[Cutie_Hootie]

After I couldn't rush my sophomore year (not to mention the whole showing up for rush debacle), I had a little bitterness towards the Hogwarts greek system. That quickly evaporated as I got to know more and more people and made friends in chapters where I previously hadn't known many women. Hogwarts did not have a rule keeping unaffiliated women from attending chapter events, so I became a frequent guest at sorority events. I especially had a great time with the Ravenclaws at a hockey game, the Hufflepuffs at their Caddyshack party, and the Gryffindors at a dinner date. I even went on spring break with a bunch of friends from Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. All in all, it was a great term.

Just before I came back for junior year, I had emergency surgery and missed a little bit of school. After I settled back into campus and finished recuperating, I really settled into my classes. I had a fairly easy semester--I had changed my focus so I had some new general degree requirements to meet, which meant I was taking some lower level classes and meeting a lot of freshmen(had I actually been affiliated at this time it would have been a fantastic recruitment opportunity!!). I spent a lot of time going to meals at the houses and being invited over to events like 90210 Night or something similiar. I was especially impressed with the girls at Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, which was also where I knew the most girls.

I had also made new friends on my hall who were going to be going through rush:
Kristin--Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother were all Ravenclaws, with her mother and great-grandmother having been Ravenclaws at Hogwarts. Kristin was a sophomore who had opted not to go through rush as a freshman. She really liked Slytherin and Ravenclaw both, and knew a long hard decision was ahead of her.
Jill--Jill was a freshman, adorable, and very intelligent. She was very involved in campus already and every sorority was courting her!
Jess--Jess was also a freshman who was very involved in campus. She was mostly interested in Gryffindor, although she was keeping her options open.

I was bound and determined to go through Rush with an open mind, although it seems that I wasn't completely unbiased. Mostly, though, I was excited to finally be going through Rush--I had waited a looooong time for this!!

And so January finally rolled around, and Rush began with skits:

I was so excited as we were lineing up at the houses! Even though the doors were closed, you could hear the songs and chants. My first party was at Slytherin. The doors swung open and the girls were so loud! They had a baseball theme, with cracker jack and sodas. I was picked up at the door by a good friend. So many people came up and told me how thrilled they were that I was finally rushing. I looked around and saw how many friends I had that were Slytherins and really thought about how I could see myself there. They were so friendly, fun, and enthusiastic and it was impossible not to get caught up in that.

My second party was at Hufflepuff. They had a camp theme--I was met at the door by a girl who was in my grade but who I wasn't close friends with. We went downstairs first and chatted--nothing looked like normal--everything was covered with decorations and it looked like you were outside. Again, I had a lot of people coming up to me and welcoming me. We had "bug juice" and trail mix here for snacks, and after another sister came to chat with me, we went upstairs where we sat on sleeping bags surrounded by real pine trees. They did a very fun skit that focused on all the diverse types of girls who were Hufflepuffs. I remembered from my two previous years how all the girls raved about Hufflepuff's first party and know I knew why--it really was very memorable. I knew that I would be very happy in this house, and I felt as though most of the girls here really liked me. I wasn't so sure about some of the other houses.

Next I went to Gryffindor. They had a Wizard of Oz theme. I chatted with a few girls, and the party was nice, but I knew going in that it was my last choice--I had the fewest friends there and just couldn't see myself as a Gryffindor. I was friendly and polite, but I'm sure my lack of interest showed. I basically was counting down the minutes until the next party...

Finally, I walked in the door at Ravenclaw. I was picked up at the door by one of my best friends, Becky, and she was so excited to see me!! I was just as excited to see her, and we chatted as we waited in line for our snacks. Ravenclaw had a jungle theme--it was very cute. Becky made sure to introduce me to the few sisters I didn't know, and she even introduced me to some advisors/alumnae. Once we sat down at a table, we were swamped. In contrast to the other houses where I walked around a lot and went from person to person (or so it seemed), at Ravenclaw everyone seemed to be coming up to me. It was fun to spend that time with all my friends, and I was so happy to be there.

The most astounding part of all four parties to me was the coats. How our coats disappeared and reappeared I just couldn't figure out. But in every house, every coat ended up being presented to the correct PNM. It was amazing!

After the parties, I went back and made my choices. It was quite easy for me that night--

1. Hufflepuff
2. Ravenclaw
3. Slytherin
4. Gryffindor

I filled out my sheet very quickly and headed back to my dorm for a chat with the girls and then some sleep. I couldn't wait for the next day!!