My roommate had a couple friends in two sororities: I'll call them
Lemon Meringue and
Pumpkin (my theme is types of pies
). According to her, they were “the only ones worth joining” because they weren't “stupid sluts” like the other sororities, which she, at least, perceived as being more “typical” sorority girls. Fall recruitment was that week, which is informal at my school – each sorority had two open parties and then pref before bids were given out. She had planned to go to
Lemon Meringue and
Pumpkin's parties and I asked if I could tag along.
I was nervous, mostly because I didn't know what to expect. I knew nothing about sororities, how rush worked, or what sororities really even did. I knew they did philanthropy and had formals, that was about it. I was very academically focused, didn't go out or party, and barely ever drank. But according to Roommate, these sororities weren't like that.
As a result of my shyness, I was also INCREDIBLY awkward. Being in college and away from home had helped me a little bit, and I didn't completely balk at the idea of talking to strangers, but let's just say I was not the best conversationalist.
The day of
Lemon Meringue's first party, I had been in class all day, so I was pretty gross. I picked out a somewhat cute top and jeans, fixed my eye make-up so I wouldn't look so tired, and was ready to go. We were a little late. Girls were lined up outside the door, and there was a table set up at the entrance to the room. My roommate chatted with some of the girls in line while I glanced around nervously, wondering what was going to happen.
When I reached the table, the girls there had us fill out forms about our activities, interests, GPA, etc. I hadn't really been expecting this. I was involved with the Queers & Allies group on campus and wasn't sure if I would be looked down upon for that. I put it down anyway since I barely had anything else. I hoped my relatively high GPA would impress them, thinking they probably didn't get a lot of people with GPA's like mine (in retrospect, I realize how stupid this was of me!). A girl picked me up and we sat in two chairs facing each other.
That first conversation was a little awkward. She said it was her first time ever rushing someone and that she was very nervous too. She was sweet, but the conversation lagged a bit. She asked me a lot of questions about myself and I wondered if it was okay to ask about her, too. I just wasn't sure. Some of the later conversations seemed to go better. The girls were all very sweet and girly and all seemed to be named Sarah or Emily and were from either the South or the Midwest. I had a hard time keeping them straight. One girl was super intense about her Twilight obsession. She seemed a little ditzy, but I felt like I clicked with her. She told me a story about how she invited a sister who she didn't know very well home for Thanksgiving, and I thought it was very sweet. Another girl was kind of shy and quiet like me and took dance classes. I liked her a lot.
Looking back, I must have come across as a little weird to them. I kept asking questions like “So...what exactly do you guys DO?” and “How does this whole rush process work?” because I literally had no idea :P I think I asked a girl if it was all about drinking and partying, too. The rest of the time I kind of just sat there and looked terrified, and tried to make sure I didn't have food in my mouth when they asked me a question. I was having fun, though. I left feeling good. I had just spent two hours just talking to strangers, and I had actually enjoyed it.
I didn't know if
Lemon Meringue was for me, though. It hadn't been what I had expected. They HAD seemed like typical sorority girls to me, despite what Roommate had said. And yet...I had a good time. I could see myself with these girls. But I wondered if my perceptions of the other chapters on campus were false as well. I wanted to get to know all of them before I decided. It was too late to go to all of the parties for fall rush, so I decided I was going to wait until spring...