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When I got my list the next morning, I still had 7 of the 10 houses left--awesome! Gardenia had cut me--probably because of the tripping--but I wasn't too sad because they weren't one of my favorites. Iris had cut me as well, but if they hadn't, I would have cut them because I knew we weren't a good fit. But then I looked closer, and I realized that I hadn't been invited back to Freesia.
I felt awful! I had felt like I had such an amazing connection with the girls at Freesia! How could they have felt so differently? I was totally shaken! At first, I felt like I was going to spend the whole day crying. I had to force myself to remember that I still had 7 wonderful houses to visit: Daisy, Azalea, Daffodil, Marigold, Pansy, Carnation, and Rose. Since the maximum number of parties to attend for the third round was 5, I held back my tears and decided to cut Pansy and Rose. I knew I was very lucky to have to a full schedule and to still have many of my favorite houses, but I couldn't help feeling totally topsy-turvey at having lost Freesia.
After I had cried a bit and gotten out my sadness, I retouched my make-up, tidied up my outfit, and headed off to my first house for the third round, where the girls show us around their houses.
Marigold - I had been iffy on Marigold, and while I liked them, with my devastation over losing Freesia I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever actually pledge them. When I met with my first girl, I was fighting not to cry! She could sense that I wasn't feeling my best and she and her sisters were so kind to me that I found myself really, really liking them. They laughed and told jokes and seemed like the kinds of girls who would make wonderful and true friends. Even though I wasn't fully recovered from my shock, I really, really appreciated the kindness and acceptance of the girls at Marigold. However, as I was leaving their house, I heard one PNM say to another, "God, I hope I don't have to go to Marigold for Prefs--I heard they're all WEIRDOS!" I tried not to listen, but I found myself questioning: WERE they weirdos? Would pledging with them make me a weirdo? I wanted to ignore them, but I was just a new freshman and I didn't want to make a mistake by joining a "bad" sorority (how little I knew about what sisterhood is about!). I promised myself I wouldn't let their comments influence my decision.
Carnation - Carnation's house was absolutely INSANE. They have hands down the largest and most nicest house on campus. Winding staircases and private kitchens with spacious living rooms and luxurious furnishings...porches and patios...a grand piano...!! It was tough not to be swayed just by the fabulous living situation! However, the more I visited Carnation, the more I was beginning to feel that maybe they weren't for me. I liked every girl I met and I absolutely felt that they were some of the sweetest girls in the whole Greek system, but they seemed a little...goody goody. The girl who was showing me around informed me that they had a 12pm curfew when they lived in the house, including on weekends! I didn't want my sorority to mother me--I wanted to make friends who wanted to have fun and be wild (not TOO wild) and live it up! I felt torn as I left Carnation because I liked so many of the girls but I felt like I might want a different thing than they were offering.
Azalea - The girl who toured me around Azalea was one of the most incredible girls I met during my entire Rush process. She was hilarious, self-deprecating, honest, genuine, adorable, and most of all, a great listener! She genuinely wanted to hear everything I had to say, and had funny and insightful comments on all of it. Talking to her was the easiest and most natural conversation I had had. Every girl I met in every room of Azalea was the same--down-to-earth, genuine, and totally easy to talk to. By the time I left, I even had inside jokes with a few sisters! As the first girl was escorting me out to the door, I had to fight the urge to hug her and thank her for showing me that I wasn't meant to be a Freesia after all! How could I have overlooked the amazing and wonderful girls in Azalea? I knew that there was still a major cut before Preferentials, and even if I made it to Prefs, Azalea STILL might not give me a bid, but as I left Azalea, I squeezed my eyes shut and wished with all my heart that they had felt the same sense of belonging that I had.
Daffodil - I truly enjoyed my time at the Daffodil house. Every girl I met seemed fun and friendly and cute! I particularly liked one girl, whose dry and sarcastic humor matched my own. However, the girl I toured with was so bubbly and bright that I found myself struggling to keep up--I felt like I was faking it a little bit to fit in at Daffodil. It seemed like half of the girls were funny and smart, but the other half I met seemed a little bit ditzy. I really like to be around people who challenge and stimulate me intellectually, and I wasn't sure Daffodil could do that for me. I also couldn't shake the feeling that I just wasn't quite being myself at Daffodil. Nevertheless, I had had such a consistently great time there that I had faith that I would fit in, and thought that maybe any semblance of a "mismatch" was just a paranoid hallucination of mine. I knew that, if I got one, I would certainly accept a bid to join Daffodil's pledge class.
Daisy - The first two girls I met at Daisy had been almost total opposites, and the third was totally different as well! This gave me some reservations about the overall personality of the girls in Daisy, but at the same time, the idea that they accepted all sorts of girls all made me think that maybe their diversity would be a positive aspect. I liked this third girl the least of all that I had met. She was a little bit cold--she didn't really ask me any questions. After I finished talking, she just stared at me. Eventually, I had to ask her a question to keep the conversation going. I felt like I was rushing her! But, like at Daffodil, I'd had such great previous experiences at Daisy that I didn't want to judge them based on just this one girl. I wanted to give Daisy the benefit of the doubt, but I had some reservations. I knew that I wouldn't be upset to get a bid from Daisy, but they weren't my top choice.
That night, I went to bed happy, knowing that I had 5 great houses and I could be happy in any one of them! I crossed my fingers that Azalea would invite me back and tried to get my beauty sleep before Prefs.
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