Okay, the votes are in. Full story it is. I'll just tell it as quickly as possible.
BTW, I love the tangents we go on. This one has been very interesting. I'm certain that all the NPCs have non-discrimination clauses by now. I know KD does. Buttonz, was there a time when SDT was strictly "Jewish Only?" I'm curious about this with AEPhi as well. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know that DPhiE was founded as non-sectarian. I thought only Phi Sig Sig was. I love learning about the NPCs.
Alright, on with the story...
One by one the girls in the lounge got housing. Teri and I were the last. I was assigned to another high-rise
and Teri got placed on the other end of campus in Montgomery. For me, Montgomery was prime real estate; right near the restaurants, bars, sororities and fraternities, and closer to my classes. Plus, the modern high-rises just weren’t fitting into my F. Scott Fitzgerald vision of college life. I really wanted Montgomery. I begged, pleaded, and (knowing her weakness) even offered Teri money to swap room assignments. It worked! I moved into Montgomery Hall, got a great roommate and met some really wonderful girls. In hindsight I'd say that it changed the course of my life.
I loved being a Water Skiing pledge. My dorm room walls were plastered with Water Skiing symbols. The sisters were wonderful. I got a fantastic big sis, “Angela”
and made some close friends in my pledge class. My closest group of friends were,
“Irene”
, “Tabitha”
, and “Becky”
(who I was the closest to).
Back then, pledge periods were a full semester; about 3 ½ months. I found that I was completely unprepared for college level work. I was seriously lacking in study skills and was basically majoring in “sorority.” By the end of the semester I didn’t have the GPA to be initiated. Neither did “Becky” or “Irene.” “Tabitha” decided that Water Skiing wasn’t good enough for her and ended up depledging. There was no COB/COR at Maryland at the time. (It's possible that a few chapters did some informal rushing in the spring, but I wasn’t aware of it.) “Tabitha” planned on going through Rush again the next fall.
It was really hard to see the rest of my pledge class become sisters without me. Irene, Becky and I (and 3 others) were "hold-over" pledges and were given the next semester to make grades. I returned to Maryland after Christmas Break determined to make grades and be initiated. Everything was going pretty well and I was making plans to move into the chapter house in the fall.
By mid-semester, though, things got pretty shaky in my life. My parents got divorced. Our home went up for sale. I didn’t know where my father was. His work usually took him out of town, often to Europe, for months at a time. My mother was going through a very difficult time. I didn’t know where my brother was and I learned that my sister had gotten addicted to drugs. I felt like the foundation of my life was being shaken to its core. I was an emotional wreck.
Just before the end of the semester, I got a devastating call from my father. My sister had tried to commit suicide and was hospitalized. I was on the next flight home to L.A.
I’ll post more in the morning. (The memories are getting to me.)
Threaded Mode
