I shared a phone call with my mother, retelling all of my thoughts from round 1, and I remember her saying to me, "Don't be surprised if you don't get a full schedule (12 houses). It's perfectly normal to go back to 6-8 of them." So I started the day with the expectation that I would get 6 houses.
I received my schedule and saw that I was invited back to five houses. FIVE. Immediately I texted my mom, concerned and terrified. PNMs had the biggest drops from houses between rounds 2 and 3, and here I was, with less options than I wanted.
Jerry Gergich,
Tammy number 2,
Li'l Sebastian,
Marc Brendanawicz, and
Tom Haverford invited me back for house tours. My mother reminded me that today was a new day, and to look at all the houses with fresh eyes. So here I was: slightly desperate, incredibly scared, and a little emotionally unstable. It took me awhile composed myself and tried to get myself excited over looking at these gorgeous houses.
Tammy number 2: These girls continued to impress me with their energy. I think I may have tried too hard at this house, since I was still a little freaked out. It still had that chaotic feel to it, but I liked it here. I could see how I could fit within this house's personality, and wanted SO badly to be a part of a family.
Jerry Gergich: This house was charming. I was paired with a girl who apologized to me saying she was sick, so I understood why we didn't talk the whole time. She asked me more personal questions while showing me the house and I was blown away. The rooms came out of Pinterest, and this girl made a point of emphasizing how genuine the girls were in the house. As I was being walked out, I struck conversation with another girl, who asked me why I wanted to be there. I simply said, "I want to be a part of a community, I want that support network. It's a part of me to give everything back into an organization that has done so much for me." I loved how I felt so comfortable sharing that, because that's what I wanted out of this whole experience, and I loved that I felt comfortable and listened to there, that these were REAL girls talking to me.
Tom Haverford: I remember as soon as walked in that loud music was blaring and these girls were LOUD. I couldn't hear myself think. The house was pretty, but I had really awkward lulls in conversation and didn't really connect.
Li'l Sebastian: This house was gorgeous, and the girls here also emphasized how genuine and connected this house was. I felt so at home and at ease, and it was here where I realized that having five houses was okay, because I got to come back here. They were real, they were fun. I came out of this house crossing my fingers that I would be invited back.
Marc Brendanawicz: This house lacked in connection, just like the first time I visited. I wasn't impressed. Sure the girls were nice, but it seemed a little forced at times. Awkward lulls in conversation, still pretty surface level conversation topics like food (since that seems to be my go to), an interesting but still pretty house, but they weren't my favorite.
At the end of the day, I ended up putting all of these places first, just to make sure I could guarantee houses for the next two rounds. But if I had to rank them...
1.
Jerry Gergich and
Li'l Sebastian
2.
Tammy number 2
3.
Marc Brendanawicz
4.
Tom Haverford
I called my mom later that night, exhausted and broken down. I was scared I wouldn't be invited back anywhere, and she said to "trust the system. It's Harry Potter and The Bachelor combined."
Hoping Philanthropy Round will be better, and not as draining.
