My NPHC Journey

[I<3Azaleas]

*Disclaimer* This story will not be complete for many months. I am currently going through the process so I don't know how it will turn out. One thing that I do know for certain is that there will be a break in the story due to summer vacation.

About me- I'm currently a junior at a university in the Northeast. My school doesn't have GLO's so I'm attending the events of a city wide chapter. I'm not going to reveal my university or the sorority because I want to be completely honest. I've had almost perfect attendance (minus 1) at their events for the past six months. Despite this I've only been to 7 or 8 events because they don't have events very often.

General observations. Like I said before, I'm going to be very blunt. I don't intend to come across as catty/gossipy but I'm trying to observe everything with a critical eye.

The PNM's:

Kaede- We're friends and she usually drives me to the events. She's nice but she has a tendency to dominate the conversation. She's one of those people who always has to bring the topic of conversation back to some aspect of her life. However, I don't think it's intentional; she's just very chatty/opinionated. She never drives me home because she always bolts after the events finish. No joke; the speaker the other night was thanking everyone for coming and Kaede already had her jacket on and was angled towards the door. At the last event she loudly exclaimed that, "staying after and talking at these things is [was] pointless because you don't have to." She then stormed out shouting about how many exams she had to study for. *cue eyebrow raise*

Narcissa- I don't know her real name but this one seems fitting. I honestly don't think I've ever met anyone as conceited as her. She ALWAYS says more than what is asked. i.e. if someone said "describe yourself in three words." She would say "I'm ambitious because I started a program at my school my sophmore year. It was called blah blah blah and we did blah blah blah. I really felt that my school had a need for a group like this because it was obvious that we were lacking in this area blah blah blah. I am also confident because. . . ." <That was an actual question and answer of hers from the other night. She also manages to put other people down while complimenting herself. i.e. we were talking about majors and one PNM said that she was a Psychology major. Narcissa then said "Ohh, that sounds like a fun major. I'm so OCD that I needed a major that was guaranteed to you know, actually lead somewhere. That's why I'm pre-med with a concentration in cardiology."

The Members:

Naomi- I've known her since freshman year also. Her reputation on campus isn't so great. She's known to be opportunistic (in a bad way) and superficial. Judging from our interactions over the past three years. . . I don't disagree with this. However, she is extremely passionate about the things that matter to her. We have the same major and sometimes when I hear her talk about it I get goosebumps. She is also very passionate about her sorority and the bonds that they have.

Liz- She's the president. She seems to be the most genuine out of all the girls in the chapter. She's extremely soft spoken and shy but she makes an effort to talk to most of the PNM's. Also I feel like she's actually listening when we speak.

The members overall- The girls tend to be very cliquey. It's hard to mingle after events when they're all clustered together laughing at an inside joke. I understand that this is the first time many of them are going through this process from the other side, but it can be somewhat discouraging. Despite this, I don't sprint out of the events (like Kaede). I typically hang out for an additional 10-15 minutes chatting with the other girls.

They have a tea in an hour so I'll be back later tonight with an update.