[VeteranPNM]

And I'm too excited to wait til tomorrow to post...so here's some more!

Day Two
The first day was just your typical open house round where each chapter does a little song, dance, skit, etc, and you meet with a few members. The first day of open house we visited 8 chapters, and the following day we would be visiting the remaining 10. Now, I don’t remember the EXACT order I visited the houses in, but I guess that doesn’t matter…So there I stood in my recruitment tee, capris and flip flops, in front of the first house, excited, nervous and not knowing what to expect… but I was about to see what it was all about very soon!

Yankees – I definitely remember that Yankees was the first chapter I visited. From the outside I remember thinking they had a very cute house! Nothing to fancy, but very warm and welcoming looking, even from the outside! The doors opened and they began to sing—I remember walking in trying to keep a smile on my face, but I probably looked terrified! I know that you all know that no matter how much those Gamma Chi’s warn you, rush is NOTHING like anything you’ve ever experienced! J Anyways, the Yankees put on a really good dance. They were loud, energetic, and they seemed like they were a very fun bunch of girls. I had very easy conversation with two different sisters from everything to baseball (I told you I love it!), to majors, (I was undeclared, but one of the girls was in the major I was interested in, so it was great talking to her to see what that major was all about). Overall my experience here was great. The girls were friendly, easy to talk to and definitely put me at ease. I left thinking to myself, if this is how all these sororities are, I’m going to have a REALLY hard time making decisions.

Tigers – The Tigers were next. Waiting outside I couldn’t help but notice how different their house was compared to others. It was very pretty! I really liked the uniqueness of the house, and I was hoping I would like Tigers too. Unfortunately, I cannot say I really remember my experience at Tigers. They just didn’t stand out to me. They were nice, but there was just no “WOW” factor. I left thinking that this was a house I could probably pass on.

Braves – My experience at Braves was similar to my experience at Tigers. However, I do know that they did have a bit more energy and spirit for their little skit, which I liked to see. They were proud to be Braves and you could tell that the sisters were very genuine and close with one another. Again, I didn’t have a strong, memorable connection, but I did like the fact that they seemed so real. I thought that they weren’t my favorite, but I wouldn’t mind coming back to see more.

Astros – Astros were a chapter I had heard about before recruitment started. I had heard that they were a little on the “Barbie doll” side. But I tried to just keep as open of a mind as possible…I mean how can EVERY GIRL in a house be the same? I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with Astros! (Definitely proof that you should NOT listed to tent talk!) I had great conversation with the first girl I talked to. The second girl, however, was nice, but I didn’t felt compatible with her. This left me a bit skeptical, so I left with a good, but not great feeling about Astros. But again, I thought it would be great to get invited back so I could get a better feel for the house!

So recruitment was going along just fine, and even thought I was having a nice time at these parties, in the back of my head I was still just not feeling my best. All my worries kept popping up, and it eventually started to take its toll…headaches, nausea, dizziness. I kept telling myself, ok, just a few more houses, then straight to bed to get some sleep. So I tried my best to stick out the rest of the night…

Rockies – Unfortunately I missed Rockies little song or dance, I had to pee SO BADLY, (Took too many drinks from the other houses lol). So after I ran from an open classroom building to the house, I was led to a little group of PNM’s and sisters, already mid conversation. I had a decent time at Rockies. Our conversation was very much restricted to small talk—I mean we didn’t have awkward pauses or anything, but it just didn’t feel natural. But they still seem liked nice girls who really liked to have fun. I know it sounds weird but I was hoping to get invited back just because I had missed their skit! But since I came late I thought the odds would be against me, and if that was the case, I wasn’t going to be too hurt.

Cubs – The Cubs had a cute, upbeat skit. You could tell that they were very bubbly, fun loving girls! I talked with two sisters who happened to be roommates. I definitely got a vibe that these girls really had fun with each other. One of the girls was VERY funny, but also just a bit loud, and tended to take over the conversation. It was almost intimidating. At the end, I had liked that the Cubs seemed like a fun group of girls, but I wasn’t sure if they were 100% for me. Still, I was interested.

Reds – The Reds had a very pretty house, and I liked the location! I was eager to get inside, but upon going I was pretty quickly disappointed. The Reds were not as impressive as some of the other houses. I just wasn’t drawn in by their skit. When we met with the sisters, they seemed like nice girls, but again, I wasn’t blown away. There was no connection. Again, this is another house where I barely can remember my time there. I left not wanting to revisit the Reds.

The night was almost over, and I was still feeling like crap. It was getting hard to concentrate, which was probably hurting my chances with the last house of the night, the Royals.

Royals – Such a pretty house they had! We were led in and they had the cutest set up! It was almost like a little café with iced coffee drinks and other sweets. They definitely won the award for cutest theme… well so far. Still I was very much out of it at this point. The girls were soooo sweet, and we had good conversation (well just about as good as I could have had given how I was feeling). I was hoping they would invite me back, but I was nervous because of how sluggish I was at their event.

So at the end of the night, I felt like I had liked how things were going. Granted I wasn’t in love with it, but I liked it more than I thought I would. But this anxious feeling was really hitting me hard. I was not feeling well at all. I went back to my dorm, talked with my roommate for a bit about my day (she was loving rush by the way) and tried to go to sleep. But I could just not fall asleep. I was too worried about my dad, missing my family and missing my ex-boyfriend. Not to mention I was worrying about how sick I was feeling, and how I was ever going to make it through the long day I had coming, especially since I was feeling the way I was. Finally, after a few hours, I was able to fall asleep.