[UGAgirl93]

I knew that if I wanted to have a shot as a sophomore, I would need a stellar GPA and a fair amount of campus involvement. I joined a large group on campus whose goal is to raise money for kids affected by HIV/AIDS. I also joined a much smaller group that builds houses for those in need. I worked hard and got a 3.7 GPA my first semester. I constantly checked the UGA Panhellenic website for spring recruitment info. Around the end of the semester a little blurb went up on the website about spring recruitment opportunities with a link to a google doc where you could submit your name and information to be placed on an "interest" list. I filled out the form and put my name on the list immediately.

Over winter break I did a lot of thinking, hoping and praying. I wanted so badly to be part of a sisterhood. When school started back up, I checked my email religiously hoping to be contacted. After about three weeks I figured I wouldn't be getting an email. Then, one afternoon when I was least expecting it, I got an email.

Hey, L!
I'm A, the assistant recruitment chair from Tory Burch. We are participating in spring recruitment this year. We would like to invite you to participate in an upcoming event to learn more about our chapter, meet some sisters and get a feel for our organization. We hope that you will seriously consider joining Tory! Let me know if you have any questions or would like more information about the spring recruitment process.
Thanks,
A

My heart absolutely stopped. I was in disbelief. I was THRILLED. I emailed A back immediately and said that I would love to learn more about Tory. She emailed back and said that they were having a dinner at a cool pizza place downtown Saturday evening and that she would pick me up.

I was overjoyed. I started to wonder if I might be contacted by any other sororities, particularly Lilly Pulitzer because I had liked them so much during formal recruitment. However, I didn't want to go down that path. Tory had invited me and I was happy. To worry about any other sororities would be sort of ungrateful. I decided to take the approach you take when you get only 3 out of 12 invites - that the ones you have are the only ones on campus. They're the only ones that matter. Tory was the only one that mattered now, because it was the only one I mattered to.

I immediately started planning my outfit for Saturday. When the day came, I got ready for two whole hours, ironing and primping and straightening my hair. I played a lot of girl power music to get me pumped up and I sang and danced in the mirror to work out my nerves. I felt confident.

A and another Tory picked me up, along with another PNM. We all talked in the car and as we walked to the restaurant from where A parked. I felt a bit overdressed and I was a little nervous at first, but I forced myself not to be. We met up with some other Tory girls and PNMs before ordering and splitting up to sit at different tables. At my table there were 3 PNMs and 3 actives. The conversation was very relaxed and felt really natural. They asked us questions occasionally, but mostly we just talked about whatever and joked around a lot.

I really liked these girls. I thought about things I had read here on GC about how some chapters shine more than others during FR. I thought about how some chapters I went to had been really good at making conversation and making me feel like they wanted me there and how others had seemed more distant, probably because they were nervous. If you had asked me about Tory after round one of FR, I would have said that I liked them, but I didn't think they liked me and that I didn't feel like I had clicked with the girl as much as some of the other houses. I didn't dislike them, but I couldn't tell if there was a connection there. I just felt neutral. Now, though, Tory seemed to really shine. I could see how these girls interacted with each other in real life rather than in the scheduled, scripted setting of formal recruitment. I could witness their sisterhood firsthand instead of just having them tell me about it. I felt like I fit in with them.

After a couple of hours of fun, A drove us back to the dorms. I said goodbye feeling that the whole thing had gone really well.