Round One
I was SO excited for this round. The girls in my rush group all looked amazing, and I was a bit intimidated knowing that the first house we'd visit would be
Cream Soda. They had GORGEOUS girls who were super fashionable, and the minute I stepped into their lovely house I felt like I was at a beauty pageant.
It was crowded so I had to share one sister with another PNM. I was a little annoyed about this, because it made the conversation more difficult. I wanted to make sure I made a good impression during the limited amount of time we had without interrupting or getting talked over.
I REALLY liked the first girl I spoke to, though the second girl not so much. I remember being a little stressed that the other PNM seemed to be carrying the conversation, but I told myself to just relax, be a good listener and stop worrying so much
Next up was
Sierra Mist. I REALLY liked this house and felt a connection with both sisters I spoke to. We discussed career goals, majors and everything flowed very naturally in the conversations I had. We also got to sit at tables they'd set up so it was a nice change of pace from the awkward PNM on the seat/sister on the floor set-up. Sitting face to face helped with hearing the girls and feeling like we were "equals" in the conversation. I had a great time and didn't want to leave, though my feet were already starting to kill.
I also enjoyed my time at
Dr. Pepper. I got bumped quite a few times, which made me feel a little unsettled, as I was having a great conversation (or so I thought) and then BAM! another girl would sit down in my rusher's place. Otherwise I felt like these girls were very chill, friendly and down-to-earth. I hoped to be invited back. They were one of my favorites during this round for sure.
Root Beer was not a good experience, though this wasn't the fault of my rushers. It was SO FREAKING LOUD in there I thought I was going to go deaf. I could barely hear the sisters and at one point we had to move to a different part of the house so we could hear each other better. I remember the conversations feeling stilted, awkward and forced, but I chalked this up to the acoustics. Sadly, I don't think I was able to leave much of a good impression as I spent most of my time asking the poor sisters to repeat themselves.
Oh wow, I remember my experience at
Mountain Dew being uncomfortable. The one sister I spoke to was very awkward with me, and I had the feeling she wasn't putting in much effort. She could have been shy or nervous, though, it was hard to tell. I spoke to her during the entire party, and I remember trying my best to converse but also secretly wishing she'd get bumped so I could get to know another sister. I had several friends in this chapter that I loved and got along with great, so this round was a bit of a letdown. During their short skit/song I did watch one of the girls lean into one of her sisters, who lovingly started braiding her hair. It was so cute and sweet and I could tell these girls had a wonderful sisterhood.
Speaking of wonderful sisterhoods, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the energy at
Ginger Ale. These girls were loud (in a good way), proud, chatty, diverse and infectiously energetic. As they performed their very creative, very cute song about their sisterhood, I got tears in my eyes realizing that I could very soon be in a sisterhood myself (and maybe theirs!) The sincerity and love I felt they resonated confirmed my desire to join a sorority, and I left that party with a huge smile on my face.
It's interesting looking back now, because I barely remember the conversations I had with the sisters of
Ginger Ale. Though their recruitment chair recognized me from Meet the Greeks and said "It's so good to see you again!", I recall the girls being more interested in talking to each other than me. They complimented my skirt, which was very sweet, but I don't remember much else other than it being a bit chaotic in there. Still, I ended up convinced I was in love with them! Energy goes a long way in recruitment, I've learned, and can meddle with memories of certain chapters a bit.
Speaking of strong personalities, the sister that rushed me at
Pepsi was IN LOVE with her sorority, and she wanted me to know it. She couldn't stop telling me about the new membership process, the events they had, everything. Her bubbly enthusiasm was adorable, but it also made me feel a little uncomfortable, as when I couldn't return it as vigorously in response, she seemed to get a little turned off. I definitely showed interest and was responsive, but the conversation mostly revolved around...how great
Pepsi was. I do remember their skit being the most creative and endearing of round one, and I realized that this sorority probably had a lot of very creative, artsy girls like myself. During it my rusher kept turning to me and smiling big, as if to make sure I liked it. I smiled back each time, feeling...on the spot. Despite the slightly intimidating I experience I had with the one sister who rushed me, I left feeling good about this chapter, if not a little freaked out
Then there was
Cherry Sprite. I enjoyed my conversations with the sisters I spoke to, though they felt a little empty and vacant. I was wearing an attention-grabbing piece of jewelry (thanks GreekChat!) that one girl complimented, which led to us discussing fashion. That's all we really talked about...oh and one sister asked me whether or not I had a boyfriend. I got a little uncomfortable then - as we had been warned NOT to discuss the 3 Bs - and the way she asked it made me nervous, like she was testing me or something (
I was so naive and paranoid haha). During their skit/song, I felt a little awkward as the sister who took me over to watch it kept calling out to her sisters and making comments. Compared to my experience with a more attentive
Pepsi rusher, I worried if this meant anything.
I remember really liking
7Up. Though I was bumped around between about 3 sisters, including the President, I had a good conversation with all of the girls and even shared a favorite TV show with one, which made the conversation a lot easier.
I had a nice, fairly neutral time at
Orangina. I spoke to two sisters, and the one I clicked with most was who I remember discussing study abroad with (I wanted to go to Australia - which I ended up doing!) She was very sweet and the little skit/song they performed was cute. I left satisfied but not blown away...at least not yet.
The final house of round one was
Coca Cola. By this time, I was wiped out. As I walked in, I noticed the decorations were sparse, especially compared to the ornate, intricate, creative ones of all the other houses. I also noticed how quiet it was in there. The sister I spoke to was very, very awkward. We had LONG conversation pauses, a lot of looking around the room, and I just wasn't feeling it. She was a very nice girl though. I was so overwhelmed and tired at that point, so it was a good way to end the day I guess.
After all of the that we were herded into a room with our Rho Ghamma groups to rank. We had to "cut" our lowest picks.
It was a little difficult, but in the end I decided to "cut" (or so I thought, as I didn't really get the process yet)
Coca Cola and
Mountain Dew.
So by the end of the first round, I was tired but having so much fun. I thought things were going so well, and I was pumped for the next round...