Absolutely Gorgeous!-- Live Recruitment Thread

[2008]

Hello all you WONDERFUL people on GreekChat! You have no idea how much I appreciate all of your help and advice! This site has truely been a godsend for people like me who are INCREDIBLY nervous about rush.

Anyways, I have been truely INSPIRED by all of your recruitment stories, and have decided to start my own thread. I am determined to make this thread TOTALLY annonymous until after BidDay.

Background info (Fall 2007-- incoming freshman):
Being an alumnae, my mother insisted that I go through rush at my new school. She worked hard to get everything I needed for registration and reccommendations. (I go to a competitive school and recs are pretty important). Even though she was so incredibly into it, I was not. I really had little interest in going through recruitment, even though you could say I fit the sorority girl "mold" (not the partying necessarily, but the cute girl, really into sisterhood like friendships, experienced with different types of volunteer work, and involved in a lot of different things). Part of the reason I did not want to rush is because everything was so new. College was a whole different world than what I was used to- thousands of organizations and clubs and on top of that you have to handle the college work! The other part (and I know this is terrible) is that my boyfriend did not want me to go through rush. While I was up at my new school, he was still back in our hometown thinking that if I joined a sorority I would not have time for him! (Don't worry I dumped him already, and am SOOOO happy). The point is that recruitment was before school began, and before I had the time to discover what college life was like without having a huge commitment to a sorority. (I am not one to do things halfway, so I knew if I ever joined it would be a BIG commitment)

Saturday: I had to move in a week before school starts for recruitment. I was very excited about my new place, and that I had gotten a GREAT pot luck roommate (who I am actually living with this year ).

Sunday Evening: We had convocation, where we got little folders with info and met our RhoChis/RhoGammas/GammaChis. It was more like an informative meeting than a meet and greet, so I still felt extremely iffy about actually going through with rush.

Monday: This was our first official day, and I met up with some friends to go to Rush. I knew some girls who were going through recruitment, but none were in my RhiChi/RhoGamma/GammaChi group, but I didnt really mind because I was very open to making new friends. Monday was a LONG, hot day filled with twelve houses of very excited, very loud girls. I went through the day with a positive attitude, and it seemed like a lot of the houses liked me (I think there were probably 3 I didnt quite click with). After returning home that night, I was exhausted and overwhelmed with everything, and I did not want to go back for day 2. This was partly because I do not like doing things halfheartedly, and partly because I would have felt guilty to take the place of a girl who desperately wanted a house when I really didnt care.

Tuesday: I decided not to attend day 2.

As the year progressed, I became more acquainted with college life and what it had to offer. Classes were much harder than I expected, but I managed. The organizations I joined were great, but I still felt like I was missing somthing. I had met a few great friends, some in a sorority and some not. My friends were always talking about fun things they got to do with their sisters, and I missed being a part of a close knit group of girls like I was in high school.

I decided I would give recruitment a second try. I feel like I know more of what sorority life is like, and a little more about each organization. I excitedly put together a resume and got another round of reccommendation letters, but this time all on my own. I think that getting to put together my rush packets myself really helped me become more and more excited about it! I really and truely cannot wait to (hopefully) become a member of a sisterhood. Anyhow, I am going into a competitive rush at my university in a little less than a week. Although I feel like I am going to be the most excited rushee (there will probably be 800+ so its hard to actually verify that claim), I am at a disadvantage being a sophomore. I have a few friends pulling for me in different houses, but I am going in with a completely open mind!

I am hoping that posting my story live will help relieve some of the stress of the week and eventually help another girl going through a similar situation. So that I remain annonymous, I have decided to call the different chapters by different "absolutely gorgeous" tropical vacation places:

1. Honolulu
2. Maui
3. Malibu
4. Caymans
5. Bahamas
6. Miami
7. Tahiti
8. Fiji
9. St. Tropez
10. Jamaica
11. Cancun
12. Cabo