[Ag_Sis]

We had Convocation in the morning on Sunday and after that we were released to go to lunch, change into our "Go Greek" t-shirts and meet up back on campus to get bussed over to sorority row. I thought having convocation the same day as the first round was a little strange, and a few of my friends thought the same. It was way too hot to make the trek back to my off-campus apartment/dorm so I brought my change of clothes with me to change in a bathroom and ate something really quickly and met with my brother to drop off my old clothes (there was no way he was going to sit in Convocation with me with 1,400+ PNMs and their mothers). It felt kind of rushed, but that's life, and you've got to roll with the punches.

Barbacoa You expect things to be loud during rush, but it's one thing to hear about door chants, and it's another to be standing there and hearing it all. The girls who picked me up smiled a lot and it really put me at ease, and I ended up smiling a lot too. I thought that the girls in this house were really easygoing, and I definitely had a lot of laughs here. The girls were really pretty and when I was introduced to other sisters, they all genuinely seemed to like each other and they also knew a lot about each other.

Ginger Snaps I knew several girls in this house from summer camp, and I happened to get picked up by someone I knew who was a year older than me. On one hand, I told myself that I wanted to meet new people, but on the other hand, it was nice to be around people who already knew me so it was more comfortable. I was able to meet a lot of the actives in the house and I even got to meet a few officers.

The girls of Quiche were very... girly? I don't mean that in a bad way though. They were very energetic and you could tell that they were really excited about recruitment and meeting new people. I felt that it was kind of split 70/30, with 70% of the girls being enegizer bunnies and 30% being more on the awkward/shy side. I would say things went well until one of the girls asked me what my major was and when I told her and what I wanted to do when I graduate she said something along the lines of "oh wow, that sounds hard, do you think you can manage it?" Ummm, yes? I know she meant it in the best way possible, but it still kind of took me aback. I began to worry that grades weren't that important here.

Green Juice I was picked up here by a girl I knew who used to compete with my school in tournaments. We were definitely friendly when we saw each other but I didn't know her very well so I was surprised to be picked up by her. I knew several older girls from my high school in this house, and I had kind of mixed feelings. On one hand, a lot of our values aligned, especially when it came to academics and getting involved on campus. On the other hand, I felt a little bit like everything was too polished and too controlling. Maybe a bit snobby even. Not in an overt way, but in kind of a holier-than-thou perfect Miss America way. Kind of hard to explain, but I felt a little funny here, but on paper I think we would have matched.

Cioppino was a surprise for me. I didn't know anyone in this house, but it was so much fun. This was another high energy house, and the girl who I talked to was a junior and had really great things to say about her first two years in the sorority. She seemed like a really intelligent and really sweet girl. She was in the same academic college as I was (different major though) and we talked a lot about the introductory courses and gave me really good advice on how to prepare for my first semester in college. I was bumped to someone else who was equally bubbly, but I really enjoyed the time with my first girl. I left feeling like I could be genuine friends with both girls.

Osso Bucco. I was pretty intimidated and nervous to go to this house. A lot of girls in my group really wanted this house. I just took it for tent-talk, but as soon as I stepped inside and starting talking to some of the girls, I could see why they were popular. My roommate (I have 3) had gone to this house on the first day (I visited on the second) and was absolutely in love with them, and I could see why. They were very lovely, from the way they looked (well done makeup, well curled hair) to the way they behaved (I felt at ease, welcomed), and I left feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. These girls felt very salt-of-the-earth, Miss America-cowgirls. It was definitely a warm homey feeling from them.

Milk Tea was a surprise for me as well. The girl who picked me up had the exact same major as I did, and when we talked about post-grad life, I could tell that she really knew her stuff and we were really comfortable talking with each other. I was bumped along to several other girls and got the chance to talk to some officers as well. On the whole, I felt that these girls were really fun (maybe too much fun) but I did have good conversations.

I felt so at east at Pot Pie. I was picked up by the older bio sister of one of my friends and we had a great time just chilling and talking. I was bumped twice and was even able to talk to the President. I know a few girls from camp and high school who joined this chapter, and I know they really really like the sisterhood here. I also got the sense while talking to the actives that they really cared for each other and really knew a lot about each others' personality quirks and traits. The girls weren't as bubbly and jumpy like some of the other houses, but I could tell that they still cared about each other a lot, which kind of fit me more personality-wise (calm on the outside, more crazy/wild on the inside).

Takoyaki This house had me so confused too. When I first walked in, I was taken aback by how gorgeous and polished this house looked. It was a little intimidating for me and made me a bit self-conscious, but the girls who I got to talk to were so kind. On the outside they looked kind of pageant-girl which scared me a little (I literally don't know anyone who does pageants, and that whole culture kind of weirds me out), but strangely, I felt a warmness about them. It's kind of hard to explain, but I did feel like there was an intangible bond amongst the girls that held them together and made them stronger. This was one of my roommate's favorite houses.

Clafoutis here I was picked up by one of my older friends from school who I used to play soccer with. We were both mischievous devils and our coach gave us nicknames for our playful ways. Okay, maybe I'm going a bit overboard, but it was so nice to clown around with someone I knew I could be myself and not be judged, just for a bit. I went to this house on the second day, and I know a lot of girls in my dorm (it's a very sorority-heavy dorm) who had them on the first day thought that they were rude. I was worried at first, but I could definitely see why these girls could be seen that way. The second girl I talked to replied back to something I said in a slightly sarcastic manner and at first I was taken aback, but then I replied back similarly and we had a playful banter going. I felt like I could definitely be myself at this house. To top it off, one of the girls who is a senior and officer came by to say hi to me. She and I competed on the same tournament circuit, but she was from a different city and 3 years older than me so I thought that she wouldn't recognize me, but she came and greeted me by name and asked how our team was doing while reminiscing on some funny moments in the past. This house came out a clear favorite.

Ramen I know several girls in this house too, and my neighbor is a Ramen (that sounds weird to say) and she is an absolutely lovely, classy lady. I'm not going to lie, I was a little excited to visit here and maybe a bit biased towards this house. Once I was inside and talking to my first girl, I got a little disappointed. On paper, I think this house and I would have matched well, but talking to the first girl who picked me up was a bit... awkward. She was a sophmore, so I do forgive her some for being a little awkward, but it sort of seemed like she was talking from a script and really pushing the sorority's stats. It might have come off a little braggy if she wasn't so clearly nervous. This house was one of the first ones I visited so maybe that explains the nerves. I was bumped once and talked to an officer, and those conversations were fine. I don't think the hiccup with the first girl was [I]that[I] bad, and I definitely wanted to see more.

Paella For some reason, the biggest thing that I could remember about my conversation with the girl who picked me up was "how does she get her hair to curl so well?" I really don't know why. But here, I was able to talk to only one girl for most of the time, but several dropped in to say hi. I thought that I would maybe get bumped, but they kind of just stopped by to ask a few questions and then walked off again. I thought that my rusher was a really sweet person and I could see her dedication to her sorority and to school. We talked about all of the neat things coming up in the Autumn for the sorority and we also talked a lot about travel, which is something that I'm hugely passionate about. However, I kind of soured to her because I began to notice that she was complaining a lot about things. I understand that sometimes it's a way to connect with another person by empathizing with them, but I think she took it a little too far. For example, she asked me about my classes and professors and kind of made fun of one of the classes that I was most excited to take, and kind of bad-mouthed one of the professors I had. I'm a month into classes now and she's one of my favorite professors. That was the only "bad" thing, but because she was the only person from that sorority I really got to talk to, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

We got to rank on Monday night, and if we could, I would have liked to decline invitations to:
Quiche
Takoyaki
Paella

Except for Clafoutis, I was pretty neutral on all of the sororities, so the ones that I ranked at the bottom were those who had a few bad moments. I was a little bothered by what some members of Quiche and Paella said, and I felt just a little too self-conscious and uncomfortable at Takoyaki. Looking back, I think that maybe I should have given them another chance and maybe I was being a little too judgmental, but my line of logic was that they were extremely popular with a lot of PNMs, so even if I had gotten an invite to Philanthropy, I probably wouldn't have made it to Pref, and I decided to spend more time at sororities I didn't know a lot about to learn more.

After we ranked, I walked back home with my roommates and we watched some Bid Day videos from last year to get us pumped for the next day.

*not really sorority related, but for any future Aggies reading this, do not wash maroon items with white items. We learned this the hard way. Panhellenic gave us white "Go Greek" shirts to wear, but we had two days of Go Greek days so a lot of us in the dorms just decided to wash all of our shirts together to save water. Well, someone decided to wash her brand new maroon bedsheets at the same time and results were... interesting. I heard that a lot of the actives had a huge laugh about the situation though! I'm sure it led to some really funny conversations.