This thread is just bringing back too many memories...BAD ones.
Now, I have to say that I thank my lucky stars that I got my first choice, but I know that it was close for me between AGD and XYZ because the rotation at AGD got messed up and I didn't meet as many girls at the beginning of rush at AGD. Thank God we still did open houses then so they knew that I was interested because I went to all the open house events as well as the formal rush events.
XYZ was rushing me very hard and I felt really bad because I was so in love with AGD. It hurt when I saw them after I got my bid because I really liked them but I just knew that AGD was for me!
But, as I matured in my Greek and campus life, I really did adopt the philosophy that I could have done fine in any house and the culture at the time really promoted being "open minded" throughout rush and about all the other GLOs.
It does hurt though as a member that has worked so hard during rush to have a whole crew of rushees show up hysterically crying and overhear them saying very horrible things to their parents on the phone about how the girls are horrid, etc., and blaming the chapter that bid them for their bad rush experience. That happened one year when the hand matching of the bids was not done correctly, and there were girls that were bid to all the houses that had not been there since Day 2 and in some cases, Day 1
. The pictures are horrible from that day and it was so hurtful, as that pledge class didn't really bond with the rest of the house and so many of them dropped. All the members in the other chapters were in the same boat too. It was just a hard year all the way around.
The saddest story that I remember was this girl was IN LOVE with ABC and told everyone during rush that it was ABC or nothing. Well, with an attitude like that of course she didn't have a good rush and was hanging on by a thread. Well, of course she didn't get ABC and ended up with a bid from another house, who was a great house. Well, she went over to the ABC's anyway and in the commotion, was given a t-shirt and was hiding her bid card. At that time we had firetrucks take us around and she was climbing onto the truck of ABC when the members of ABC started to realize that something wasn't right along with some of the members of the Panhellenic staff. Well, the Panhell staff went over to her and she insisted she was bid to ABC and her card said that she was (which it wasn't). Then she kind of went into shock and the Panhellenic staff was helping her take off the t-shirt that she had been given and lead her over to the chapter that she was bid to. I felt so sorry for all of them, but as the day went on, the girl had a complete meltdown and refused to come out of the president's room. The girls mother even called the president and the university repeated times and kept blaming the chapter that had picked the girl up for all the problems. It really didn't help the morale of that chapter, as they were not having a good time with their numbers, etc., and it made the members feel so bad.
The girl did end up de-pledging and her parents threatened legal action. They tried to get her into ABC chapter by calling them all the time too. It was so sad and ugly. When the members saw this girl a few weeks later at a party they said hello, just to be friendly and also feel the waters, as they were COBing and the rushee was so rude to them and had another meltdown. Then her mother was calling all over creation again and claimed that the members of the house that she had dropped were stalking her.
Ugh--that would make me just want to wash my hands of the whole process. Obviously the girl had some real issues and didn't last long at college.
But, I am glad that there are those girls that stick it out. My best friend was one of those girls and I would have no idea what my college and sorority experience would have been if she would not have been my pledge sister. She was bawling her head off on the fire truck but gave it "the old college try". We just got back from our chapter's International Reunion Day celebration last weekend and we were talking about her rush and pledging experience. We were meant to be together, plain and simple.