My not-so-perfect rush story

LOVEinZTA · #1 07-21-2007, 10:31 PM

I give in, so if you don't like 'em, don't read 'em!

I went through formal recruitment in the Spring of 2006. A few things to set the stage for you:

-I went to a very competitive private high school where probably a good 75% of the graduates went greek. Also, about half of the faculty members had been in GLOs in college and the large majority parents were greek. That being said, I was definitely in the minority. Both my parents went to college but neither knew anything about greek life. Needless to say, I was pretty clueless and the girls I went to school with were always talking my senior year about what rush was going to be like and attempting to educate me.
-In context of the high school I attended and the college at which I would go through recruitment, my family was not very well off. I didn't own designer clothing (or even really go shopping much), go on ski trips, drive a Lexus, fake tan, or get my nails done weekly. Someone in one of the recent retro threads talked about how insecure she was, how she felt everyone was better/prettier/smarter than her, and how she knew her recruitment wouldn't go well. That was me as well, so read her intro and you'll get the gist of it!

The Beginning

As I said before, I grew up in an environment with many, many greeks around even though I didn't really know it. My first small exposure to greek life occurred when a friend went through recruitment at the school I would attend. I think I was a sophomore in high school at the time but I remember my mother calling a million parents from my school to try to get recs for her. She and I were friends but not terribly close. When I visited my future school me senior year of high school, I stayed with her and she showed me around. She graduated the spring before I started college.

When I had finally decided where I was going to school, I filled out a little card that my area Panhellenic had sent me to let them know where'd I'd be going. Within 2 weeks I had 7 people call me and ask if I wanted the to write me recommendations for the respective chapters. I really had no clue what that meant at the time so I said "Sure!" and took down their names and chapters to write thank you notes later.

Because I'm a coffee lover, I'm going to name the chapters present at my school after different coffee drinks!

Cappuccino - This was one of the 2 chapters on campus that I didn't have a rec for initially. I didn't really know anything about them - one girl that I graduated high school with joined this chapter at a different school but that was about it. My previously mentioned friend helped find someone to write me a recommendation from this chapter.
Latte - 80% of the girls I graduated HS with ended up pledging this chapter at whatever school they attended which on one hand made me want to hate them but on the other really intrigued me. From what I could tell, they seemed really put together.
Mocha - A girl a few years older than me from my high school was a member of this chapter - I didn't know her well but I had run in the fall and she was very friendly.
Americano - A couple girls about the same age as the girl I knew in Mocha from my high school were in this chapter, but I didn't know them at all. Their girls all seemed very athletic, something I wasn't!
Espresso - These girls were known for being very smart, which definitely attracted me to their chapter!
Macchiato - I believe this was the largest chapter on campus at the time and a few girls from my high school whom I DEFINITELY didn't get along with joined this sorority at different schools. As such, I probably wasn't as open to them as I should have been.
Cafe au Lait - This was my friend's old chapter. They were apparently a smaller chapter but all of their members were very, very sweet to me and they seemed to be a diverse group.
French Press - This house took every girl with a unique name, I swear. They're girls were VERY put together and were all very active overachievers.
Ristresso - I had met the recruitment chair from this chapter over the summer at orientation but I really didn't know anything about the rest of the girls or the organization.

Obligatory Disclaimer: Any opinions represented here are the first impressions of a clueless 18 year old.

More in a bit!

tld221 · #2 07-21-2007, 10:50 PM

i think i may have my first "i know what school(s) you rushed!" moment and im excited about it. don't know if its known from your other posts or if you made it intentionally obvious, but i figure if lil ol me could guess it, then reading these retro threads have paid off! im SO PMing you!

and ausome how alums called YOU asking if YOU wanted recommendations - very fortunate!

LOVEinZTA · #3 07-22-2007, 01:05 AM

I definitely didn't realize it at the time, but I was INCREDIBLY lucky to have people calling me to write recs because I definitely didn't have a clue what I was doing!

Over the summer I also remember distinctly getting a phone call from an alum of Espresso who was asking me how my preparations for college were going and if I had any questions about greek life. (Of course I had a million questions but she called and woke me up from a nap so my mind was completely blank!) No other chapters did this (and I'm not quite sure they were supposed to but how was I going to know?) so I figured that those Espresso girls were just really sweet!

Cast of Characters
With names being changed of course...

Ellie - One of my roommates who definitely wasn't from the south and was quite opinionated on everything.
Lola - Girl who lived across the hall who was sure she was going to join French Press or Latte.
Ashley - Lived down the hall and was positive she'd be a Macchiato or French Press.
Lisa - Lived on the other side of my floor, was very positive and open through everything. We'd had a few classes together first semester.
Kate - Lived across the hall from Lisa, her sister was a member of Cafe au Lait but Kate wasn't sure she wanted to be in the same chapter as her biological sister. She said she wanted to find her own home and have her own friends.

Those are the important people for right now. More in the morning!

LOVEinZTA · #4 07-22-2007, 01:57 PM

Fall Semester

My school had deferred recruitment, but the initial "open houses" if you will take place in the fall. It's really cruel - girls go visit all 9 chapter in the middle of November and get excited about greek life - then they have to wait until JANUARY to go back again.

As I mentioned, there was a girl from Mocha from my high school that I ran into before open houses in the fall. She was very nice and we had exchanged phone numbers at the time. A few weeks later she had called to ask if I would have dinner with her and a few "friends" at one of the campus cafeterias (meal plans are apparently an effective recruitment tool). Of course I didn't get a chance to answer my phone because there was some roommate crisis going on at the time and by the time I got the voicemail it was too late. I decided that Mocha thought I was blowing them off and I had completely ruined any chances I had of joining they're chapter. What a great start.

Open houses were scheduled for a weekend in November and everyone started getting excited by Halloween. Lisa and I were talking about how we had absolutely no clue what recruitment was going to entail when Ashley walked up. She explained to us the structure of recruitment, cuts, and what legacies and recommendations were. Lisa frowned and said that she had heard about recs and had talked to a few people from her hometown but she didn't think it was a big deal. Ashley informed us that we clearly weren't Macchiato or French Press material because she was waiting for the last of her recs to be sent in as we were speaking. If we didn't have recs for those two chapters there was absolutely no way they would even invite us back for the first round in January. Ashley then looked at me and asked if I had any recommendations sent in. I told her that I'd had one for each chapter in by the end of the summer. She promptly shut up and walked back to her room.

With open houses being the next weekend I, being the smart girl that I am, went out to my school's football game of the season. This seemed fine at the time, but this wasn't November in New York, this was November in the south. Low and behold, I got horribly sunburned. Any normal human being would have been fine by a week later, but not me. To add to the drama, my entire body started peeling by Wednesday with the first party scheduled to start Friday around 5:00. I was absolutely positive this was going to ruin my entire recruitment, but there was really no time to worry about it all!

The First Rho Chi Meeting

Wednesday afternoon was the "recruitment orientation" meeting where I met my Rho Chi's and recruitment group. My two rho chi's were Amanda and Gina. It turned out Gina was from the same city as me and we had taken dance from the same place (though at different times). Amanda was very sweet and informative but I didn't get to talk to her too much. In my group was Lady, a girl that sat next to me in one of my classes with me at the time. It was nice to have a familiar face around! Amanda and Gina practiced lining us up (alphabetically of course) so we would know who to stand behind every time we lined up. In front of me was Mindy (I swear I could still identify her from the back of her head to this day) and behind me was Sally. We were told to wear the shirts we had received when we registered for recruitment, jeans, and comfortable shoes on Friday and meet behind the dorm I lived in at 4:30 on Friday.

tld221 · #5 07-22-2007, 02:35 PM

I'm reading! and rooting for Macchiato or Cappuchino - they're both yummy!

AlwaysSAI · #6 07-22-2007, 02:44 PM

Um, I don't drink coffee...so I'm gonna root for Espresso because I know what it is!

LOVEinZTA · #7 07-22-2007, 02:45 PM

Open Houses

I met up with my PX group at 6:30 in my recruitment shirt, jeans, and a cute pair of heels that were incredibly comfy. Our first party was going to be at Ristresso. I was about 4 people away from the back of the line and was totally alright with that because I had no clue what was going to happen...

Ristresso - The door swung open and there was much screaming before the girls went into a song. We slowly trickled inside and suddenly both Sally and I were picked up by a girl named Addison who struck up a conversation about our majors. Sally and I were both science people and Addison was a history major so Sally and I ended up talking more to each other then to her!

Americano - Ellie had said that this group was really great and that here friend Cici who lived on our floor and Cici's friends all really wanted to be in Americano. The door opened, there was more singing and clapping, and I was greeted by Lauren, a really enthusiastic girl who was happy to learn I had played sports growing up. Then Lauren's big came over and introduced herself and we chatted for a while before I was seated on the floor. It was at that time that I realized how many more girls there were in Americano and it was a little intimidating!

Espresso - I was especially interested in this chapter since I had an alum call me over the summer. When I walked in though, I was picked up by a girl who didn't seem very interested in me. I tried to make conversation with her but she just smiled and didn't respond. From what Ashley had said, if a girl did this to you it meant they didn't want you. I became quite disheartened right as she led me to have a seat. Espressos were VERY energetic and you could definitely see how much the girls loved being there. I decided that maybe Beth was just an odd one, while Ashley later suggested she might have been a legacy that the chapter "had" to take.

Latte - Oh Latte. Everyone and their dog that I knew from high school (including several of my friends) was a Latte. I went in and was met by a girl who immediately started asking me questions - What's your major? Which dorm do you live in? What floor? Where are you from? I felt like it was an interrogation - I could barely spit out one answer before she asked me a different question. I was winded! While the chapter was nice I was relieved when the party was over.

Cafe Au Lait - final party of the night! This chapter seemed a bit softer in their greeting (more singing instead of screaming) and I was happy about that since it was getting late! I had heard so much about this chapter from my friend and knew how much she loved being a part of it. She had told me that even though I might hear some "negative things" about her sisters on campus, they really were a great group. Negative things? I really hadn't heard anything, but maybe I just wasn't listening. A member took me to the back of the room and asked me a few questions about myself. I told her I knew one of their members who had graduated last spring and she asked me who. Julie turned me around and there was my friend! She had come back to help with recruitment. We screamed and hugged each other and proceeded to talk for a while. I don't know what negative things people could have been saying - I mean the chapter was a bit smaller than the others but their members were so sweet!

I went back to my dorm and then the drama REALLY started...

howtheSunrose · #8 07-22-2007, 02:59 PM

Love the coffee names! Keep writing please

twinkle555 · #9 07-22-2007, 05:01 PM

oOo DRAMA!?!

continue please!

Ocalagirl · #10 07-22-2007, 09:18 PM

oh another...I love passing the time by with great retro stories!! I would love some drama please

LOVEinZTA · #11 07-22-2007, 10:49 PM

Close to 900 girls then went back to their dorms and proceeded to gossip about all of the houses they had seen. Lisa said she has really liked Mocha and Latte while Ellie had completely fallen in love with Espresso. She couldn't stop talking about how down-to-earth the Espresso girls were and was very upset when I told her the girl I had met was spacey! Then in came Lola. She said she had visited French Press and knew this was the house she would join. She also talked about how she had visited Cafe au Lait and couldn't stand them, they were just so weird and annoying. I told her I'd had a good time at Cafe au Lait and thought they were very sweet. This sparked some intense criticism and name calling that I will not repeat, but I stood my ground and told the girls they needed to chill out. I really don't know why they were all feeling the need to pick on Cafe au Lait but I was getting sick of it and decided to go to bed for the night. I went to my room (which was next door in a building with very thin walls) and listened to some catty girls say that maybe I "was weird enough to be a Cafe au Lait anyway." I drifted off to sleep and woke up about 4 hours later to go see my last 4 houses.

Day 2 of Open Houses

I met my Rho Chis in the same place as the day before. Today we'd be visiting a few houses that were supposedly "big" on campus and Mindy in front of me seemed very excited as we got in line.

Macchiato - Oh. My. Lord. Let me start by saying that I had 3 recs/letters for this house and wasn't sure what I was going to think. I walked in to this house and all I could think about was how orange all the girls looked from fake baking (Note: this is just what I saw, not necessarily how it is, read the disclaimer in the first post). The girl who picked me up at the door spent the first 5 minutes we had talking about some girl who was supposed to be at the party who had a really unique name and had been nominated for Homecoming Queen or something.

French Press - I walked in to this party thinking if I heard their name out of Lola and Ashley's mouths one more time I might just strangle someone. I was met at the door by a girl who was very polite and conservative in the questions she asked. I looked around and these girls all seemed very put together. I met a few more sisters - I remember I was one of the last girls to leave the room because I was talking about something with one of the members but I really don't remember what it was.

Mocha - I looked back at Sally before we went in to this party and she seemed very excited. She said she had met several members of Mocha and loved them. We went in with lots of cheering and I was picked up by a girl very much down to earth who wasn't faking it like some of the other girls I had met. I ran into Sally afterwards who simply replied "those are my girls" but by this point all of the chapters were looking pretty much the same to me!

After this party we had a break and I think most of us went to grab lunch or a snack or something and we were told not to be late because if we missed the party we'd be dropped from recruitment. I made it there just fine (I'm a little OCD about being early to things) but there was one girl who had known our Rho Chi Amanda beforehand (I found out later that Amanda had previously dated the girl's brother) who didn't show up. I didn't really feel bad for her because she knew the consequences, but oddly enough she was back for recruitment in the spring...hmm.

Cappuccino - Last chapter of opens! This was the other house that my friend had helped me find a rec for initially. I met a girl who was very sweet. I couldn't really get a particular vibe from this house - I looked around and saw girls who were artsy, pretty, smart, just about everything. And I hadn't really heard or seen much of them around campus before. There wasn't really anything that stood out or pulled me in to the chapter.

I went to dinner with my greek-life-clueless boyfriend that night and was talking through everything swirling around in my head. He said something so simple (and knowing him I know that he didn't mean it to be profound) but it did actually hit me - "Just go where you're happy."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now just like I had to wait 2 and a half months, so will you.

Just kidding.

Ocalagirl · #12 07-22-2007, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOVEinZTA

2 Rho Chi groups at a time went in to each party and it just so happened that the other group in this party with me had who everyone referred to as "The Oprah Twins" so called because the year before they had appeared on Oprah Grants Your Wildest Wishes or something and was paying for both of them to attend UWacko, join organizations on campus, and whatever else they needed in college. They were campus mini-celebrities and while I could have pointed them out, I never met either of them. The girl who picked me up at the door spent the first 5 minutes we had talking about some girl who was supposed to be at the party who had a really unique name and had been nominated for Homecoming Queen or something. Then we sat down for songs which were mildly entertaining. Then the same girl picked me back up and realized the Oprah Twins were in the party. She spent the rest of the time carting me around, hand on my lower back, looking for the Oprah Twins. We never found them and then I left.

And now just like I had to wait 2 and a half months, so will you.

Just kidding.

I remember that episode!! ok this makes sense now for some of it and the atmosphere of rush.
-------
haha you better be!!

tld221 · #13 07-23-2007, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOVEinZTA

Then Jenny picked me back up and we continued to discuss Wicked, Chicago, and how much we were looking forward to Rent coming out in a few weeks.

haha, nice... thx 4 making me feel REALLY young...

ETA: i thought you meant the Bway show, but perhaps you and I are the same age-ish and are talking about the movie?

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOVEinZTA

And now just like I had to wait 2 and a half months, so will you.

Just kidding.

you bet not! we want more!

LOVEinZTA · #14 07-23-2007, 11:06 AM

Haha, no I definitely was referring to the movie. I'm attempting to update from work so we'll see how this goes!

LOVEinZTA · #15 07-23-2007, 03:43 PM

So we ended the fall semester with the following impressions:

Lola - Still loved French Press and Latte, though Macchiato was alright too
Ashley - Still thought she'd only be a French Press or Macchiato
Lisa - Really like Latte and Mocha, thought Cappuccino was nice as well
Kate - Kind of liked Espresso and Americano, wasn't sure about the rest
Ellie - Loved Espresso, liked French Press, Mocha, and Latte as well
Cici, Lindsey, Kelsi, and Cathy - Still all loved Americano, Espresso was okay too (yes, they really did all think as a group)
And I was still clueless. French press was fun to talk to, Cappuccino was sweet, I just didn't know. They all sort of blended together for me - I tried not to think about it too much.

Spring semester finally arrives

We were to come back in January for our meeting to find out who had invited us back for the first invitationals or "slide show round." I got to my room and called Ellie to see when she would be there but she didn't answer her phone. I waited and waited until about 3:40 when our meeting started at 4. I finally left and walked over to the building where our meeting was. Ellie sent me a text about 15 minutes later saying she was still home and had decided she didn't want to rush after all. I was sad that I wouldn't have her around to talk things over with but at the same time I had our room all to myself! I sat through what seemed like a 5 hour long meeting waiting to get my list of chapters that had invited me back. Finally we walked over to the computers. For 1st invitationals we could go back to a max of 7 chapters. They had us line up in our group in alphabetical order again so I not-so-patiently waited and waited and waited. I was absolutely positive at this point that they were going to sit me down and find out I hadn't been invited back anywhere. My stomach started to twist in to knots. Finally I sat down at the computer and typed in my name. Up on the screen popped:

Ristresso
Macchiato
Espresso
Cafe Au Lait
Americano
Mocha
Cappuccino

I had been cut by Latte (no surprise to me) and French Press. I was a little surprised by French Press because I thought the girl I met and I had gotten along so well but it was okay, French Presses are too difficult to work with just to get a stupid cup of coffee. I was thrilled that I'd been invited back to so many places - I had a full schedule for first round and didn't have to cut anyone! Which was great, because I had no clue what I would have done!

I skipped back to my dorm room to meet up with the girls. When I came off the elevator I saw Kate giving Lisa a hug by her room. Apparently Lisa hadn't done so well in her classes fall semester and had barely made the minimum GPA requirement of a 2.75. She had been invited back to Ristresso, Mocha, and Cafe au Lait. I reminded her of how much she had liked Mocha in the fall and she said she was happy they had asked her back, but was sure they would cut her before the end of the week. I told her not to worry about it and to figure out what shoes she was going to wear in the morning. Kate had been invited back to Cafe au Lait, Ristresso, Latte, Cappuccino, Americano, and Mocha. She seemed happy with her schedule so I started to head back to my room.

Then Lola popped out of her room and asked me where I was going tomorrow. I told her and her reply was a very sarcastic "How funny, the two who cut you were my two favorites!" She said she had been cut by Mocha and Americano but she didn't like them anyway. I told her I was going to take a nap and again on the way to me room was interrupted, this time by Ashley. She was ecstatic because they only chapter who had released her was Espresso. She said she had also cut Cafe au Lait and asked me about my schedule. She replied with "I'm sorry, well you could still be a Macchiato! They're great!" I'm sorry? What? I had a full schedule. Crazy girls.

I'm going to type up the parties in a separate post because this one's so long!