Yay! A summery, beachy retro recruitment!
 

Hello there. I figured summer is a fab time to post a recruitment story, since there are no live stories going on :(

Anyway, my school has a semi -competetive Greek system. It's not cut throat, but for where it's located, it's a decent system. I really didn't know if I was going to go through recruitment or not. My friends basically laughed when I told them - we were pretty anti girly-girl in high school, though over the summer as I distanced myself from them a little bit and realized they were kind of stuck on themselves alot of the time. I tried to convince them that the Greek system wasn't just for girly-girls - that anyone could fit into it. And anyway, as I had time to distance myself, I found myself questioning their "anti girly girl" sentiments. Please excuse me, I just realized how pretentious I sounded all through that. I'm really not pretentious.

In the end, I did decide to go through. My aunt became really sick towards the end of the summer, and it was really taking a toll on my family. I realized I would need a support system since I was going to be pretty far from home, and what better way than to join a sorority with a built in support system? It seemed like something that would really benefit me.

Anyway, there are 9 sororities at my school. I decided to make it a summer theme! They are:

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Watermelon Sangria
Beach Bum Surfer Boys
Beach Volleyball
Super Glam Tan
Cocktail Umbrellas
Sex on the Beach (the drinks, of course!)
Yummy Flipflops
Jet Skis

I went in to recruitment with an open mind - I had my preconceived notions, but I was determined determined determined not to let it affect my view of the house once I was there. Stereotypes and reputations were not important to me. I just wanted to accept each house as it is.

.

Recruitment looks like this:

4 Rounds - Sisterhood, Philanthropy, Skit, Pref
It's narrowed down like this: 9-7-5-3

On the first day, my schedule looks just like it appeared in the previous post:

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Watermelon Sangria
Beach Bum Surfer Boys
Beach Volleyball
Super Glam Tan
Cocktail Umbrellas
Sex on the Beach (the drinks, of course!)
Yummy Flipflops
Jet Skis


Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - First impressions: the physical house was nice, and the girls were pretty and warm. The girl I talked to was really sweet, but I didn't have the greatest connection. We made the usual introduction small talk, so I couldn't hold the lack of great conversation against her since it was just introductions. The second girl I talked to was perfectly nice, but pretty preppy. I had heard this house had a preppy reputation, but I was pleasantly surprised. I could see myself possibly fitting in here. It seemed pretty low key. The girls were all adorable, butthey didn't come across as fake or overwhelmingly preppy.

Watermelon Sangria - First impressions: I felt these girls would be alot of fun. The first girl I talked to seemed like she would be so much fun to hang out with, and I could see myself really letting my hair down. They seemed really authentic, down to earth, and tons fo fun.

Beach Bum Surfer Boys: First impression: Athletic and tomboyish. They reminded me so much of my friends from home - the ones who weren't into fashion or makeup or anything. The conversation was pretty awkward, but she was obviously trying really hard to make good conversation. I wasn't sure about this house, but I thought I would give it another shot.

Beach Volleyball - Another house of athletes, but I felt like these guys were the "glam" athletes. I had such a strange experience here. The girl I talked to was SO surprised I didn't play a sport. She kept talking about it the. whole. time. She kept saying how I just looked like I would be a soccer player, and how she was shocked, SHOCKED that I didn't. Ok? I wasn't too sure about this house.

Super Glam Tan: First impression: old, old money. Beautiful, toned and tanned. Pearls, BMWs, the stereotypical sorority girl. And I was so right. Except they were all really nice and I felt so comfortable. I was NOT expecting to like this house. They were considered to be the top house, and I was really surprised. I left, and this was one of my favorites of the day.

Cocktail Umbrellas: This was a really diverse group of girls. The first girl I talked to reminded me SO much of Gretchen Weiner from Mean Girls, except, well, not mean. It was obvious that she was really, really intelligent. We had a great conversation about a history class I was registed for. She bumped me to a girl who I also loved talking to. The conversation felt so natural and comfortable. This was my top top house by this point in the day.

Sex on the Beach: I felt like this was a party party house. The first girl I talked to was ok, but she talked fairly often about alcohol and frats they partied with. I told her I wasn't huge into the frat scene. She looked like she was morally offended or something. I left with a bad taste in my mouth.

Yummy Flipflops: I had an ok time. The first girl I talked to was nice but really, really shy. This was the smallest house on campus, and it became clear right away how small they were. She said something about how small houses allowed for more personal connections among the sisters, and that kind of stayed with me. Although I wasn't really impressed with the girls, I definitely wanted to give it another shot because I did think a smaller house would be a great fit.

Jet Skis - Horrible, horrible experience. Horrible. The second girl I talked to basically told me not to come back because one of the (influential) actives was dating my ex-boyfriend and she really, really didn't like me. I've never heard of anyone experiencing anything like this before, and I'm sure it broke major rules, but whatever. I knew I wouldn't fit in here anyway. Of everyone I talked to, all were nasty and rude to me except for one.

At the end of the day, the houses basically chose themselves. You didn't have to rank any houses, you just had to cut two. For your sake, I'll rank them just so we're all on the same page.

Cocktail Umbrellas
Watermelon Sangria
Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Super Glam Tan
Yummy Flipflops
Beach Bum Surfer Boys
Beach Volleyball

Cut:
Jet Skis
Sex on the Beach

and

:eek::eek::eek:

Some people obviously need Recruitment lessons - or are just plain mean.

I'm rooting for Cocktail Umbrellas!

I too am going to root for cocktail umbrellas

Could you please change the color of Yellow Bikini? I can't read it or am I just too old??

I'm having trouble reading it also. Cute names though.

It was rude, but I kinda like when they make it obvious. Then you know where not to waste your time! It happened to me in recruitment too! Llittle did they know, I wouldn't have pledge that chapter to save my life!

I like this story, please keep going!

Yes, I'll definitely change the Yellow Polka Dot Bikini! Do you guys need me to change all the colors?

Something feels familiar or like deja vu to me. Not sure why.

Could it be that I have read so many of these stories?

Anyhoo, please continue- I love these stories.

E
Thank you, KSU. It's not just me :)

Not to mention that these stories have some connection to the Philly area in different ways. Eaglesbaby, anyone?

I don't want to be mean and hateful- but I'm picking up on something here along with KSUViolet.

Oh my gosh- If I would just stop and read! I just read KSUViolet's observation about Philly and I went and repeated the same thing. Sorry!