[recruitment]

i truly wish i could get sydney to actively participate in this thread. she is incredibly busy with a very complex matter at work and does not want to be bothered... not that it stops me. we work for the same firm (i know!)... so i keep pestering her for details... give me details... i call, text her... and then just go into her office until she tells me some of the details. i can tell i am starting to get on her nerves... as she is very nervous about this matter at work... more about that later.

sydney's recruitment begins!
she loved her orientation and was really excited and enthusiastic about the start of recruitment. i also think she was was very, very thankful i was not going to school there... although she would never admit that. our mother had instilled in her the drive to succeed at recruitment and that this was her time to "shine" and "shine" she did. i was still in town as my recruitment did not start for several more days so i got to help syd with her make-up and her hair (heaven forbid our mother was trying to do it all, so i knew i had to intervene... lol... she is wonderful!) she was absolutely gorgeous and was actually glowing and was so excited... and as she left to see all six sororities at her university... i was so proud and so was our mother! i was so nervous... nervous for syd and nervous for me. she looked wonderful and i prayed she had the most wonderful day she had ever had. i have to admit i thought how it would be for me... my university was much larger, there would be so many people from all over that i did not know... and also so many more sororoities.

as life has twists and turns... her first house to visit was red river. i am afraid that i had totally influenced syd about red river. at my university red river seemingly had a giant magnet that attracted all of the "mean girls" from all over our state and entire region. that was one of the things that i totally dreaded about my upcoming recruitment... having to go to red river. i had dismissed the "mean girls" in high school, so they dismissed me. that was the house that i positively knew i would cut immediately... and i already they would cut me even faster. i always hated skiing at red river! i know that is not polite and is inappropriate... but at a large university with several sororities... i think there is always one chapter that a pnm just does not care for... and my mind was already made up. period. syd had an open mind... or at least tried to have an open mind and was somewhat relieved that red river was the first house she would have to visit. red river was the smallest chapter at syd's university and she could easily tell it was really struggling. sydney felt sorry for them... but she liked them and thought they were very sweet... but they were not her. they tried really hard... but nothing seemed to go together for them. bad, really bad... everything had to go together for sydney, she was and is an absolute perfectionist. she left very disappointed and relieved that they were not the "mean girls" i had led her to believe.

next for sydney was the polar opposite... the positively wonderful and highly rated deer valley. syd knew about half of this chapter. this particular sorority is very popular with all pnms and is a huge "powerhouse" nationally and especially in this entire region... all of their chapters are top rate, just an excellent, excellent sorority. most of the other cheerleaders were members of deer valley. she loved it and had a wonderful time. they were the homecoming queens and the class officers and favorites, just a truly top rate and wonderful house. deer valley had an elegant, but fun first party and syd visited with more members than she could remember. syd had a wonderful experience and they were so excited to see her. however, there was that other thing... there will definitely be more about that later. but syd definitely left a part of her heart at the truly wonderful deer valley...

then to the huge and mighty keystone. they have chapters everywhere and at about every school, large and small, in our state and region... and are a wonderful sorority. just like the resort... you can ski from daybreak until midnight... they are everywhere and they are good. keystone was pleased to see her... but not as welcoming as she thought they would be. sydney definitely wanted to go back... but she already knew that keystone would not be her home. it was pleasant, their theme was cute and she enjoyed herself, but she was somewhat ignored... which concerned her greatly. we love skiing at keystone... but she had this feeling that keystone did not love her. and there still was this thing...

from there syd went to sante fe. this is a real powerhouse sorority all over... except in our state and this region. they were definitely a smaller house and had lots of "smart girls"... and even though syd is really smart, this was not the place for her... she decided she would cut sante fe before red river. she felt ignored and dismissed because she was a cheerleader... she was highly disappointed in sante fe and her reception and treatment. she said that was the longest party of her life... and she felt that sante fe had already dismissed her before she even got there and they had met her... and syd definitely did not want to go back. period.

next she went to sun valley. they did not have a chapter of sun valley at the university i was soon to attend... but there was one at the other major comprehensive state university. we both knew several members at that chapter, it seemed to be an excellent chapter. sun valley was the house that all of the prominent legacies to the top chapters who were cut joined sun valley. sun valley always took in several truly great young ladies who had their hearts broken... but they all quickly loved sun valley. she did not know a single member of this house at her university... so she was a bit apprehensive. she thought they had the cutest theme party of the day and syd had a wonderful time and she loved them... much to her surprise. this house was her surprise house of the day. she definitely knew she wanted to go back to sante fe on "four party day."

finally sydney, tired from five houses... went the final house of the day. the classy, elegant and "old money" aspen. this was the single most elegant house at her university and the most beautiful, classy, refined and wealthy young ladies. aspen is a truly wonderful sorority with a great reputation and wonderful chapters. aspen was the house that most everyone, including sydney, had dreamed about. of course, everything they did was fully catered and as elegant as any pref. however, syd was first in line at aspen and as she entered... she paused for a moment... as she looked she saw an entire room full of tall, very tall... very elegant blonds... she immediately felt very small, very... very small. she said she came to most of their waists (i really cannot say what she really said, it is totally true... but totally politically incorrect... lol... we still laugh about it to this day!) syd said that she had to constantly look up when having any conversation. luckily several wonderful members of aspen graciously greeted syd, made her feel immediately at home... and had syd sit in the chair while three of them sat on the floor (so they were at eye level... lol!) and they had a fabulous visist. she was truly given the "royal treatment" and she loved... absolutely loved aspen. aspen was everything she had ever imagined and more... syd definitely loved aspen. but, again, there was this thing... definitely, most definitely more about that later...

she was tired... while we could have talked for hours... syd wanted to visit with her new friends and all of the other girls in recruitment who were on her floor of the dorm they stayed in, so i respected that. i so wanted to go over to that dorm... but this was syd's recruitment... not mine. of course... our mother tried to interrogate syd about every single detail... especially one particular house. syd had a wonderful day and was so excited about going back to most of the houses the next day. she would have gladly skipped going back to sante fe if there was any possible way other than a serious injury... as like mine, it was mandatory that all pmns attend every house on all house day... both days.

cheers!