[georgiagirl1992]

Philanthropy Night:

All dressed and lined up, my Gamma Chi group and I were ready to attend our first round of parties!
First up was Rose:
I was greeted with lots of loud yelling and chanting. I remember a few PNMs and I started laughing at how loud it was! At my school, instead of door chants, the actives line up and sing chants as the PNMs follow through the small opening of women and are greeted by their rusher. I was paired up with a sweet girl who led me over to a table. Just before I sat down, the other PNM at the table spilled her water all over my chair. I was shocked and embarrassed but the actives took care of it right away and I was able to forget about the incident for the rest of the party.
My rusher was sweet but I didn’t really feel a connection. Another active came over and complimented my outfit, which I loved. We watched a skit about their philanthropy and did a craft, both of which I don’t remember very well. I do remember being led outside to look at a string of shirts hanging up and talking to a woman I met at my overnight visit. Soon it was time to file out and my rusher whispered in my ear “See you tomorrow!” at the door (which I now know is a seriously infraction).
Overall I felt pretty good about my time here and I was excited to see what was next.

Next was Lilly. I told myself I would not be a Lilly, from all of the tent talk I had heard, they were very wealthy and loved to party. I shouldn’t have listened but I was myself at this party anyway, I just was not as hyper aware of myself like I was at the first party. I ended up LOVING their philanthropy and felt such a strong connection with it. As I participated in the craft, I told my rusher about my experience working with people associated with their philanthropy. She was pleased and I felt that made me look good.
I also loved their symbols and their colors, so I was feeling pretty good about myself after I left this party, but I was still not sold. I told myself I was going to give them another shot.

Next was Daffodil. I had heard so much negative talk about this sorority before recruitment. They were the newest on campus and were still trying to build up their reputation. My suitemate, who was not rushing, asked one of her older friends that was also not affiliated with a sorority, about the stereotypes and she said Daffodil was known for not being very attractive or liked around campus. I remember visiting an interest fair at the beginning of the year with my Gamma Chi group and not thinking anything negative about them. They seemed to be very sweet girls.
They had a very big room to work with, but I think they pulled it off well. The walls were all covered with pictures from philanthropy events and cute t-shirts. My rusher was very awkward, however, and it felt like I was rushing her. There were a few moments where we just stood their staring at each other! I was passed off to another girl who was much easier to talk to and she got up in front of everyone and told us her special connection to their philanthropy. It was very heartfelt and I loved hearing her speak about it.
I left the party feeling alright. I was definitely not sold and probably let the tent talk get to my head a little too much.

Next we had a break and I was able to relax and get a snack from the little market on campus. It was nice to re-group and think about what I had seen and chat with my friends (not about recruitment, of course). I remember standing and chatting with one of my friends about how we hadn’t heard of some of the brands everyone wears, such as Lilly Pulitzer and Tory Burch (I’m from Atlanta and no one from my high school wore anything like those). A girl behind us made a snarky remark and I still remember how much that made me angry.

Finally, we made it to the last party, Buttercup. Their chant was so catchy, many of the girls kept singing it over the next few days of recruitment. I instantly felt at home inside the room. The lightning made everything feel very warm. A very cheery girl lead me over to a table and craft and told me a little bit about one of their philanthropies while a speaker got up and stood in front of us. She told us a story about how she graduated from my school a few years prior and how her fiancée died in a terrible accident as a firefighter. She talked and cried about how her sisters were there for her and sent her clothes and money so she was able to get back on her feet after she lost the love of her life. I was so touched by the story and I let my rusher know that.
After I finished the craft (which was actually pretty difficult, haha), I was bumped to another rusher who introduced me to some of her sisters and a few of them I had already met from my overnight visit. It was so nice to see some familiar faces and I was able to laugh with them about things that had happened that one weekend. I really didn’t want to leave, but I left this party with a huge smile on my face and I was sure I wanted to come back!'

At the end of the night we were told to select the three chapters we wanted to return to and leave the one that we did not want to return to. I ranked mine as follows (the order didn't matter):

Rose
Buttercup
Lilly

And I didn't select:
Daffodil