[adpiucf]

We only had 2 pref ceremonies back when I rushed, as there were only seven sororities.

What do I remember? Quite a bit!

ADPi: I remember walking in, having my name announced, and being invited to take a flower from a basket. I was a little nervous: was this a test? What if I picked the wrong one? I blindly reached out and grabbed the nearest stalk among the roses, astromerias, carnations, etc. It was a carnation. Then-- talking to the girl who had rushed me the day before. We sat in her bedroom and sat on her bed, chatting. Her roommate sat on her bed with another PNM. It was quiet and low. She led me into the chapter room which was draped in white, with draped risers for us to sit upon. It was really beautiful. The sisters sang songs and gave testimonials. It was really touching. At last the president gestured to a column atop which sat an empty vase. She said that each of the flowers we had selected when we walked in stood for an individual attribute-- sisters then spoke about the flowers. Turns out my little carnation stood for courage and loyalty! We were invited to place our flowers into the empty vase to complete the bouquet. I got really emotional.

ZTA: I remember walking in, having my name announced and being invited to a take a flower from a basket. Sound familiar? LOL. The girl who had rushed me the day before greeted me and we sat at a table in the chapter room to talk. I think there were floating candles as a centerpiece, but I could be wrong. The ZTA's wore long white dresses with turqoise sashes-- it was a beautiful choice for dresses!!! I can't remember much about the pref ceremony. We were standing, and my knees started to lock. I remember looking around and seeing a lot of familiar faces of ladies I'd been going to the parties with, as well as the great sisters I'd met that week. The room was subdued and dimly lit, giving the ceremony an air of romance and mystery. I liked the atmosphere, but felt that I was having to try too hard to muster the same emotions I'd felt at the first party where the waterworks had just flowed from beginning to end.

After the parties, I met with my PNM buddy, who had just left Pi Phi and DDD. We went to the Student Union to compare notes. We handed in our pref cards... and the next day each of us got her first choice!