PREFERENCE NIGHT
Mentally, I prepared myself for the worst. After talking with my recruitment counselor, I knew to expect a phone call IF I was released from the system. The deadline passed with no ringing from my phone.
As my schedule that night reported, I was headed back to
Summer Cottage!! This event was in two parts.
Part One - Delicious. Cheesecake. And. Punch. I was escorted by the Big Sister of the woman I met the previous night. She was an absolute SWEETHEART! She had a knack for setting you at ease and making you feel so welcome, listening attentively to what you felt and wanted to talk about. We talked about my uncertainty about recruitment - I couldn't have been matched with a better person than her. She understood my anxieties about being the first woman in my family to join a Greek organization - she was in the same position her freshman year. She offered me a perspective on where my life could go for the next three years. As a senior, she had so many memories and amazing stories from her time in this chapter. I truly forged a connection with her and was sad to see her leave to speak to another woman.
The second woman I spoke with was a junior who had spent the previous month abroad in the Middle East, pursuing a piece of her history degree. She truly epitomized a passion for academics; she was on the Dean's List for every semester she was at school and was engaged in her studies in a way that I've rarely seen since. Even though she was such a stellar student, she still devoted time away from schoolwork to her sorority endeavors - I'd not had the opportunity to speak with someone like that prior to this, in any chapter. She clearly felt like this was a worthwhile pursuit that did not interfere with her studies - something I was a little afraid of at the time. Her experiences while abroad with a group of sisters was also very touching.
Part Two - This was a very formal glimpse into the traditions and of this sisterhood. We were each given a different flower from a group of 7. Each flower had a different meaning associated with them. Though they also stressed how our differences make us stronger - just like each flower enriches the bouquet in the center of the room. This sentiment really appealed to me, since I was far from the cookie-cutter sorority woman. The women around me, both sisters and PNMs, were the same way. The sorority women were from different places and had different aims, but these women forged such strong bonds with each other. Pairs of sisters shared personal stories involving their experiences together in ADPi and women who joined the previous spring talked about their experiences while making the choice to join this chapter. This culminated in a candle pass dedicated to friendship.
I fell in love with this chapter. Completely. Through the women I met on Pref Night, I discovered the heart of this chapter and how it resonated with me. I found a place in this chapter for my passion for academics and my desire to study abroad. I found a desire to attract diverse sisters and offer them a common bond without limiting them from excelling in other arenas. I found friendship, understanding, and kindness. I found a place I could call home. I could confidently make the decision to try and run home the next morning to
Summer Cottage.
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