Okay so Day 1 rolled around and we had to be there bright and early (which no one was thrilled about) dressed in casual wear: a sorority recruitment t-shirt and either jeans, or capri's. They had everyone waiting outside to let us in and of course when the doors opened we went running in in total excitement! Everyone sat down in their Rho Gam groups and we awaited our schedules as a group of where we go...ours:
Badgley Mischka, Nanette Lepore, Lily Pulitzer, Tory Burch, Vera Wang then Michael Kors. (with breaks in between of course)
We didn't actually start 'til the 3rd rotation that day which made everyone really anxious! But once we left for our first house EVERYONE was so nervous and anxious..we didn't know what to expect!!
So First up:
Badgley Mischka- We walked up to the house hearing yelling and cheering, what a way to start out recruitment! The doors flung open and hundreds (okay maybe not hundreds, but a A LOT) of girls chanted for their house and welcomed us in with their songs. I was instantly swept away by a super nice and enthusiastic girl, and we chatted on and on about my major, where i was from, etc. and we really got along! I got bumped to 2 other girls who showed me around a bit and told me how important their sorority was to them-they were super down to earth, pretty, and enthusiastic also!! Then we were all taken to watch an amazingly put together slide show that showcased all the girls and how much fun they had. Overall, I really enjoyed the girls and thought they had an amazing house! I instantly knew the choosing part at the end of the day was going to be really really hard.
Nanette Lepore- Once again we walked up to the house, which was smaller than the first one, but still cute. We all were welcomed by tons of cheering and singing girls and again, I was quickly swept away by another cheerful girl! The girls at this house were really really enthusiastic about the state we live in and I wasn't terribly into that, It's cool for others but not so much me. BUT, the 3rd girl I was bumped to was super nice and we really clicked and talked about so much and found that we had a lot in common, not to mention we have lived in 2 of the same states! We had the same major and a lot of the same interests and before we knew I was taken to watch another slideshow accompanied with singing and chanting of XYZ sorority. The same girl I had previously been talking to picked me up again and we were then joined by her best friend and they told me about greek life and activities and what not and how they had met each other and become bffs, they were so into their sorority which again impressed me a lot. At the end the girls told me they really hoped I'd come back to talk more with them tomorrow and I had hoped the same! I really like this house and was super excited about them.
Lily Pulitzer- This was one of the prettiest houses I had ever seen and I was already super psyched to step inside and meet some of the sisters there!! We walked in and I was taken away by a really pretty and nice girl and we started talking about the usual things, where I grew up, my major, etc. etc., and we didn't really have a lot in common but she also asked a lot more of genuine questions and also asked me if I had any questions, which no one else had really done before, and of course I couldn't stop asking questions about here sorority and she took the time to answer pretty much all of them right before we had to watch a video on them, which was the best so far!! They were all so well rehearsed and put together and I loved all their songs and chants and how every girl was so into it all! I could not stop smiling the entire time I was there and like this house the best so far!! Right up to the point where the slideshow was done and the same girl came back to get me and told me to wait there with her hand on my shoulder and reaching back to talk to another girl about how happy she was to see her here and that she wanted to see her here the next day. She turned around and asked me if I enjoyed the show, and of course, I did, which I told her, and we went on talking for a few minutes, I was then bumped to another girl who only asked a few questions and we had quite a few things in common and I really liked how she absolutely loved their philanthropy which she told me a little about right before I had to leave. I could tell right off the bat this was one of those houses that everyone wanted, but I wasn't so sure due to the girl who told some other girl she was 'super excited to see her here'. Maybe I was being overly weird about it, but I felt that she should've waited til after she had bumped me to another girl before she talked to that girl, but whateverr. So overall, I had mixed feelings about this house..loved the 2nd girl i talked to, loved their philanthropy, and liked the 1st girl too but didnt like her little talking thing. Plus, my cousin was a member of this sorority so I know she really wanted me to join, and I really did love them and their love for XYZ!! This was one of the houses I really had to think about.
Tory Burch- Another beautiful house with intense cheering and singing girls welcoming us at the door!! I was swept away by another pretty girl who instantly starting chatting about XYZ and showed me some of their formal pictures, things they've all made for each other and t-shirts they've designed! Loved it all! Then we talked about me, she told me a whole lot about her sorority, then 2 of her friends came up and they started telling me about how they all became bffs and that their sorority really brought them together and I had quite a bit in common with them! I also talked to another girl on their exec who was from the state I moved from and we instantly started talking like we had known each other for years, which I absoluteyy loveddd! It was like it wasn't forced it just happened that we had so much in common! I was then taken to see a slide show about them and loved all the music they used and loved their loud chants! I talked to the same girl again for a bit longer after the slide show and then before I knew it, it was time to go. On the way out she told me she hoped I would come back tomorrow so we could talk more! I was so happy when I left this house and couldn't wait for the next day!!!
Vera Wang- Smaller one of the houses here but all the girls there were verry down to earth and genuine! We were all welcomed by songs and chants for their sorority and then welcomed into the house and I was taken away by a super loud and talkative girl who was really nice and started asking me questions about myself and let me ask some questions about her sorority. She pointed out her best friend and told me how they'd met during recruitment and ended up in the same house and have become inseperable ever since! The two of them together was absolutley hillarious, they had some of the funniest and happiest personalities I had met that day by far, but I wasnt super thrilled about the fact that hardly anyone lived in the house (it was only big enough for like 4 people) and I really wanted to live in a house. Plus, their philanthropy wasn't really something I'd ever heard of which again, was something I was happy about. Plus, when they had their slideshow to show us, they just weren't as into it as the other groups and that also kinda disappointed me, I mean weren't they suppose to be all peppy and into it!?! I was so conflicted when I left the house, There were good and bad but I had no idea what to think, so I just tried not to think about any of the houses until we were Finally done with all 6 of them.
Last house.. Michael Kors
Semi-pretty house which I wasn't wild about but... I was excited to go to this house because I loved their philanthropy! Instantly we were welcomed, again, by loud chants and songs about their house and we were all excited to walk in, not to mention anxious because they were our last house and we were almost done!! So I was instantly swept away by a really nice girl who introduced herself and took me off to show me around and talk to me all about her house, the house was like a maze and everywhere there were girls talking! The girl I was paired off with was really really nice and she asked me all about my life and what I was really passionate about and seemed to be genuinely interested in my life, then I was bumped to another girl who again asked me a bit about myself and what I was looking for in sorority life. Our conversation was really relaxed which was nice for the last house of the night. But then she asked me which houses were my favorite, and i responded with 'oh i like them all! it's gonna be so hard to figure out which ones I like the best'. so obviously I was a bit disappointed that she had asked me that, I felt like it was kind of low of her to ask something like that, plus panhellenic told us they really weren't allowed to ask questions like that. But, I really did like the house, Loved their slide show, which was officially the best of the entire day, and totally think I clicked with the first girl i talked to. I was again happy when I left this house!!!
But it came down to the time where we would vote on which houses we wanted to go back to for Day 2...I was so nervous and conflicted. Luckily I had taken a piece of paper and pen with me when we went from house to house and wrote down all the + and -'s of the houses plus the people I had talked to so I could really think this all over at the end of the day. Of course, there was the "tent talk" about certain houses but I tried not to listen to it or let it affect my choice of where I wanted to visit the next day. I went in to put down the houses and told them
Badgley Mischka, Tory Burch, Nanette Lepore, Michael Kors, and Lily Pulitzer
in no particular order of course, because ranking at this point didnt matter.
So, the stress of that was over, for now! I went home and my mind kept racing about what I had put down..was it a mistake? Did I put the right places down? What If I let go of a place I would've liked the 2nd day??!! Ahh so many things my brain was analyzing, it was making me antsy!!! I just wanted to go to sleep, wake up the next morning, and get my schedule!!!!
And you all will have to wait a day or 2 on an update to Day 2...Until then! xoxo