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The night after the first day of recruitment, I had felt really confident about the chapters I had ranked as my top 10. My roommate and I were both going through recruitment (we were also already close friends from the summer), and we went online and looked at the local websites for our favorite chapters. We had liked a lot of the same ones, and both went to bed with butterflies.
The next morning, we got bright and early to get ready for welcome back day! We went to our recruitment group's meeting spot where our Rho Gamma had all our lists. I remember her saying that some people would have "breaks" in their schedule, meaning that they didn't get invited back to ten chapters. With shaky hands I took my schedule, and waited for my roommate to get hers too. Excitedly we both opened ours at the same time. My stomach completely dropped. Before I even could read what chapters had invited me back, I just remember seeing two "Break" spaces. I calmed myself down and looked back at it to see which chapters I had been invited back to though. I had been dropped by Iced Tea, Lemonade (changed font to see), Lemon Drop , Cherry Soda, Sunkist and Water. I was devastated by being dropped by Sunkist and Iced Tea, and I was also a little confused that Lemonade had dropped me when I had a few high school friends in it. I was in shock that so many chapters I like had dropped me and I felt really defeated about the process right away. I still put my chin up and tried to get in a good mood. I had a party, and then a break which I was grateful for because I could call my mom and talk to her. I was grateful to be back to eight chapters, and decided to keep an entirely open mind to all the chapters.
The first one I went to that day was Dr Pepper. Their house was really pretty and we all lined up to go in. I was still kind of shaken up because only fifteen minutes had passed between me getting my list and walking into this chapters house. I had been holding back a few tears, but really liked this chapter. I know though that I wasn't much fun to talk to. I was trying hard to smile and be happy, but was coming across as forced. I remember when I left the chapter, I predicted I would be dropped because I hadn't been myself.
During break I called my mom, finally able to cry, and told her how I had been dropped from 5 of the chapters that I had ranked in my top ten, and how I felt that my first party of the day went badly. My mom listened to me cry for a bit, but then talked to me about how I wanted a sisterhood and that there were still 7 more chapters I got to visit that saw me as a part of theirs. I knew this, but there is nothing like someone in your family to truly pump you up for the rest of the chapters. When I went to touch up my makeup, I saw two girls from my recruitment group hanging out with their door open. I popped in to talk, and they revealed they had dropped the process because they had only wanted certain chapters.
The next chapter was Sierra Mist which I was excited for. Once again, these ladies wore super cute, trendy outfits and their house was absolutely precious. I talked to so many girls during this party! The president bumped in and talked to me, which I perceived as a good sign. At the end of the party, the girls took us all into their living room where they all burst out into a cute song. I left with such happiness that was the polar opposite of how I had felt just two short hours before.
Mountain Dew- This chapter was next, and I got to talk to the girl I had the day before that I loved so much. Once again, we were talking so easily to one another, and I was truly being myself in the chapter. However, the girl that bumped her was really awkward. I would ask her questions and she would answer softly, staring down at the ground. Anything I would say she would just respond with "Oh! That's cool" and I would have to keep the conversation rolling. I did like the first girl again, but I wasn't sure about the chapter overall.
Root Beer- The girls in this chapter were sweet and nice, but their bump pattern somewhat overwhelmed me. I think I talked to about 6 girls in 30 minutes, and "floaters" would just stop and say hi in the middle of those conversations! I felt like I would introduce myself and before I knew it was introducing myself again! Because of that I felt like what I was saying (my major, hometown, stuff I did this summer) got repetitive. These girls also did a fun song, and the last two girls I talked to I clicked with.
Break - Called my mom to tell her I was in a better mood and my grandma was there and wished me good luck!
Sprite- I was excited to see this chapter because everyone raved about how their house was just amazing. And they were right! It was HUGE but lovely both on the outside and inside. When we walked in, all the girls were in bright sundresses on a spiraling staircase. The first girl I talked to was an absolute doll. She had the cutest laugh and was so funny. She complimented my outfit and made me feel right at home. I talked to another nice girl, but the third girl who bumped in was frowning before she even met me! I told her how I was excited for recruitment, and all she said back was "I am excited for it to be over". But I didn't let one sour apple ruin the bunch and just assumed she was having a bad day anyway.
Coke - This was my least favorite chapter from the day before, but I figured I may as well open my mind to the idea of them! We lined up outside of a big university room (their "house" they explained was a cluster of apartments but it wasn't University officially affiliated so we couldn't visit it). When we went in the room, they had big circle tables and two girls sitting at each, and each got about 5-6 of us PNMs per table. Even though I was pretty sure I didn't want to join this chapter, they were really nice. They asked us some basic questions about our majors and activities, but after everyone kind of went around the circle and answered them, EVERY PNM I was sitting with crossed their arms and looked around the room. One girl whipped out her cell phone and started texting right at the table. I could tell the two members felt really awkward, and I literally was the only one at the table asking them questions. All of a sudden, one girl shot her hand up and snapped "I have a question, if you don't have a real house then how are you like a real sorority? Like what's the point?". Both members mouths dropped open and I looked at the ground because it was so tense. Both members kind of awkwardly answered her, and thankfully time was called right after that. When we left the room, some girls were saying that they wanted to be mean to them so they wouldn't be invited back. I was glad that even though I hadn't liked them I had been polite.
Grape Soda- This was another chapter that had a great house location. I chatted with a girl that was super spunky about the most random topics. Even though we didn't talk a ton about her chapter, we had a good conversation. The second girl I talked to was really nice too, but we talked more about the chapter. She was telling me how they were really laid-back and how they did more sisterhood stuff than anything else. I got a really genuine vibe from this chapter upon leaving.
Pepsi - This chapter's house was right next to Grape Soda, so great location and gorgeous inside. The first girl I talked to casually mentioned how she had been on the coasts working for an entertainment firm. I asked her what she had been doing, and she mentioned how she worked for this random, obscure show she loved that happened to be one of my favorite shows too. We really clicked and I liked her a lot. The second and third girls who talked to me were nice, but I didn't really click with them as much. I didn't really know how I felt about this chapter yet.
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We ranked our top 5. I ranked my top 5 (didn't matter the order) and then:
2. Mountain Dew
3. Pepsi
4. Coke
I loved Sierra Mist and was excited for the next day because I heard we got to see videos of the chapter and the main focus would be about the sisterhood experiences they each have!
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