Feeling elated, I filled out my paper and handed it over. It read:
1.
Prancer
2.
Vixen
3.
Dasher
As I walked back to the student parking lot to meet up with Kate, my heart was pounding. I couldn't explain why I had suddenly decided to rank
Prancer first - it was like my pen had started writing those letters down before I'd even realized my hand was moving. Was this "that feeling" the Rho Gammas had been describing all week? They had all said that they "just knew" when they'd found their home. Deep down, I
know I felt it that night.
Prancer had everything I wanted in a sorority: a diverse group of girls with different interests and personalities, strong community service efforts, great scholarship programs, a rich history, an active social calendar... this was the well-rounded chapter I'd been searching for all week. I felt good about my decision. That is, until I heard about Kate's day. Her expression was very blank as I got into her car. "Everything okay?" I asked. "How'd it go today?"
"I got dropped from
Cupid," she said. I was very surprised! After hearing the way she talked about them all week, she seemed like a shoe-in. But they had dropped her, and she only preffed
Vixen and
Prancer. "I put
Vixen first and
Prancer second. Might as well finish this thing, right?" She did not sound too happy at all. That night, we talked for a long time about how tough this week had been. We made a pact that no matter where we ended up tomorrow, we would both go to Bid Day and give it a chance. As I tried to get some sleep, I couldn't help but second-guess myself. Had I been right to chooise
Prancer at the last moment like that? Maybe I was meant to be a
Vixen with Kate! Had I, in some messed up way, just altered my destiny or something?? Though still pondering these existential questions, I eventually drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Kate and I made our way to the Student Union, where bid cards would be distributed. As we signed in, we were asked to make a guess as to our Rho Gamma's affiliation - I immediately guessed
Prancer, remembering how elated Boston had seemed when I handed over my choices the night before. And then came the waiting. Ohhhhh lord did we wait! It seemed like everyone and their mother had some sort of speech to make, and all of the Pan Exec members would tease us with things like - "It's alllllllllllllllllllllllllmost time to read your cards!" or "Who wants to open your envelope?? Oh, well, you can't!" It was cruel and unusual.
Then, they announced that they would be revealing our Rho Gammas' affiliations next. Honestly? I DIDN'T CARE! I WAS SICK OF SITTING ON MY BID CARD!
Still, when all the Rho Gammas ran onto the stage in jerseys, I was elated to see Boston in
Prancer colors!! I had guessed right! How exciting! I couldn't believe I had actually - oh, wait, never mind. This was a trick. The Rho Gammas laughed and exited the stage, going into an anteroom just off to the side. Yes, yes,
hilarious. Could we
please open our Bid Cards now?? The suspense was KILLING me! The Rho Gammas returned, this time in their real jerseys; Boston was a
Rudolph. This definitely surprised me, but I was more anxious about my bid card than her affiliation. When it seemed like the PNMs could wait no longer, and you could cut the tension in the air with knife, the Pan President
FINALLY announced that we could open our envelopes! Immediately, I was on my feet, tearing open the tiny white envelope. The next few seconds seemed to go by in slow-motion. The card was backwards. My heart was pounding. I took a deep breath, and tried to steady myself - all around me, the room had erupted in screams of excitement and girls were flying past me, running to join the Rho Gammas from their new house. Unable to take the anxiety another millisecond, I flipped the card over and gasped. It read:
Prancer
would like to cordially invite
Scrantonicity
to become a member of the Alpha Alpha* Chapter
at The University I Attend
I was going to be a Prancer! I was so overcome with emotion, I could barely walk over to where the rest of my pledge class was standing. I remember taking a few pictures, and the next thing I know, we were making the short walk over to Greek Row. Everyone was outside - there were colorful balloons, wooden letters on every lawn, and guys in fraternity jerseys everywhere I looked. I was in a complete daze, I just couldn't believe that after a week of nothing but disappiointment, I had gotten my top choice! This seemed so surreal. My pledge class had reached the Prancers now, and everyone was being greeted by a sister. I looked around. Was I supposed to just go up and hug someone too? I didn't see any of the girls I had talked to that week... Then all of a sudden, the sea of girls in front of me parted just enough that I could look past them, and there was Tara!! She literally screamed, pushed two fraternity guys out of her way, and flung her arms around me! We were both crying at this point, and she just kept saying over and over again, "I knew it! I knew you would run home to me!"
And, well, the rest really is history! Tara was my Bid Day buddy, and really took care of me those first couple of weeks. She always made sure I knew about events and got me involved in the first dance competition of the year. But she wasn't the only amazing sister I hung out with. Through dance practices alone, I met so many of them! I grew to love and respect the sisters of
Prancer, and it didn't take me long to find my big. She isn't Tara, but she is now one of my very best friends and I can't even
imagine anyone else being my big sister - not even Jessica from
Blitzen. Tara and I are, of course, still friends and sisters. I'll always have a special place in my heart for her, because she was truly the reason I chose to go
Prancer.
Some updates:
- My roommate Kate pledged
Vixen, and although she wasn't entirely thrilled about it initially, she now loves it. She and I were roomies for two whole semesters, and managed to become pretty good friends. Her initial coldness wore off, and I got to see a much lighter, goofier side. We no longer live together, but we see each other occasionally.
- Kate's family friend Claire ended up getting her second choice,
Dasher - her first was
Vixen, and needless to say, Kate was very glad they didn't end up sisters. Joining a sorority was great for Claire, especially. She grew up a lot, and I'm happy that
Dasher wound up being the right place for her.
- My friend Mary, who dropped out of Recruitment, remained a little turned off by the Greek system for quite a while. She got involved in other things, and focused on her schoolwork. She did, however, decide to go through again this fall - I am happy to report that she is now a
Prancer, too!
- Jamie, the quiet redhead from my Rho Gam group, went to her FIRST CHOICE,
Dancer. Despite "tent talk" they were her favorite from the beginning, and she has truly thrived there. I see her from time to time, and she is very happy!
- Rachel, the annoying show-off, went....
Blitzen. No hard feelings toward that house whatsoever, but... yeah.
- The INFAMOUS Skunk-Hair somehow got herself a bid from
Vixen but, according to Kate, lasted about three weeks. She had quite a few issues with their Standards Board and wound up dropping voluntarily. Apparently, the girl had no standards. Hmm, surprise surprise.
- Boston, my wonderful Rho Gamma from
Rudolph would later tell me that the reason she was so thrilled that I'd ranked
Prancer first that night was because that was the house she'd seen me in from Day One. I guess she was the only one who called it!
Phew. That's my story! It was a rollercoaster ride through and through, but I'm pleased to say that my "Retro" Recruitment story had a VERY happy ending. I love my chapter. I love my sisters. I love my organization. I was always a
Prancer, I just didn't know it!
Now, as this is a very very long post, I'll let this story marinate a little while before I post the many lessons I learned going through FR, and my advice for future PNM GCers! Hope you guys enjoyed the read!
* Obviously, this is not my real chapter!
I really can't believe how popular this thread has gotten! I will make sure and find time tomorrow to sit down and really do the rest of my story justice. Thank you all so much for reading, I'm so happy that so many of you have enjoyed it!!
I would like to ask though, that if anyone has a guess as to my school, please PM it to me rather than posting. I'll fess up if you've guessed right!
Hybrid Mode
