I am glad people are enjoying my story! It's especially fun seeing some of our more - uh - mature greekchatters chiming in!
So on with my tale...
Set One Day One - Open House
I’m breaking up the first two days here since they were the open house rounds but except for the first and last houses, I have very little recollection of which houses I saw on which days.
It’s really warm and I decide to wear one of the new sundresses I had bought a few weeks before going to college. I’d spent most of the last 12 years of my life in uniforms and didn’t have much of a casual wardrobe, so my mother had thankfully taken me out for a shopping spree before leaving for school. Like most girls, my wardrobe mainstays were Levi’s 501s, sweaters, cute t-shirts, Mexican peasant tops, khaki shorts and cutoff 501s. I wear my hair the usual way, long, straight and parted down the center. I’m wearing a pair of sky high Kork-Ease platform sandals, with sun tan colored panty hose naturally! Yes, girls, we all wore hose then! This is the look I wear all the way through rush until preference, and it’s a look almost all the other girls are wearing as well. I remember being relieved that I fit in with the other girls.
It’s already insanely hot and the sorority houses and activities center where we are supposed to meet each day are all located on the opposite side of campus from most freshmen dorms, including mine. These are the dark ages before campus shuttle systems and the parking on that side of campus is non-existent. By the time we meet our RC at the activities center, and start the trek to the first party, most of the rushees are already melting. It’s not a great look for making good first impressions (and some girls are already freaking out about it), but at least we are all in good company!
Hyde – Oh my God! The noise! Why didn’t anyone warn me about this? They come stampeding out the door like a herd of buffalo, screaming, chanting, clapping, cheering and singing. I was not expecting this at all! This is a pretty large house and I recognize a few girls from both my school and the public schools back home. The house is ok looking but one of the girls I talk to mentions they have sleeping porches (which has to be explained to naïve me) and I am not keen on that at all. They are all very attractive in a high maintenance way but seem a little bit too wild for me. All the girls I talk to really emphasize how many socials they have with the fraternities. I’m pretty sure I won’t fit in here. I’m not nearly as pretty and as outgoing as these girls and I am already feeling a little overwhelmed.
Donna – So this time I am ready for the noise, and these girls didn’t disappoint. This is another huge sorority and is full of girls from my high school. I don’t know all of them personally, but recognize everyone at least by name or their face. Our conversations are like a walk down memory lane and the time just flies. There is already one thing that concerns me though. Many of the girls I know come from extremely wealthy and prominent families. Although no one at my high school was exactly poor, these girls are like the who’s who of my home town’s high society and live in a completely different stratosphere. I am worried that I might not measure up. They are also very athletic and have lots of awards for that, and I am a pretty clumsy girl! But overall, I feel good about this group.
Kitty – This house is gorgeous and looks like an Italian villa. It is only about 10 years old and was custom built for the chapter shortly after they colonized. There’s a huge amount of noise coming from the girls inside before they burst out the door to welcome us. But I am shocked at how few girls there were making all that noise. This chapter only has about 25 members. There are a lot of unattractive girls and several are very overweight, but they all seem very nice and genuinely happy to meet me. I don’t know or recognize anyone here. They have a high GPA and are actually excited when I tell them what my rather geeky major is. In spite of what many rushees would consider shortcomings, I like all the girls I talk to in spite of their looks and awkwardness.
Bob – This is another smaller chapter; there are maybe 60 or so members. I don’t recognize a single person here and it seems they are all from either Chicago or New York. These girls are really sophisticated! Every single one of them is brunette, darkly tanned, perfectly coiffed, fashionably dressed and wearing lots of expensive looking jewelry. Unfortunately, the first girl who rushes me seems completely bored with me and there are lots of awkward silences until she bumps me to an equally unenthusiastic sister. I feel like an unsophisticated bumpkin and like I have nothing in common with these girls. The house is very 1960s looking with very low ceilings and dark wood. I feel claustrophobic because it’s so dark and cramped. Maybe that has a lot to do with it too. I even trip on the step of the sunken living room as we leave. Although several sisters see it happen, no one bothers to try to help me or asks if I am ok. Definitely an omen of doom. I already know I definitely would not fit in here and can’t wait to leave!
Fez – This house has one of the highest GPAs and is one of the biggest on campus. It’s also the one Lisa and Tina (and I! Ha!) want. There do not seem to be many girls from my town, much less my state, in this house. The girls are very attractive in a preppy sort of fresh scrubbed way and I feel comfortable here. Although I don’t know any of them, they feel very familiar and remind me a lot of the girls I went to school with. They have a nice comfortable house, and although it isn’t quite as grand as some of the others I will see, it feels very homey.
Kelso – This is another big house with lots of girls from my high school, but they are more of the laid back kind of girls who don’t try too hard to impress others. They know they’re special and don’t have to tell anyone they are. They also have a high GPA and are very cute in a down to earth kind of way. They have a gorgeous historic house and it is one of the oldest sororities on campus. I have some great conversations with some girls I already know here and I really like it.
Randy – Oh dear. This chapter makes me want to cry. No chanting, singing or cheering, they just open the door and stand in line to personally greet us as we enter. There are only about 10 of them and they are so completely socially awkward, it literally looks like they took the ten least attractive and shy girls on campus and put them in one place. There are 3 to 4 rushees per member, and the poor girls have no conversation skills at all. The rushees all seem to be talking amongst themselves in each group and the sisters aren’t saying much at all. The only thing I can remember my rusher telling us is that everyone gets her own room and can move in right away. I imagine so since they have a beautiful spacious house and no members. You can almost smell the desperation here. I cannot wait to leave because I am so uncomfortable and embarrassed for them!