like really nice, fun girls and I really enjoyed hanging out with them. I had heard a lot of rumors involving them and things that had happened the year before so that kind of worried me.

Giverny – The few girls that I met were really fun and I liked them a lot but I had heard mixed reviews about this house. Everyone agreed they were sweet girls but their stereotype was that they were nerdy and unsocial. They always had the highest gpa on the row and were involved in everything but were rumored to be the type that would stay in and study on a Friday night instead of going to the fraternity parties. I wanted to keep an open mind but it was hard because my quad mates had already ruled out this house before rush started and I didn’t want to join the “wrong” house.

Lyon – Very southern and conservative girls. I also knew a girl from high school, Katie, who was a Lyon there. She was nice, we weren’t really friends but I had always thought highly of her and enjoyed talking to her before rush started. I didn't meet many others and they never called me to go out but they were all over my roommate. One time they came to get my roommate and invited me to go with them but I felt like the third wheel the entire time. The group as a whole seemed a little stuck up and I just got a bad vibe from them. I heard they were really religious and I’m not so much so I wasn’t sure if they would even want me as a sister. But I also heard that they were the most exclusive house on the row and you should consider yourself extremely lucky if they wanted you. Their eliteness was intriguing so I hoped they would like me even though I pretty much knew it was a lost cause before rush even started.

i was rooting for Bordeaux but now i don't know. i'm gonna go for Giverny.

Hmmmm......

Who to root for???

I'm going to stick with tld and root for Giverny!!


GO GIVERNY! GO!!

Rush began on a Friday afternoon at 5. I didn’t get out of class until 3:30 so I was frantically trying to get ready. I was completely stressed out and just a ball of nerves because I hate running late for things and not feeling prepared. I still felt like I didn’t have a good grasp about what I had to do during rush and was nervous that I wouldn’t have anything to talk about. I’ve never been great at small talk so I was panicked that I wouldn’t be able to carry on a conversation and all the houses would wonder what hole I had just crawled out of. I was absolutely convinced that I would get cut from every house.

But I tried to suck it up and be friendly and bubbly and just make every effort to appear like I belonged in a sorority. I wore a cute Lilly skirt, a polo shirt, sandals and pearls.

My first house of the day was Bordeaux and I was excited to go there first. I had been warned about the singing but I was so unprepared for the chanting at the top of their lungs that I was like a deer in the headlights. The girl that picked me up was probably the bubbliest person I’ve ever talked to and she seemed genuinely interested in me. She asked me about 1000 questions so I never had to worry about awkward silences. She introduced me to a lot of people who just seemed to be hanging on my every word. I had never had anyone that interested in me before! I left loving this house.

Next was Lyon. Katie picked me up so I was happy to see a familiar face. We reminisced about high school and I asked her questions about the house. It went fine for about 15 minutes but then we just ran out of things to talk about. We made small talk but I felt pretty uncomfortable. Finally some more people came over and introduced themselves but the conversation didn’t get much better. I left feeling like I hadn’t made a very good impression.

Next was Marseille. I really enjoyed these girls. I met a girl who was captain of the equestrian team and I had been riding since I was 5 so we talked about horses and the team and shows. There were a few other riders in the house so immediately when we realized we had that in common she grabbed them and we all had a lot of fun talking. Overall I really liked this house and decided not to worry about what I had heard about them.

Finally I went to Giverny. I really didn’t know how to feel about this house and found myself scoping out the actives judging them on how they looked. I know that sounds bad but I was insecure and didn’t want to be labeled the nerdy girl. I thought overall they seemed cute so that made me feel a little better. The girl that picked me up had a really strong southern accent and was so excited because she was best friends with a girl that I had gone to high school with. She showed me their scrapbook and I met a few other girls. I felt comfortable here and was surprised at how easily the conversation flowed. I never found myself thinking "what am I going to talk about next."

Overall I was thrilled with how well I had done on the first day but I still didn't want to get my hopes up too much.

I'm changing my vote to Marseille!!

GO Marseille!!! GO! :p

France! Yay!

Hmm...Lyon, the classy, fancy, cuisine to die for second city of France. Lovely Bordeaux, with it's small town feel but rolling vineyards and beaches nearby. Giverny, beautiful gardens immortalized by Monet. Still, I'm going with Marseille, often looked down upon, but if you take the time to explore beneath the rough exterior (as I did), you may just fall in love....:D

Allez Marseille!

2nd round
 

The next day we could attend up to 4 houses again. I got my invitations and was happy to see that I was invited back to all of them. But so was everyone else in my Rho Chi group so that didn’t over excite me too much. Generally the only people that were cut after the first round were the ones that didn’t have the gpa or had done something really bad! I wore a blue sundress, espadrilles, and pearls

First we visited Giverny. I don’t really remember much about the girls I met other than we made the usual small talk and they seemed friendly but we didn’t really connect. Still feeling a little apprehensive about the house in general I asked as many questions about social events as possible. In hindsight they might have thought I was a little too interested in the party scene but I didn’t really think about that at the time. They showed a slideshow and it looked like they had fun but I wasn’t 100% convinced. They said that they had parties with every fraternity on campus and I was impressed with that. Their skit was fun to watch but looking around I thought the actives just didn’t seem very into the skit. The looked slightly embarrassed which made me uncomfortable for them. I was pretty confused about this house in general. These girls were just sweet and down to earth, which was who I was also, but I didn't want "nice" I wanted "stunning."

Next was Bordeaux. Again I had an amazing time here. Sally picked me up and introduced me to a lot of other girls. They were so easy to talk to and again they seemed to hang on my every word. The president and rush chair also came over and talked for a while. I started to feel like maybe they were too interested and I felt like they were being kind of fake. I was really nervous that I was say the wrong thing and be shunned. Still they had a ton of energy and I really enjoyed myself here. Their skit was funny but one thing that weirded me out a little was that they had a few lines joking about how they had the lowest gpa on the row. I didn’t know how to react to that but I still left thinking that they were so much fun and I’d love to go back. I was really self-conscious though and I had a feeling they would cut me because they just seemed so perfect and they would realize I wasn’t good enough for them. They were the girls I was completely envious of in high school and seemed to have nothing in common with but unlike Giverny these were definitely the girls I wanted to be. I just hoped that I had made a good enough impression to get invited back.

Next we went to Marseille. The girl that picked me up was wearing a toga and I didn’t know how to react to that. I wasn’t sure if I should say something or just act like it was completely normal. All of the others girls in the house were wearing cute cocktail dresses and I was just so confused! But then she explained that she was dressed up in one of their theme party costumes. I looked around and noticed maybe 15 other girls also wearing bizarre costumes so at that point I thought it was pretty funny. They talked a lot about their social events and had a slideshow that looked like they were having a lot of fun. Their skit was very catchy and I had their song stuck in my head for the rest of the week. I thought these seemed like really fun and laidback girls and I enjoyed my conversations with everyone today. By this day I had completely forgotten about their reputation.

Last was Lyon. I was not comfortable here. The girl talking to me seemed completely disinterested and like she was mad that she had to talk to me. I tried to ask as many questions as possible but she pretty much answered all of them in one word and didn’t initiate any conversation. Finally after many awkward silences she took me over to another group of PNMs and rushees. The conversation there wasn’t much better but at least there were more of us. Finally it was time for their skit and I was relieved because I knew after that the party would be over and I could leave.

We didn’t rank the chapters and instead would wait and see who invited us back then accept or decline our invitations. We knew that we could only go back to three parties for the 3rd round so all anyone could talk about all week was who they were going to drop assuming they got invited back to all of them. I had a feeling I would be cut from at least Lyon and I was still convinced that I was going to get cut from all the houses. All my quad mates were dropping Giverny but I hadn’t decided if I would cut them or Lyon. I had liked Giverny much more than Lyon but Lyon was just so much more elite than Giverny and I was definitely concerned with prestige. So what’s an insecure freshman trying to make a name for herself supposed to do?

traitor!!!!

it's ok. But now im torn between Giverny and Marseille!

umm, update please!

Ohhh, do I see a lesson for PNMs on the horizon?



I'm pulling for Marseille.

Tld, I'm totally verklempt that my quote is in your signature. Special :D

awww :: blushes through cocoa-brown skin ::

Oh, Whatevs. Tld changes her siggy like every 5 secs.

hehe:p

I <3 you, really I do. ;)

I think you might! :p

I'll keep this thread moving because I'm impatient and hate waiting for updates! So as you remember all anyone could talk about was how much they loved Bordeaux and Lyon. I had convinced myself that all I wanted was Bordeaux also. Some people on my hall had Marseille as their top choice but most saw them as a fall back if they didn't get into Bordeaux. They were very similar houses but like I said there had been some things that had happened with Marseille the year before that us freshman were not really filled in on. Nobody seemed to want Giverny. On Tuesday of that week we got to see who invited us back.

I got my invitations and was invited back to:
Bordeaux
Marseille
Giverny

I was so happy! I pretty much knew I would get cut by Lyon so I really wasn’t surprised. It stung a little since that was my first taste of getting cut but I had assumed I'd be cut from them before rush even started. Plus it made my decision for the 3 houses I would go back to a lot easier and deep down I was relieved that I would get to go back to Giverny because I did like them and I didn’t have to force conversation with Lyon.

Today was philanthropy day. We were given tshirts to wear and I paired it with a skirt and sandals.

First we went to Marseille. Their craft was picture frames and I’m a very crafty person so I really enjoyed it! The other actives and PNMs at my table were talking about how silly it was to be making a craft and how it was like being in preschool, so even though I was thoroughly impressed with my picture frame I acted nonchalant about itand made a few comments about how it wasn't very good, which was a total lie because it was amazing. We sat at a large round table with a bunch of other PNMs and actives. The girl I was paired with was pleasant and we had a good conversation but didn’t really hit it off. We were at a table with several other actives and PNMs so the conversation flowed between everyone well. I heard from a PNM whose sister had rushed at our school that at Marseille they would give us drinks and the color straw we got signified how much they liked us. For example they would give blue straws to all the girls they really wanted, and red straws to the girls they were lukewarm about. They brought me my drink and it had a yellow straw. I wondered what the meant so I looked around my table and noticed that all but one PNM at my table had a yellow straw. The one girl with a green straw was gorgeous and I suddenly got really nervous that it meant that the yellow straws were bad. But then when I looked at another table I noticed that none of them had yellow, some had green, but then others had red. I didn’t know there were three categories of straws! Finally I told myself that the straws probably didn’t mean anything although I wasn’t totally convinced that yellow was the cut group.

Next was Giverny. We made flowers out of lollipops by cutting out construction paper in the shape of petals and gluing them on the wrapped lollies. There wasn’t too much skill involved with this, especially because some of the other actives at the table were helping with the cutting so that took all of 2 minutes. So after I got my petals cut out and glued on I was kind of confused about what else I was supposed to do. I noticed some other girls had crayons but I didn’t have any and felt stupid asking them to pass them over so I awkwardly gave my pitiful looking lolly-flower to an active collecting the craft and hoped they weren’t judging me on my art skills. I was paired with one of the girls that I met before rush started, Caroline, and felt like we had been friends forever. We had a great conversation which made up for the lame craft. I really enjoyed her because she was the first person I met in Giverny that fit the idea in my head of who I wanted to be. She was beautiful with platinum blonde hair and just very well put together. She was dating a guy who was in one of the best fraternities on campus and she was just very outgoing but not in an overwhelming way. But she was also brilliant and did several activities that were way out of the norm for what I expected of a sorority girl. I was just so intrigued by her and thought that if she chose to be in Giverny then clearly they weren't a bad house at all. Even though I liked most of the girls I met at the other houses, this was the one house where I didn’t feel like I was being judged and since I was so nervous and insecure I really appreciated the relaxed atmosphere.

Last was Bordeaux. We made placemats. Again I loved all the girls that I talked to but I was still super self-conscious at this party. I felt like I had to turn on the charm to impress them and I realized that almost all of the PNMs loved them so I had major competition. Other than the fact that I was blonde I didn’t have much else in common with them. I enjoyed going out but wasn’t a crazy partier and I felt like I couldn’t really relate to them when they talked about boys and crazy things they had done. I loved the idea of being a Bordeaux and being surrounded by gorgeous people and always being the life of the party, but as much as I refused to admit it I knew deep down that I wouldn’t fit in here.

So after this party I was more confused than ever. I was convinced that I had come off incredibly awkward at every house and I went back to my room practically in tears. I had pretty much taken Giverny for granted but after meeting Caroline I started to think that maybe they were out of my league also. My quad mates asked what was the matter and I said I just knew I was going to be cut. None of them understood what I was talking about since I had gotten invited back to three houses that day but I knew that the jig was up and all the sororities had realized how awkward I really was. I asked them if I could go to parties with them and their sorority sisters after they got bids and I didn’t. Trying to make me feel better they all said they would. They decided to cheer me up and take my mind off of sororities so we stuffed ourselves with Taco Bell and watched chick flicks all night.

tld, I'm back with you at Giverny.

GO GIVERNY! GO!! :D

Hilarious!

LOL you watch your mouth missie!

I'm still riding the Giverny horse for the win, with or without you. :D

pref round
 

The next day our rho chis said they would call us between 8-9 if we didn’t get an invitation and if we did we could pick them up at 10. I slept in so when my roommate woke me up to go get our invitations I flipped out because I wasn’t sure if someone had tried to call. She said she had been up since 6am (she was a runner) and neither our dorm phone nor my cell had rung. I thought maybe they came by and knocked but she said she was sure they hadn’t. Still I wondered if I would get there and they would say “well we tried to tell you not to come but…”

So I jumped out of bed, threw on a tshirt and shorts, and sprinted over to meet our Rho Chis. They handed me my invitation and I had been invited to

Marseille
Giverny

No Bordeaux. Despite feeling so insecure at their party they were still my first choice and I wanted to be in their house so badly. Even though I wasn’t like them, I desperately wanted to be like them! I thought it was so unfair that they wouldn’t even give me a chance. I saw my social future in college slipping away. It was all too overwhelming to think about. My Rho Chi saw that I was upset and asked if I wanted to talk but I was angry at her because at the time I was convinced she was a Bordeaux and thought the Rho Chis were passing information back and forth between their sororities. Even though in my heart I knew that I wouldn’t fit in with the Bordeauxs I wasn’t prepared to be cut like I had been with Lyon. Bordeaux’s rejection just confirmed my insecurities that I wasn’t fun enough, I wasn’t pretty enough, and would just never be the girl I wanted to be.

I was excited that at least I had a chance at Marseille but that feeling was completely drowned by the disappointment of not getting Bordeaux. I accepted both my invitations and tried to get out of there as fast as possible because I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold back my tears if I saw tons of happy PNMs around me. My roommate caught up with me and asked if I was ok since I had booked it out of there pretty fast and I told her I had been cut by Bordeaux. She tried to comfort me but I felt like she couldn’t understand what I was feeling. She seemed perfect in every way and had everything I wanted. She was never cut once during rush and would be attending pref at her top two choices from day one, Lyon and Bordeaux.

I wanted to be in a sorority so badly that dropping out never even crossed my mind. I just hoped I would get Marseille. All of my quad mates and friends from my hall had dropped Giverny and I didn’t want to be the only one who ended up there. Although Marseille’s reputation was a bit shady I still thought it was better than being called a nerd by the fraternity guys.

That night I wore a coppery brown cocktail dress. When we went to the row I was so insanely jealous of the girls lined up in front of Bordeaux that I almost started crying again. My heart really wasn’t in it that night so both parties I attended were a blur.

First was Marseille. They were all wearing black dresses and the house was very elegant. I was paired with one of the riders from the first night but this conversation didn't come as easily since we weren't talking about horses. She talked about what she had gotten out of the sorority and why she thought I would be a good fit. I was flattered and even though I was still heartbroken over Bordeaux I felt like this would be the next best thing. I don’t remember much about the ceremony other than just hoping they would give me a bid.

Next was Giverny. The house was beautifully decorated in tulle, flowers, and twinkling lights all over the walls and ceiling. I had never met the girl I was paired with so we made the usual small talk. We didn’t have much in common so the conversation was a little forced. I remember looking around at the other PNMs and thinking they all looked like they were having a great time and like they really wanted to be there. I tried to psych myself up by looking around at all my potential pledge sisters having a great time at the party but I just couldn’t get into it. Again I don’t remember much about the ceremony other than being given a candle to hold and thinking “I hope I can blow this out soon because the hot wax is going to burn me.” At one point I got something in my eye, and when I went to rub it I got something else in my eye and it was burning and watering like crazy. My rusher thought that I was crying because I was so moved by the ceremony and said “don’t worry, I cried during this party when I rushed also!” Awkward…

I left the row feeling underwhelmed and signed my bid card. I ranked them
Marseille
Giverny

eep! I'm on pins and needles and am very unsure about where you end up...

Great thread. I want another update, hehe!

I really like how you're telling about your honest feelings. I think a lot of PNMs feel EXACTLY what you're feeling...good for you!

bid day
 

Everyone said you would get the feeling in the house where you belonged but I didn’t really get that feeling in either house. My quad mates were so excited about their #1 houses but I knew better than to get my hopes up. I had enjoyed Marseille but hadn’t really connected with anyone. I felt like they would be fine since Bordeaux was out of the running but I was disappointed that I hadn’t been the one to make that call. And with Giverny, there was no doubt that they were nice girls but I wasn't sure if it was for me. Of all the girls I met that week Caroline stood out more than anyone else but I was hesitant to join a sorority because I liked one girl in it. The more I thought about pref the more turned off I got, I started to feel like the girl had been pretty rude to me. And why hadn't Caroline or even the girl from the first day with the southern accent picked me up? I was pretty dissapointed that I hadn’t had the kind of rush where I got to be the one to drop houses. To me it seemed like I was being shoved in a house that might be right for me or it might not be but I didn’t have any say in the matter.

Our Rho Chis said they would call between 10-11 if we didn’t get a bid. When nobody in my quad got the call we all breathed a huge sigh of relief.

I went to eat lunch with my roommate in the student unition that day. Of course the topic of discussion was bid day. We were eating with a couple of fraternity guys that we had befriended earlier in the week and they were trying to guess which house we would be in. I still remember them saying to my roommate “you’re definitely a Lyon” and she was so excited because that had been her first choice. When I asked about me they thought for a minute then said “probably Giverny.” I asked why they thought that and they said “You just have that personality." What did they know anyway?

At 2:00 we went to get our bids. They did a little ceremony and we all took the panhellenic oath but nobody was listening because we just wanted to know where we were going. The entire time our Rho Chis were hanging out the window of a building waving the invitations. Finally they opened the doors to the building and we all went stampeding in to find our Rho Chis. They gave us our envelopes and I tore mine open. It said:

The sisters of Giverny cordially invite you to become a member.

I was heartbroken and the tears started flowing up so fast that I didn’t even have time to hide them…

:eek:

UPDATE AGAIN!

We're so needy, haha.

YES i was RIGHT!

but oh no... you dont want them? dayum...

more info!!!

Don't leave us hanging now! Update!

Look on the bright side, at least you got a bid. I'm sure there were at least one or two women that were not offered a bid anywhere.

UPDATE! UPDATE!

I MUST KNOW NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Ok, my boss isn't here today and I can slack off for a bit.....

PLEASE POST!!!

And for anyone else out there who wants to post their retro thread -- go for it - i will be your captive audience today.

hahaha.

My boss is never here.......anyday!

I sit back and watch old House episodes on the Mac.

But, then of course, I am only a student worker, still being a student and all so I don't really have much to do anyway. :)

I love the way that some folks have turned retro-recruitments into a competitive sport for the readers. I'm interested in some sort of GC wagering for the next one.

Something like winner get to pick signatures that the losers have to use for a week.

I also want to note that this thread is a great, authentic example of rush induced insanity. I've tried to explain the condition to people: no matter how level headed you are usually or may be are at the start, you throw reason to the wind because you start assuming that a certain outcome based on the early rounds is the only possible way you can be happy.

It's a sad condition but so common and contagious.

bid day continued
 

Ok next update. It would have been sooner but some scum of life broke into my car last night so I've been talking to the police all morning :mad:

So I had just opened my bid card and I was standing there crying. My Rho Chi asked if I was ok and I completely ignored her and turned and walked out of the room. Even though I had a very strong feeling that this would be the outcome, actually seeing it in writing was like a huge punch in the gut. I stood in the hall frozen. Everyone else was jumping and hugging and squealing and I just felt like an outsider. I thought about just going back to my room but I really didn’t want to be rude to the girls at Giverny because they didn’t deserve that. My other Rho Chi came out in the hall to see where I had gone and I asked her if it was possible that there was a mistake and that I should be in Marseille. She gave me a pitying look and said no but that I should be happy because I got a bid from a great house. I think she knew immediately that just saying that wouldn’t be enough to convince me as I was still sobbing uncontrollably. She told me that even though they weren’t my first choice she knew that I’d grow to love them. She also said something that I later found to be very true, which was how it was hard to know a house after just one week of rush parties and that the house’s true colors would come out after bid day. I asked her why I had been cut by Marseille and especially Bordeaux. She said there could be tons of reasons, in the case of Marseille it might have just been a numbers issue but with Bordeaux for whatever reason they didn’t think I’d be happy in their house. I still remember those exact words because I wanted to scream “I’M THE ONE WHO GETS TO DECIDE WHAT HOUSE I’LL BE HAPPY IN, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!!” I just couldn’t get over how unfair it all was.

But then I realized there were a lot of people staring at me standing there crying and I definitely didn’t want them to take pity on me. Maybe if I at least pretended like this is what I wanted people wouldn’t think I was a loser. I put on the most stoic look as I could, told my Rho Chi I would go to bid day, and ran to join my new sisters.

Caroline came running out to meet me and gave me a huge hug and almost knocked me over. She said “I heard that you were preffing Marseille and I was so scared you would choose them over us! I’m so excited you’re here!” I felt pretty guilty for lying but I said “yeah, I really liked Giverny. I’m really happy.”

I was showered with gifts and hugs all day but never got over my crappy feeling. When I went back to my room none of my quad mates were there and I figured they were all out celebrating with their new sisters. I cried myself to sleep that night.

Over the next week we had several parties with the fraternities, sisterhood events, and new member meetings. I thought they were fun and liked the girls in my pledge class but still desperately wished I could be a Bordeaux or Marseille. In hindsight those first few days I don't even think I gave the girls a fair chance because all I could think about was what the girls in Bordeaux and Marseille were doing. Every time I’d see someone from my hall with their bid day tshirts or bags from any of the other groups I couldn’t help but ask myself what they had that I didn’t that made the houses like them. I wondered what I had done wrong, and the fact that I didn’t even know what went wrong made me even more self-conscious than I had been before rush started.

I knew I could never get over losing out on Bordeaux or Marseille so I made the decision to drop out and rush again the next year.


I'll finish up the story this afternoon or tonight depending on when I have time to get my thoughts together enough to wrap it up!

Ah, man, I feel bad for Giverny. I wanted you to love them back.

oh yes! this thread is getting awesomer by the post.

(i take it because your school has a really relaxed greek life that it was cool for you to depledge and re-rush? i can't seeing that being cool in anyone's book at other schools, even outside of my NPHC scope).

It was reasonably common for girls to drop out in the first few weeks and rush again the next year. All the houses had formal pledging the first week after bid day but then didn't initiate until October or November. Quota was usually in the 30s and I'd say there were usually about 5 girls per house that dropped out before initiation. Then maybe half of those would actually rush again. At my campus it seemed like sophomores actually had an advantage because they generally knew a lot of girls in the houses and had a better idea of what to expect.