|
Well Ok, the Hooties have heard this before but I will share my story....
I rushed in the Fall of 1990 at Kent State, which is a big school (about 30000 at that time) with a tiny greek pop. (4% in '90.) We had six nationals:
Alpha Phi
Alpha Xi Delta
Chi Omega
Delta Gamma
Delta Zeta
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Tri-sig was new that year and they did not actually participate in formal rush, but they counted in the quota figuring, so it was going to be a bit tight. I had a heads-up on what the chapters were like from an older student and she was pretty accurate. I remember having a really cool rho chi I thought she was so pretty and so cool, and she hung out with all these older, pretty rho chis. I was sooooo excited about rush and I already had things narrowed down in my mind but I tried to go into it with a good attitude.
1st party:
My first house was Alpha Phi. TOTALLY blew me away. They came out of the house singing this cute little song and all wearing these identical sailor dresses (the DGs weren't happy about that) and I just loved them instantly. I had heard that they were one of the 3 elites and they sure were!!!
After that, I went to the others.....DZ had a beautiful new house and they were really really sweet, very eager and really made me feel good, but they were not for me. DG gave me the same basic feeling as Alpha Phi.....and I must admit going in they were my #1 choice.....I was really into the whole anchor thing. See, my dad owns a company that does underwater work, and I have always grown up around nautical things....he always had anchors and ships wheels and such around the house. But they were a great house too....all really pretty, very confident, just quite impressive. AXiD was a middle-of-the-road house....very laid back, really cool girls....I wanted to get to know a couple of them a little better, but I wasn't sold on them yet. Chi O was pretty much like Alpha Phi and DG.....a bunch of overwhelmingly pretty, confident girls...I liked them right away but I was not so impressed with their party. I forget the theme but it came off like they were trying to be TOO laid back. Anyway, I got invited back everywhere, and so I had to cut DZ.
Second party I went back and tried to get to know the girls better. Once again, APhi and DG had really impressive parties but I didn't have any better handle on the actual girls. A girl I went to high school with but didn't know well monopolized me at APhi, and the girls I was interested in talking to at AXiD were busy elsewhere. I was very impressed with all of the girls I met at Chi O even though I thought their party theme was stupid...(something about a train...) I also wasn't thrilled with the owl thing, I liked the anchor idea a lot more, but the girls were just too awesome for me to eliminate them. In the end I got invited back everywhere again and I dropped AXiD.
Third party was when things started to go wrong. I was soooo confused over the 3 I liked. I was extremely impressed with the girls at DG and Chi O, and Alpha Phi looked good but I wasn't meeting anyone but this one girl from high school. As it turned out we got rained out that night, I only got to go to the DG party that night before 3rd got cancelled due to severe weather. My rho chi called me and said, "I don't know what's going to happen, but in case they don't reschedule I need your top 2 now." I barely hesitated before saying "Chi O and DG." She said she'd let me know and call me back. They did end up cancelling 3rd altogether and we had to go get our invites for pref the next day. Well I got mine, but something was wrong.....it said Chi O and Alpha Phi, not DG. I was dumbfounded. I didn't say anything, assuming that DG had cut me....I was crushed and embarrassed, but as I thought about it more over the course of the day I decided I really liked Chi O and Alpha Phi better than DG anyway. So just when I was all set to go to those houses, my rho chi calls me and tells me that there was a mix up.....I did not get cut at DG. What did I want to do? Who was I dropping, Chi O or APhi? I shocked her by telling her I was leaving it as is.....drop DG. She was stunned but she went along with it. (Actually, I was convinced that she was a DG....in fact I was very confused when she called me because she did not sound very happy to tell me that DG didn't cut me. I thought this was odd because I thought she liked me and wanted me as a sister.) So anyway I go to pref and AGAIN I am with this girl from high school at Alpha Phi. She gave me this letter that went on and on about how they wanted me for a sister, and how well I fit in, etc. etc. And it swept me away. And as beautiful as the Chi O party was, I suddenly wasn't getting good vibes from them. They seemed a little distant, standoffish. I thought, "OhmyGod, they don't want me!" The girl who rushed me was very sweet but the overall vibe there was scary. And so, crushed and confused, I went back and signed my card with Alpha Phi as my 1st choice. I went home and cried....had I done the right thing? Would I be happy there? I had been so unsure through the whole thing, and then finally 4th Chi O seemed so awesome, but then I was afraid I was not one of their top choices and let this girl I barely knew push me into APhi. I felt I would probably fit in there but I was worried that I had not really met anyone else.....what if they didn't pick me? I was sure XO was going to dump me and then I'd get nothing. I should have gone back to DG!!!!! Well to make an incredibly long story short, I went to get my bid the next day.....I was just so happy to have one!!! I figured it would be Alpha Phi and I was resigned to that....I opened the card....
The sisters of Chi Omega cordially invite you......
I screamed....I couldn't believe it!!!! Somehow it had worked out!!!! And to make matters even better, ALL those rho chis, including mine, that I liked so much were ALL Chi Os......so there you have it.
|