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Welcome to our newest member, zcharestopz1918 |
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01-21-2009, 03:51 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18
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Pasdechat's Retro Recruitment!
I've been wanting to post my recruitment story for a while now, and I've finally decided to quit thinking about it and just do it. I post on GC under another name, but I'd like the anonymity to be able to say exactly what was going through my head. That and my org's name is in my other screen name. =]
I'm not going to try and make my school totally secret, but I'm not going to refer to it by name. If you figure it out, please don't post it, but you're free to P.M. me and ask about the school and the code I'm going to use.
Things begin my senior year of high school. It was September and my friends and I were all deciding where we wanted to attend college. I only had one major criteria: my university had to be out of my home state. All of my friends were applying to my state's major universities, and I was trying to figure out what state I wanted to go to. My parents weren't comfortable with me going across the country or far up north, so I was pretty much confined to the south. I started looking at schools in a few of the southern states and making lots of "Pro/Con" lists. I finally decided on 4 schools to apply to that were out of state. To make my parents happy, I also applied to 4 schools here. So I began the task of completing applications and writing essays. Finally, by the middle of October, I was completely done and everything was in the hands of the Admissions Officers.
I was rejected by 2 of my out of state schools and 2 of my instate schools, giving me plenty to choose from. February rolled around, and my dad and I took a trip to visit my 2 out of state schools, since they were in the same state.
The first school we visited completely won me over. The campus was beautiful, the people were friendly, and it was a town similar enough to my home town to keep me from getting too homesick. I was sold. Before we left, I signed up for Freshman Orientation, bought my first school T-Shirt and Hoodie, and we headed home.
Next up: Freshman Orientation.
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01-21-2009, 04:13 PM
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GreekChat Member
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pasdechat
I've been wanting to post my recruitment story for a while now, and I've finally decided to quit thinking about it and just do it. I post on GC under another name, but I'd like the anonymity to be able to say exactly what was going through my head. That and my org's name is in my other screen name. =]
I'm not going to try and make my school totally secret, but I'm not going to refer to it by name. If you figure it out, please don't post it, but you're free to P.M. me and ask about the school and the code I'm going to use.
Things begin my senior year of high school. It was September and my friends and I were all deciding where we wanted to attend college. I only had one major criteria: my university had to be out of my home state. All of my friends were applying to my state's major universities, and I was trying to figure out what state I wanted to go to. My parents weren't comfortable with me going across the country or far up north, so I was pretty much confined to the south. I started looking at schools in a few of the southern states and making lots of "Pro/Con" lists. I finally decided on 4 schools to apply to that were out of state. To make my parents happy, I also applied to 4 schools here. So I began the task of completing applications and writing essays. Finally, by the middle of October, I was completely done and everything was in the hands of the Admissions Officers.
I was rejected by 2 of my out of state schools and 2 of my instate schools, giving me plenty to choose from. February rolled around, and my dad and I took a trip to visit my 2 out of state schools, since they were in the same state.
The first school we visited completely won me over. The campus was beautiful, the people were friendly, and it was a town similar enough to my home town to keep me from getting too homesick. I was sold. Before we left, I signed up for Freshman Orientation, bought my first school T-Shirt and Hoodie, and we headed home.
Next up: Freshman Orientation.
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Do you have a pet cat?
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01-21-2009, 04:16 PM
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GreekChat Member
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LucyAnne17
Do you have a pet cat?
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haha, I did (I lost him to liver failure last fall). But a Pas de Chat is a jump in ballet literally translated to "walk of the cat". It's an odd looking move, but I love doing them.
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01-21-2009, 04:18 PM
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GreekChat Member
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pasdechat
haha, I did (I lost him to liver failure last fall). But a Pas de Chat is a jump in ballet literally translated to "walk of the cat". It's an odd looking move, but I love doing them.
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Oh that makes way more sense than what I was thinking. Obviously I am not a dancer....
I am sorry about your kitty.
I'm excited to hear your story, too.
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01-21-2009, 04:28 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18
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My school has 6 NPC Sororities. They are:
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Omicron Pi
Kappa Delta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Phi Mu
Zeta Tau Alpha
Since I'm a ballet dancer, I'm going to name them after my favorite ballet companies. In no particular order we have:
San Francisco Ballet
New York City Ballet
Atlanta Ballet
American Ballet Theatre
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Boston Ballet
Most of the groups come into play at orientation. =]
I signed up for the first possible orientation weekend. There was no way I was going to end up in crappy classes. I had met a girl, we'll call her Emily, who was going at the same time I was. She was an out of stater as well, so it was nice to have somebody know what I was feeling. I was really excited about Orientation, because I knew I'd get the chance to meet some sorority women and find out a lot more info.
I checked in for Orientation and went to the opening session. We were told what to expect this weekend and all that lovely business. Then we were split up into our groups and went in for Small Group Session number 1. My leader was adorable and so sweet. She told us all the things she was involved in, and as it turns out, she was an Atlanta Ballet. She was the first sorority woman I had met from my school, and I knew that if they were all like her, I had to be one too. She explained to us that we had to go to 3 breakout sessions, one of which was about Greek Life. Obviously that was the first one I went to.
During the session, they told us all about recruitment and explained that we could sign up at any computer lab on campus while we were there that weekend. I turned to my mom who was with me and she smiled and said "We'll get it done, don't worry."
That night, they had an event called "First Night Out" where all the freshman went to the Rec Center on campus for games and to find out more about student organizations. All of the sororities were going to be there. Emily and I decided we were going to talk to every group we could. First we went to Boston Ballet's table. They had lots of pictures, a scrapbook, and a few Boston Ballet gift items on their table. One of the girls handed us each a pamphlet about their sorority, but didn't say much else, so we left and walked over to New York City Ballet's table. Instantly one of the girls was over talking to us, asking lots of questions. She definitely made me like them a lot. We ended up talking for close to 30 minutes, and by the time we left, all the other sororities except American Ballet Theatre were gone. We walked over to ABT, just to check it out, and again the same thing happened. The girls were so friendly and we talked for about 20 minutes before we had to leave.
So by the end orientation, I already had opinions about most of the sororities. Girls were already tent talking, and it made me a little bit nervous. I really liked NYCB and ABT, but apparently they were the two least popular groups on campus. I heard a lot of girls talking about wanting to be a Pacific Northwest, Atlanta Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. I was just ready for recruitment to begin so I could find out for myself.
Up next: A bump in the road?
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01-21-2009, 05:42 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 22
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oooh, love the ballet names! can't wait to read more
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Gamma Phi Beta
Zeta Epsilon
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01-21-2009, 08:42 PM
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Super Moderator
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Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: naples, florida
Posts: 18,643
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Quote:
Originally Posted by breesquared
oooh, love the ballet names! can't wait to read more 
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me too!
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01-21-2009, 08:53 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Orlando
Posts: 123
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After orientation, I went home and began getting to work on finalizing my Recommendation letters. I have a few sorority women in my family, and they helped me secure recs for American Ballet Theatre (I had 2 in this house), San Francisco Ballet, and Boston Ballet. I managed to secure one to New York City Ballet on my own, but never heard from any of the alums I contacted from Atlanta Ballet or Pacific Northwest Ballet. I wasn't too bothered by this because recs weren't do or die, and I already had my mind set on NYCB or ABT (I know, I know...I never said I was a good PNM!).
The week my recs were sent off, I got a letter in the mail from Panhellenic. The GPA that my school had calculated for my admission was .1 lower than the GPA required to participate in recruitment. I knew this couldn't be right because I graduated with a 3.0! I was quickly on the phone with the director of Greek Life, had my final transcripts faxed to their office, and everything was fixed. I was still on the road to joining a sorority.
I spent my summer shopping for recruitment outfits, preparing to make the move to my school and talking to other incoming freshman. I made friends with another girl that we'll call Laura, and she was going through recruitment too. I also kept in touch with the girl I talked to from New York City Ballet, and I was really starting to want to call her my sister. Finally, July was over and it was time for me to go!
I moved into my apartment on August 1st, so I had about a week to get ready for recruitment. I made a list of what I would wear on each day and planned everything down to my undies. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to my clothes.
Finally, it was the night of our Info session where we would meet our Pi Chi groups and find out everything we needed to know about how the week would progress. Emily and I decided to go together, so we'd know somebody. I dressed casual, just like they told us to. But when I walked into the Student Union, I instantly felt like I was in over my head. Apparently my idea of casual and everyone else's idea of casual was very different. I wore cute jeans, a cute top and a pair of ballet flats. These girls were almost all in khaki shorts, Ralph Lauren Oxfords and Sperrys. They all looked the same, and I was scared (I was voted Most Unique in high school, so I was never one to be like the other girls).
I checked in, was given my name tag and recruitment shirt, and told where I could find my Pi Chis (we had 2). The second I saw them, I felt so much better. One of them was in jeans and a T Shirt! As silly as it sounds, that made me feel so much better. Our Pi Chis introduced themselves and told us little bit about themselves without giving away any info concerning their real identities (they had code names, mine were Sunny and Cher) or affiliations. Then they broke down the schedule of the week for us. We would have Open House round for the first two days, visiting 3 chapters each day. Philanthropy Day would be day three, Skit Day would be day 4, Pref Day would day 5 with Bid Day being day 6. Our Pi Chis then explained a little bit about each sorority to us. They told us that this year was the first year American Ballet Theatre was participating in formal recruitment since they had just come back to campus from a break. Rumors were flying about why they had left in the first place, but I tried to ignore them.
I knew one of the girls in my Pi Chi group, we'll call her Ashley. Thank goodness for her, because I was incredibly shy and too scared to talk to many other girls, even though they all seemed nice. Over the summer, we had figured out we had the same birthday thanks to the Facebook group that was out there for our class. Ashley and I decided that we would ride together to our parties the next day. We were scheduled to meet around 9 the next morning with parties starting at 10:30 or 11 (I don't remember haha). I went home to get some sleep, which didn't work very well because I was very, very excited!
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01-21-2009, 08:58 PM
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GreekChat Member
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18
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After orientation, I went home and began getting to work on finalizing my Recommendation letters. I have a few sorority women in my family, and they helped me secure recs for American Ballet Theatre (I had 2 in this house), San Francisco Ballet, and Boston Ballet. I managed to secure one to New York City Ballet on my own, but never heard from any of the alums I contacted from Atlanta Ballet or Pacific Northwest Ballet. I wasn't too bothered by this because recs weren't make or break, and I already had my eye set on NYCB or ABT (I know, I know...I never said I was a good PNM!).
The week my recs were sent off, I got a letter in the mail from Panhellenic. The GPA that my school had calculated for my admission was .1 lower than the GPA required to participate in recruitment. I knew this couldn't be right because I graduated with a 3.0! I was quickly on the phone with the director of Greek Life, had my final transcripts faxed to their office, and everything was fixed. I was still on the road to joining a sorority.
I spent my summer shopping for recruitment outfits, preparing to make the move to my school and talking to other incoming freshman. I made friends with another girl that we'll call Laura, and she was going through recruitment too. I also kept in touch with the girl I talked to from New York City Ballet, and I was really starting to want to call her my sister. Finally, July was over and it was time for me to go!
I moved into my apartment on August first, so I had about a week to get ready for recruitment. I made a list of what I would wear on each day and planned everything down to my undies. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to my clothes.
Finally, it was the night of our Info session where we would meet our Pi Chi groups and find out everything we needed to know about how the week would progress. Emily and I decided to go together, so we'd know somebody. I dressed casual, just like they told us to. But when I walked into the Student Union, I instantly felt like I was in over my head. Apparently my idea of casual and everyone else's idea of casual was very different. I wore cute jeans, a cute top and a pair of ballet flats. These girls were almost all in khaki shorts, Ralph Lauren Oxfords and Sperrys. They all looked the same, and I was scared (I was voted Most Unique in high school, so I was never privy to what everyone else was doing).
I checked in, was given my name tag and recruitment shirt, and told where I could find my Pi Chis (we had 2). The second I saw them, I felt so much better. One of them was in jeans and a T Shirt! As silly as it sounds, that made me feel so much better. Our Pi Chis introduced themselves and told us little bit about themselves without giving away any info concerning their real identities (they had code names, mine were Sunny and Cher) or affiliations. Then they broke down the schedule of the week for us. We would have Open House round for the first two days, visiting 3 chapters each day. Philanthropy Day would be day three, Skit Day would be day 4, Pref Day would day 5 with Bid Day being day 6. Our Pi Chis then explained a little bit about each sorority to us. They told us that this year was the first year American Ballet Theatre was participating in formal recruitment since they had just come back to campus from a break. Rumors were flying about why they had left in the first place, but I tried to ignore them.
I knew one of the girls in my Pi Chi group, we'll call her Ashley. Thank goodness for her, because I was incredibly shy and too scared to talk to many other girls, even though they all seemed nice. Over the summer, we had figured out we had the same birthday thanks to the Facebook group that was out there for our class. Ashley and I decided that we would ride together to our parties the next day. We were scheduled to meet around 9 the next morning with parties starting at 10:30 or 11 (I don't remember haha). I went home to get some sleep, which didn't work very well because I was very, very excited!
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01-21-2009, 10:29 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: West Coast
Posts: 586
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I am really enjoying your story thus far, and am going to root for PNW Ballet since that's my town's company!
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01-21-2009, 10:42 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 54
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I can't wait to hear more of your story!
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01-21-2009, 11:50 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18
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I woke up quite early that morning to start getting ready. For Day 1, I wore a light blue dress with brown and white flowers and brown sandals. I headed up to the place we were set to meet, and chatted with one of my Pi Chis and a couple of other girls. I definitely thought I could end up being friends with these girls and I hoped that I would end up in the same sorority as a few of them.
We got our schedules and found out that we would be visiting New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet and San Francisco Ballet that day. Before we left, we played a "getting to know you" game with Starbursts and then it was time for parties!
Ashley and I drove down to Greek Row with a few other girls and walked up to New York City Ballet's house. It was pretty early in the day, and it was already SO HOT. They lined us up alphabetically, and we waited for what seemed like forever. Finally, the Pi Chis started counting down and sounds of cheers, chants and banging on doors spread all thoughout the row. The doors flew open, and in we went. I was taken back by how beautiful the inside of the house was. I was paired with a girl who had the same name as me, from the same state AND she was a dancer too! This was a little crazy. With so much in common, you think we would have had a lot to talk about. Not so much. The conversation was very awkward, and after talking about dance competitions the silence hit. I could tell she was nervous, so I tried not to think she was awkward, but I really couldn't help it. She asked me all the standard questions, but outside of that, nothing picked up. I went from loving the idea of being an NYCB, to not wanting to be one at all. I saw my friend from Orientation and she waved, and then it was out the door and on to Boston Ballet!
The cheers here were even louder than at NYCB, and to this day they still stick in my head. They took us into the Chapter room to listen to the President speak, and then we were scattered around the house. I was sat in a chair and the active sat at my feet, which I really didn't know how to react to. We found out that we were both Pre-Med and taking some of the same classes that semester. The girl's little then came up and talked to us for a little bit which was pretty cool. The only other thing that I remember was that this girl had a very high pitched voice. She was very sweet, and made me feel very comfortable though. I definitely thought I could see myself here. In what seemed like seconds, it was time for us to go.
For the last party of the day, we went to San Francisco Ballet. This house was absolutely beautiful from the outside, so I could only imagine what it looked like inside. I was grabbed at the door by a very cute, bubbly brunette. When I looked around at all the actives, I instantly felt very inadequate. They were all very tall, and very gorgeous. It was like a chapter of models. From the second I walked in I knew I didn't belong there. I saw a lot of actives shooting glances at my back (I have a tattoo between my shoulder blades) and it made me uneasy. My active talked about nothing but the keggers she and her boyfriend would host and how she somehow managed to kill every pet she's ever had. I was not a party girl at this point, so I was really turned off. I wouldn't be disappointed to not be invited back.
Finally, my day was over. We decided to go out to dinner as a group that night, and I was excited for that. We went to a little place near campus and just talked about our days and got to know the other girls. Our Pi Chis tried to get us to guess what their affiliations were, but they wouldn't tell us if we were right or wrong. After dinner, they told us to meet same place, same time to prepare for day 2 of Open House. I talked to Emily after I got home, and she told me that she wasn't sure if sorority life was for her. She was going to give it another day or two and then decide. Laura was loving it just as much as I was.
Next up: Day 2!
Last edited by pasdechat; 01-21-2009 at 11:51 PM.
Reason: spelling!
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01-22-2009, 12:03 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 4,419
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Hahaha omg that girl who talked about keggers and dead pets sounds ummm interesting!
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lies one 0-----,, that binds us
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01-22-2009, 01:13 AM
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GreekChat Member
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 798
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First, I LOVE that we've had multiple dance-related recruitments. That's pretty awesome.
Second, I have no personal favorites- just good luck!
P.S.- I love your username! I suck at pas de chat, but pique turns are my specialty!
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01-22-2009, 12:02 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 18
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The next day, I wore a black and white halter dress with black ballet flats. I met up with my group, and we found out we would be going to Atlanta Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. I was so excited for Atlanta Ballet and ABT.
Atlanta Ballet was first, and I could not wait. I knew this was a top chapter, so I was also pretty nervous. Their house was HUGE and so pretty. The Pi Chis counted down, the cheering started, and in we went. I was picked up by an absolutely adorable girl. We circled around the chapter room, to listen to the President speak. Our actives stood behind us, and then moved us to our spot when the president was done. Instantly, my girl was like "I LOVE your tattoo!". That made me feel really good after my experience at San Francisco Ballet yesterday. She never got the chance to ask me the standard questions because our conversation just took off. I loved every second of it. When it was time to go, I just knew I'd be crushed if I wasn't invited back here for Philanthropy round. I wanted to see more!
Next up was Pacific Northwest Ballet. I was so nervous, because this was what people considered to be the best of the best. Perfect Southern Belles (a.k.a. not me). I had had a bad run in with them at an Open House I attended at the school earlier in the year and I was just not looking forward to it. But I was pleasantly surprised. I was paired with a girl from my home state and she felt like somebody I had known forever. She was so funny and I think we laughed more than we talked. As much as I liked her, I knew this was not the house I belonged in. It was time for us to go and it was off to American Ballet Theatre!
It was incredibly hot, and most of us were feeling the weather. A girl standing in line at NYCB actually passed out while we were waiting for this party! I was so excited for this house. There were a lot of ABT's who were friends of my family and I loved them. Soon enough, the cheering started and we were ushered in. I was one of the last in line, and when I walked in there was no one there to greet me. Um, WHAT?! Someone just kind of pulled me off to the side, and I just awkwardly stood in the chapter room and listened to the President speak without an active by my side. Once everyone moved around, one of the girls I had spoke to at First Night Out grabbed me and pulled me over with her and her PNM. She started apologizing and picked up the conversation. I was so distracted from being ditched that I didn't contribute much. I was really upset because I wanted to love this house. When it was time for us to go, I was very glad.
We met with our Pi Chis and they told us to be at the union at 7 to watch a movie and receive our invites for Philanthropy round. We were told that if we weren't invited back anywhere that we would get a phone call by 6:30. At this point, the only group I wanted to see on my list was Atlanta Ballet.
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