Barely Retro Vera Bradley Recruitment

[littlesquirrel]

All right… so I’m several pages deep in re-reading/reading recruitment stories and thought that hey, maybe I’ll post my sort of retro recruitment!

Obviously we know where I’ll end up, but at least we know it’s a happy ending, right? ☺ I attended a very small Midwestern LAC. Greek life is very popular there and we have a deferred recruitment with House Tours (5), Philanthropy (3), and Preference (2).

I also happen to work for a little store called Vera Bradley—so that’s my theme; current patterns. Here we go with my pre-recruitment thoughts and some minor happenings. I’m not a legacy to any house on campus, but my mom was an alumna initiate into Delta Phi Epsilon as we was once their beloved house chef. In fact, those ladies showered me with DPhiE goodies as a little girl.

Ziggy Zinnia: I did not know any Ziggys, but Ziggy Zinnia was one of the “it houses.” Every girl dreamt of them going into recruitment, but all I thought was “typical sorority girl.” And me? Well, of course, I am NOT typical.
Pixie Blooms: If you didn’t go Ziggy, you went Pixie. Pixies were the MODEL sorority girls in my mind. Several people told me that the best brunettes went Ziggy and the best blonds went Pixie. Even though I had a dear Model UN team mentor in this house, she was perfect and blond and I was not.
Marrakesh: I thought Marrakesh girls were in band and they were all science-y type majors. However, my best guy friend at the time, J said that Marrakesh was TOTALLY me. His best friend from home was a Marrakesh. I was very hesitant.
Lucky You: Another great mentor from my MUN team was a Lucky You, but my RA I despised had also just joined. So, that’s all I knew.
Sierra: SIERRA WAS WHERE I WAS GOING! I knew this. That’s why I was in recruitment. These girls were quirky feminists who were in several of the groups I was in on campus. The MUN team had a long history of Sierras. Obviously, my destiny was in Sierra.


Day 1: House Tours
I wore black pants, a warm gray sweater with silver threading, and sensible flats. I wish I had worn something different, but it had also snowed quite a bit, so this outfit was probably a good idea.

Marrakesh
My first house of the day. Their theme was Hollywood. I heard screaming from most of the houses and Marrakesh girls flanked the stairs clapping and chanting. I felt a little overwhelmed, but these girls were very laid-back and open. I had this delicious fruit pizza, which was nice considering our dining hall wasn’t open before recruitment. Overall, I wasn’t in love with Marrakesh, but I was open to returning.
Ziggy Zinnia
Oh my goodness, the hype was right. These ladies were AWESOME. I thought that they would be so stuck up and rude, but every turn just got better. They all matched in their Paris-inspired t-shirts. After hearing about their scholarship in one room, I swapped stories about a ridiculous PoliSci class I was in with the two sisters. They were doing impressions of him and everything! It was so funny. I love Ziggy Zinnia and I absolutely had to go back.
Lucky You
I enjoyed Lucky You! They had a cute Superhero theme. These girls were very sweet and my MUN mentor spent some time with me there, which was a bonus. The Student Government president was also a Lucky You. I thought that was pretty rad that they were so involved. However, as I turned into a hallway, the worst thing happened: I dropped a FULL cup of BRIGHT RED punch. I instantly knew I wouldn’t be invited back.

Break
During break, a few Rho Gam groups mingled and ate Panhel-provided pizza. I met the nicest Rho Gam who turned out to be from a town right next to mine. As my Rho Gams weren’t very welcoming, I went to her for any questions.

Pixie Blooms
Candyland theme! I will say, I regret the way I behaved at Pixie Blooms. I was clearly completely unengaged—even though my MUN mentor in this house was great to me that day—and barely even spoke. These girls were great recruiters but I knew I wouldn’t be invited back and I didn’t really care. All of the girls on my dorm floor wanted this house (or Ziggy) and I didn’t care for them, so I was done. So rude. Ugh, I was the worst.

Sierra
Finally… Sierra! I was SO excited for Sierra. Of course, these ladies were too cool for a theme, so it was basically just a general open house. I was hoping to see the GSA president—who had talked to me about joining Sierra—but she was gone that weekend. The loose environment made it a little difficult for then-introverted me to really learn more. Luckily, another sister I knew came up to me and chatted about my time so far at college. I left wishing I talked more, but still loved MY Sierra.

(Ok sorry I have to go to work, but the rest is typed up so I'll post when I get home.)