For anyone interested, my cousin got her bid. She's a proud new
Delta Zeta turtle! I'm very happy for her.
Day 3: Prefs!
I worked for a while making sure I looked good for this party. I had a beautiful black dress (yes, I blended in with the sisters), my hair was done well, my face was great- I felt super confident. Before we left for the parties, Darcy, Betty, and myself took a really cute picture of us in a line- unfortunately it didn’t turn out, but I still feel like it would have been a cute picture!
After another annoying (and nervewracking!) wait for my schedule, I finally got it…
Elphaba | Nessarose
I was super excited! A full schedule, and invites back to both houses. I was super excited about Elphaba’s party, and I was hopeful that I would get an even better feel for Nessarose. Darcy’s invites were to Elphaba and Glinda, as were Betty’s and Amanda’s. I was so hopeful that I might get to call those girls sisters.
First, the Elphaba party.
Elphaba: I don’t remember the décor for this party. I remember we had some kind of cake- it was very yummy! The sister was a senior or junior, and we also formed an immediate connection. At the beginning of the party, I noticed little “Chinese take out” style boxes in front of us, with our names on them. My active told me to open it. Inside were three notes, from sisters I had met during recruitment. All were extremely sweet, and talked about how much they loved me. I wanted to take it, but my active told me about “no taking things” rule. We had a good talk- mostly about majors and stuff, and I remember her mentioning a mutual friend that she loved. We then did the ceremony, as all the PNMs stood in a circle with their active behind them. All the parts were memorized- a wonderful touch, though it was clear the sisters had moments where they struggled for their line. That was okay though. Two sisters then sang a song, and another danced. While this could have gotten corny, it was really sweet and beautiful. It really tugged at my heart strings- I could just feel their bond. They then did what they called the pearl necklace. Each of our actives handed us a pearl (plastic, really…). The president then started around a string, and each PNM placed their pearl onto the string. It was really beautiful- until one of the actives dropped the string! We had quite a laugh about that. They got it all on there again though, and we finished. We still had more time to talk to our actives afterwards though. My active asked if I had made my decision. This was a really uncomfortable moment for me- I KNEW that I felt at home in Elphaba. But I still had Nessarose to go to, and I didn’t want to blow their party off. I told her that I still had a party to go to- but I felt very sure in my current preference. I strongly implied that this was a place I loved. Then the bell rang- she told me she hoped to see me tomorrow (Bid Day). I walked out of here with a decision intact, but I was trying my best to keep an open mind.
Nessarose: We walked in, and the same active that I had the day before picked me up. I was double rushed here again. We talked about everything but sorority life- our mutual love of sports, our nerd tendencies. We had a good conversation- but I wondered why none of it was about sorority life. We ate cake here too, which was DELICIOUS! My active had really cute shoes on too, which we talked about briefly. Then they did a ceremony. All the PNMs were seated in chairs, with the actives surrounding us in a circle. This ceremony was not memorized- that took points off for me. They sang a beautiful song- I believe it was called “In This Very Room.” I’ve Googled it since- it’s a Christian song, but they took the word Jesus and placed sisters. It worked- it was great. First, a big/little pair read letters to each other, which was very sweet. A sister told a story of how supportive her sisters were when her dad died. The president went through a list of all the things that the sisters loved doing together.- some of these things were interests of mine too. Right after that, they lit candles (which is technically a no-no- I didn’t know that then though!) and had us come forward and hold it as they lit it. We then placed it on a table in a line with the other PNMs candles. As they lit our candle, they said “(Insert Name Here) brings (adjective) to Nessarose.” While all of this was really sweet, there was this place in the pit of my stomach the entire time. It was like a giant ball of emotion. I wasn’t sure what emotion though- it finally hit me that this was not quite right for me- or at least that’s what I thought. I honestly can’t remember my adjective! After the ceremony, there were still a few minutes left- my active didn’t ask me any awkward questions, thank goodness. We then left.
We were required to walk back in silence- we were actually under strict silence. When we got back, the rules were explained to us- you should list all the groups you visited. You don’t absolutely have to- but it’s strongly encouraged. It was the only way that they could guarantee us a bid- if we maximized our options. We were then left to preffing.
This was an absolute struggle for me. I seriously considered listing a single group. Could I really see myself in the other house? Could I do it? Could I accept myself if I didn’t get a bid to my preferred house? I thought. And I thought.
I knew what I needed to do.
1. Elphaba
2. Nessarose
I was a bad PNM, and didn’t keep strict silence with Betty, Darcy, and Amanda. All of us preffed Elphaba first.
I looked up Elphaba’s national website that night. I thought about the girls I could meet in that house. I eventually got to sleep.
Hybrid Mode
