Round 1, Day 1 (Open House/Ice Water Teas)
I was an absolute nervous wreck that morning as I applied my makeup to the best of my ability, attempted to tame my unkempt brown mane, and zipped myself into a dress I never would've dreamed of buying had I not been assembling rush outfits. Some pearls and cute sandals finished off the outfit (heels were FAR beyond my comfort zone). When I looked in the mirror, I had to say, I felt pretty good. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad.
When I met up with my Pi Chi group, the nerves kicked into higher gear when I realized I was the only girl not wearing heels. Suddenly extremely self-conscious of my sandals, I asked my Pi Chi if I needed to go back to my dorm to grab different shoes, and she reassured me that I would be fine. Looking back, I'm glad she did - I would've absolutely DIED if I had worn heels that day.
It was HOT outside to say the very least - temperatures were in the upper 90s with the humidity putting the heat index at nearly 110. Before we had even been handed our schedules, we were already fanning ourselves with anything we could get our hands on.
I visited 10 houses on the first day of Round 1:
Double Bass - It made me extremely nervous that my very first rush party would be for a house I was particularly interested in. We lined up outside the front door, and after a few minutes the doors burst open as we were greeted by girls clapping, cheering, singing and dancing. I was completely caught off guard - I guess I was anticipating that rush would be prim and proper. My rush notebook simply says "what the heck just happened?" in regard to this party. Honestly, I can hardly remember anything about it other than that I had never been so nervous in my life. I cycled from rusher to rusher putting every ounce of effort I had into smiling and answering all their questions. I left hardly remembering what had happened, not really having any sort of opinion about the house, and hoping I had managed to make an okay impression.
Bassoon - I was nervous about this house based on the rumors I'd heard that they were made of money. Standing in line outside, I felt extremely self-conscious of my outfit, all of which probably cost me a total of about $50 (with the exception of the pearls, which had been a pre-rush "good luck" gift from my sweet mother). But when the doors flew open, I had a better idea of what to expect this time, and I smiled and sang along to their song (it was one of my favorites) as I walked in. My rusher led me to a couch where we sat down, and I immediately sang the Hallelujah Chorus in my head. It was so hot outside, and I had been dying to sit down after dashing to this house from the previous one. We talked about the typical rush topics - hometown, major, etc. I liked her okay, but I talked to her for the whole party which I'm pretty sure wasn't supposed to happen. Since I had only talked to one person and we hadn't really gone beyond surface-level topics, I left this house without really forming an opinion either way.
Cello - I'd heard so much about this house that in my mind I'd already pretty much counted this one out. It seemed to me as if some girls had been trained from their diaper days to someday pledge this chapter of this sorority. It was the "top" house on campus, the big dogs, and it was supposedly impossible to get into. I smiled and did my best, but of the three girls I talked to, each one seemed significantly less interested in me when I told them my hometown. I got the vibe that they were only interested in in-state girls with lots of connections, and they came off as condescending at times. I left this house knowing I probably wouldn't be invited back, and I didn't really mind.
Percussion - I absolutely LOVED this house!! I talked to four girls, and the fourth one and I hit it off so well that we didn't want to stop talking, and I was the last rushee to leave the house. When this rusher had asked me what kind of activities I planned to get involved in on campus, I mentioned a popular campus ministry. I know religion is supposed to be an off-limits rush topic, but I figured I may as well be honest. The girl jumped all over it - as it turned out, she was a leader in that organization and absolutely loved it. She gushed on and on about how it had done such great things for her relationship with the Lord. I'm sure our conversation broke some unspoken rush "rules," but having a conversation about faith was like a breath of fresh air. I very much wanted to come back to this house!
Oboe - This house didn't really make any impression on me. I loved their tshirts, which I mentioned to the three girls who rushed me, and looking back I think that may have come off as kissy-uppy. Oh well. Our conversations flowed decently but once again didn't really go beyond the usual hometown-major. I hoped I would be invited back to this house to give it another chance, because I had heard good things about it.
Saxophone - I had built up SO much anticipation for this party, and I couldn't WAIT to get inside. Based only on my knowledge of the sororities prior to recruitment, I wanted so badly to be a Saxophone. The house did not disappoint. I talked to two girls, and one of them was in a major very similar to (and probably equally as difficult as) my own. We chattered about why we had both chosen this field, I expressed my nervousness that I wouldn't be able to cut it academically, and she assured me that I'd be just fine. I really enjoyed talking to her, and I still loved Saxophone after this party!
Violin - I'd heard rumors that this chapter had been struggling to make quota, but honestly I couldn't understand why. The three girls I talked to were sweet and down-to-earth, and I really appreciated the fact that our conversations avoided the overdone topics of hometown and major. I talked with one girl about Harry Potter and swapped funny pet stories with another. I genuinely enjoyed my time at this house and sincerely wished to go back.
Voice - This house, like Oboe, didn't really make an impression on me. I talked to three girls about surface-level things and while they seemed nice enough, I didn't connect especially well with any of them. Their house, however, was by far the prettiest I had been in up to that point, which I genuinely complimented them for. I hoped I would be invited back so I'd have another opportunity to form an opinion of this group.
Guitar - I ADORED this house!! I think something went wrong with the rotations and I somehow ended up talking to three girls at once. That was slightly intimidating, but we made it work. We had an absolutely hilarious conversation about food. I gushed about how much I loved Mexican food, the first rusher answered that Chinese was her favorite, the second voiced her preference for seafood, and the third liked Italian. Ultimately, the four of us reached the conclusion that food in general rocks.  They recommended some restaurants near campus for me to try, and I told them what places they should hit if they ever visited my hometown. I left feeling great about this house!
Piano - Standing outside the door to this house, I did NOT feel like putting much effort into making a good impression here because 1) it was the last party of the day and I was BEYOND exhausted, and 2) because based on girls who had pledged this chapter in my home region I was convinced I wouldn't like it. But I forced myself to smile and be gracious, and I was pleasantly surprised. One of my conversations here that day was focused on Harry Potter as the rusher and I compared sororities to the Hogwarts houses, ultimately concluding that we'd much rather have the Sorting Hat choose for us than have to go through the stress of rush! It was refreshing to hear someone admit that rush wasn't all fun and games, and I felt like I could be honest with her about my state of exhaustion and stress. I left this house feeling very conflicted - I had enjoyed my time here but was weary of the stereotypes associated with this group where I came from.
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