a reluctant PNM faces the music

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

How did you do with the secret foot grips?

YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT!!!

HQWest - I'm jealous that you got to learn how to make Initiation Patience Cake. Even though I didn't get to participate in the food portion, I was looking forward to having a piece of cake afterwards. Then, all hell broke loose when one of the mascots failed to lay enough eggs for the cake and they had to ditch IPCake-making session that year.

[HQWest]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT!!!

HQWest - I'm jealous that you got to learn how to make Initiation Patience Cake. Even though I didn't get to participate in the food portion, I was looking forward to having a piece of cake afterwards. Then, all hell broke loose when one of the mascots failed to lay enough eggs for the cake and they had to ditch IPCake-making session that year.

Well I'll tell you, I was doing fine with the icing roses and carnations, the sugar dusted pansies were easy, but my lilies-of-the-valley just look like cotton balls.
Then, the friggin' unicorn didn't want to give up a hair to cut the layers with.

I was able to get points back for the singing portion...

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT!!!

Ah, well it goes with the territory of being a mystic cat.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Ah, well it goes with the territory of being a mystic cat.

I hate cats but love this post.

[facethemusic]

You guys are hilarious. Thanks for emceeing this thread for me between my posts. I bring you....today's installment!!


Round 3 (Skit)

I woke up this morning feeling great after a fun night with my new friends and a great night's sleep - I always sleep SO well in the rain! The weather had cleared up by morning thankfully, because for Skit we had to go back to dressing up. For this round, I had a dress my mom had picked out on one of our rush shopping trips. I'd thought it looked terrible on the hanger, but she convinced me to try it on and I'm so glad she did. It fit like a glove, was a great color on me, and was memorable without being over-the-top. I felt so good today that I even dared to slip on - gasp! - a pair of wedges with my dress.

When I made it to Greek Row and sat down with my Pi Chi group I was handed an envelope just like the last one, sealed with my name on it. This time I was calm and collected as I tore open the seal. I was having an awesome rush, my new friends were great, the sun was shining, and nothing could ruin my great mood....

.....except what I saw staring back at me from the paper inside.
















Round 3 (Skit)
Trumpet
Saxophone
Violin
Piano












My hands started shaking as the reality sank in.

Of the twelve houses I'd visited for Philanthropy, only one out of every three had liked me enough to invite me back.

Of my four favorites from Philanthropy (Saxophone, Guitar, Percussion, and Viola), I'd only managed to hold on to one.

Three out of my four Skit parties were for houses I'd tried to cut the day before.

This was NOT going according to plan.





I realized, thankfully, that my first party wasn't for another 2 hours, so I hurried back to my dorm room, managing to delay the waterworks until I got inside. For most of those two hours I sat on my bed with my two lifelines, my Bible and my cell phone with my mom on the line, alternating between the two of them in seeking solace.

[facethemusic]

My mother and I spent a good hour on the phone that morning having a heart-to-heart, and relaying parts of our conversation would be a good way to recap how I was feeling about each of these houses at the time.

First off, my mom was as brokenhearted as I was. Things seemed to have been going so well, and now this. Granted, there were some houses I wasn't very sad to lose. Houses like Voice and Double Bass had never made much of an impression on me, and I guess Flute had gotten all the pet care information they'd wanted. But things seemed to have been going so well at houses like Percussion and Guitar! My mom had been particularly rooting for Percussion, thrilled that I'd been meeting girls there who shared my faith. All in all, it was a really hard blow and we were both devastated.

But together we reached the conclusion that being sad wasn't going to help anything. For someone who'd never rushed herself, my mom was amazingly insightful when it came to encouraging me. She asked me to think of my four remaining houses as if they were the ONLY four on campus, because for me they might as well be. Then she asked me to talk to her about my feelings toward each house with that mindset - not mentally comparing it to other chapters that were no longer on my list, just trying to see the house for what it was. Here's what we discussed:

Trumpet - Pros of this house included the great philanthropy organization and the fabulous effort the girls seemed to be putting toward it. Another pro was the great networking opportunity I'd gain with Mrs. Impressive Alum who had a fabulous job in my hometown in the field I wished to enter. But I wasn't just looking for a feel-good service opportunity or a job connection - I was looking for sisters, and I just didn't see the girls here as that. My mom said she understood.

Saxophone - I couldn't think of a bad thing to say about this group. The girls were beautiful, smart, and sweet. The house was gorgeous. The chapter was well-respected as a "top" group on campus. I'd get to stay involved with a philanthropy organization that I truly had a heart for. It seemed like a match made in heaven. My mom too was excited that I still had this group left, but we were both nervous that it was the only favorite I'd managed to hold on to. Nevertheless, my sights were now completely set on this house.

Violin - I'd enjoyed my time here during both of the previous rounds. The girls I'd met were nice and I could see myself getting along with them. However, the chapter was fighting to keep its head above water and there were a lot of things that seemed to needed fixing. I could tell in the parties that organization and leadership were lacking. While my mom and I both saw some appeal in a house where I'd be able to really make a difference and leave my mark, I was genuinely nervous that this chapter wouldn't be on campus much longer, and my mom and I both saw this a huge red flag.

Piano - My mom was quite confused as to why this house hadn't been on my "favorites" list. She said I'd seemed to have had a good time based on the messages I sent her after both my parties here. She was right - I had liked the girls and felt very comfortable here, particularly in my first-round conversation about Harry Potter and my second-round conversation with a fellow musician. But in high school I had been acquainted with three sweet girls a year older than me who had all gone to XYZ School in my home state, pledged Piano, and proceeded to "go off the deep end." They were a subject of much gossip around my community and unfortunately it reflected very poorly on their letters in my mind and in the minds of many. I told my mom I didn't want people at home judging me for pledging Piano like those girls had. I didn't have to explain the story - my mom knew what had happened. Everyone did. But she told me I was being ridiculous for writing off the entire sorority. Those were three girls at one chapter, she said. Their particular Greek affiliation may not have even had anything to do with what happened to them. This was a strong national sorority, she said, and she could tell I had enjoyed my time there. She encouraged me to give them more of a chance, but I had my heart set on Saxophone.

[facethemusic]

I'll post the skit parties tonight!!

[KDCat]

Count me with your mom. Piano sounds like a pretty good match to me.

[hae413]

Piano or Saxophone!

[WCsweet<3]

I'm with the group. Piano or saxophone. Maybe Violin too. You never know the group may turn around.

[samaroni]

I'm rooting for piano or violin. mostly violin. I love underdogs.

[facethemusic]

The Round 3 (Skit) Parties!


Trumpet - I was trying to keep my outlook positive as I waited outside to go in this house, but I couldn't stop thinking about how uncomfortable I'd felt all week with this group. Nevertheless, I couldn't afford to be very picky at this point, so I tried to give them another chance. Their skit was pretty cute although at that point I hadn't seen any others to compare it to. Once I'd gone to my other parties that day, I realized Trumpet's skit had placed a disproportionate amount of emphasis on socials and mixers with the fraternities, which made me a little uncomfortable. Also awkward about this party was that they didn't bring the lights back up after the skit was over, so I talked to my rusher in awkward darkness. She was nice enough, but at this point I was really convinced that this wasn't the house for me.

Saxophone - Standing outside this house waiting to go in, I was more nervous than I'd been yet. This party was do or die. I HAD to keep Saxophone on my schedule. They were the only "good" chapter I had left. The pressure was on. I watched the skit with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. I smiled, hummed along to the songs (even Justin Beiber, whom I hate), and laughed at all the jokes (even the ones I thought were corny). I used my very best manners when talking to my two rushers and oohed and ahhed over all the cute pictures they showed me from various Saxophone events. The entire house was covered in pictures and the more I looked at, the more I loved these adorable and fun girls. As usual, I loved my rushers here and could see myself really fitting in with them. As they led me out the door at the end of the party, I threw in a "hope to see you tomorrow!" for good measure and hurried away to my next party confident that I'd just achieved a rush party worthy of a writeup in the "How To Be A Perfect PNM 101" textbook.

Violin - If I hadn't been unimpressed with this group before, I sure was after this party. I made a genuine effort to give them another chance, but their sloppy attempt at a skit was painful to watch and all the PNMs were casting awkward sideways glances at one another the whole time, unsure how to react to the forgotten lines and half-improvised dances. My rusher was sweet and the house was decorated beautifully that day, and it broke my heart to see how hard these girls were trying, but they just weren't up to par with the other houses at all. I left knowing I'd probably "cut" this group.

Piano - As my mom suggested, I tried to give this house a fair chance. After all, it would be good to have another house I was okay with in case Saxophone didn't work out. So I tried to go in with an open mind and forget everything I thought I knew about this group. I was pleasantly surprised. The skit was the best one I saw. I didn't have to force myself to laugh like at Saxophone because I found the jokes legitimately hilarious. I hummed along to the cute songs, some of which were among my very favorites. The walls inside the house were plastered with t-shirts from organizations Piano's girls were involved in, and the sheer number of shirts was a testament to how diverse this group was. As my rusher and I walked around, I spotted shirts from lots of organizations I was interested in, including music ensembles and campus ministries. My rusher herself mentioned that she was a campus tour guide, and when she said this, some synapses fired in my brain, I had a sudden flashback to my own campus tour, and I told her she had been my tour guide. She didn't remember me, which was a little awkward, but I was positive it was her. I left this house convinced that my mom had been right about it not being a "bad" house as its reputation in my community suggested, but it didn't matter anyway, because I was going to be a Saxophone.



We would be able to attend up to three parties for the final round (Preference), so I could "cut" one house that day. I regretted having to choose just one to "cut" because I was so ready to put on my Saxophone letters and just be done with Rush. But rules were rules, so I "cut" Violin and headed home.

As it turned out, all the cuts had been really heavy in between rounds 2 and 3, and many of my new friends were upset after losing their favorites once again. We went to an amazing "comfort food" restaurant near campus that night for some Milkshake Therapy. As we slurped down our dinners, I learned how my friends' days had gone:

Kat had gotten only two Skit invitations, Violin and Piano. She had been super upset about this at first, but Piano had grown a lot on her today and she was convinced she wanted to end up there. She admitted, however, that she was legitimately worried she'd be dropped from rush that night. I was blown away that someone like her, who seemed to have it all, was having such a tough week.

Sara had five invitations for this round and had lost her previous favorite, French Horn. She now had her sights set on Double Bass and was convinced she'd be able to land the bid.

Amy had five invitations for this round including the same four I had plus Flute. We consoled each other over the loss of our common favorites, Percussion and Guitar. Amy now badly wanted Flute, and I kept my mouth shut about my frustration with that house over the pet issue, not wanting to put a damper on her excitement.

[LAblondeGPhi]

Originally Posted by facethemusic

[U][B]The Round 3 (Skit) Parties!

Violin - If I hadn't been unimpressed with this group before, I sure was after this party. I made a genuine effort to give them another chance, but their sloppy attempt at a skit was painful to watch and all the PNMs were casting awkward sideways glances at one another the whole time, unsure how to react to the forgotten lines and half-improvised dances. My rusher was sweet and the house was decorated beautifully that day, and it broke my heart to see how hard these girls were trying, but they just weren't up to par with the other houses at all. I left knowing I'd probably "cut" this group.

Sigh, this makes me sad. It's one thing when a struggling chapter has their ducks in a row, but the conversation with each individual member is just awkward (which is hard to work with), and it's another when the leadership just isn't there to put on a good recruitment. In the scheme of things, putting together an organized recruitment isn't that hard - it just takes some work and guidance. Sometimes a single really great recruitment chair or advisor can make all the difference.

OK, end of rant.

facethemusic - loving your story! Can't wait to read the rest!

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by facethemusic

We went to an amazing "comfort food" restaurant near campus that night for some Milkshake Therapy.

Love it.

Originally Posted by MysticCat

But then an abandoned Russian Blue adopted our family. The kids loved her, as did my wife, so I before I knew what had happened I found myself with a cat in the house. She has managed to convince me that maybe cats have some use after all.

And our dog thinks she is really cool.

Aww! MC's a softie!
(Seriously though, I think that whenever a dog approves of a particular cat, it's a good sign about that cat.)

[OPhiAGinger]

I have always been a cat person. I admire their sense of independence, even if they're faking it half the time, and think the slobbery look-at-me love that dogs exhibit is tiring. Unfortunately, I accidentally married someone who is allergic to cats. Lesson learned: get all that critical stuff up front before you wind up falling in love with someone who is not compatible with your pet of choice.