|
Round 1, Day 2 - Open Houses/Ice Water Teas
Today felt like the hottest day of the whole week and I remember three girls in my Pi Chi group fainting at various points throughout the day. It was a real scorcher, and even my rushers at the houses were complaining about the heat. AC was no match for the sun that day.
I was already feeling a little physically battered by the rush process - my voice was starting to give out, I had blisters even from my heel-less sandals, and I was chugging water every chance I got, feeling constantly thirsty from the heat and from running around between houses.
But I was excited for many of the parties on my schedule today, so I downed some coffee and forced myself to smile. We would be finished by lunchtime that day so the sororities would have time to meet and make their decisions - I'd have plenty of time for a much-needed nap that afternoon.
Viola - When the doors to this house flew open, I was immediately taken aback by how drop-dead gorgeous these girls were. As a collective unit, they were the best-looking house I had seen so far, and I felt a pang of self-consciousness. I have few notes about this house other than that the girls were "stunning but SO sweet" - no specific details of conversations, sorry. I also have written down that I talked to 7 girls. Looking back, I think my best friend's mom's rec must have been wonderful. I loved this house and wanted to come back!!
Flute - I was so thrilled that my rusher at this house was from my hometown! I didn't know her previously, but the more we got to chatting, the more I was surprised that our paths had never crossed in high school. She had gone to the closest neighboring school to my own and we had been involved in a couple of similar activities. This sorority's mascot was an animal that I'd actually had as a childhood pet - a highly unusual pet, let me assure you. (You may have an idea of which chapter this is, but please keep it to yourself!) I mentioned to the girl that I'd kept their mascot as a pet, and her face lit up. She said their chapter had been looking into adopting one to keep at the house, and she immediately called over two other girls. The three of them began drilling me on the care and keeping of this animal, and I answered all their questions to the best of my ability. They were nice to me, but when I left the house I regretted that I'd spent almost my entire time there talking about my pet rather than myself. Also, I had been hearing a lot about this house's less-than-stellar reputation.
French Horn - I was eager to see this house for myself because Sara had given it a glowing review. According to my notes I talked to 3 girls, and our conversations didn't really make it beyond the usual hometown/major/why did you come to XYZ School stuff. I by no means disliked this house, but I just didn't make much of a connection with the girls I talked to. My notes from this party conclude with "just not feelin it."
Trombone - I was anxious for this house because it was the closest thing I had to a legacy chapter, although I wasn't sure if my distant relation to my "cousin" was going to do me much good here. I'd been hearing rumors that it was a top chapter and difficult to get into. I absolutely LOVED this house. Of the three girls I talked to, the last one attended the church I planned on going to in my new city. She raved about it, gushing on and on about the great student ministries they had there and insisting that I was going to absolutely love it. The girls at this house seemed genuine and sweet, and I VERY much wanted to come back!
Trumpet - I couldn't wait to get inside this house. Mrs. Impressive Alum had really built up my impression of this chapter, and her advice about rush and surviving in my major had already been invaluable. But unfortunately, I was let down by this group. I couldn't put my finger on why, because the 4 girls I talked to seemed really nice and I was enjoying my conversations, but something, although I had no idea what, just didn't feel right. I left feeling rather disappointed in myself for not being able to come up with a reason why I hadn't liked this house.
Clarinet - My face lit up when I walked into this house and was greeted by my counselor from freshman orientation. I'd known she was in a sorority, but during orientation she hadn't been allowed to tell us which one. She was so nice and talking to her was great - the conversation took on the tone of 'catching-up' rather than a typical, forced rush conversation. She introduced me to her big sister, whom I also liked. I left this house regretting that I'd only met one girl I didn't already know, but hoping I'd be invited back so I could meet more. I loved my orientation counselor and thought any chapter she was in had to be good.
After our last party, we had to immediately stand in a silent line to submit our rankings. In the next round, Philanthropy, we would be allowed to go to a maximum of 12 parties. This meant that for our rankings, we could "keep" twelve houses (in no particular order) and "cut" four (in ranked order.) I understood how the process worked and that I wasn't really "cutting" the four chapters on my list....
Anyway, here are the chapters I put on my "cut" list:
1. Trumpet
2. Flute
3. Cello
4. Piano.
I then crashed in my room for a few hours before going out for dinner with my Pi Chi group. My Pi Chi congratulated us on making it through the first round and gave us a "pep talk" regarding our first cuts, which we'd receive in the morning. She warned us that ours was a really competitive rush and that having 12 invitations for Round 2 was the exception, not the rule. The average, she said, would be about 7. She encouraged us not to fret if our schedule was less than full (which it most likely would be) - we would be that much closer to finding our home. The serious nature of her talk got me really nervous, and I started talking to the girl next to me, "Amy," about how scared I was to get my first cuts. She replied something along the lines of she was nervous too but knew God had a plan. I smiled to myself and made a mental note to try to talk to her more in the coming days.
That night, I called my mom to chat. I'd been texting her between houses so she knew what was going on already. She was thrilled that I was opening up to the idea of pledging and she tried to be encouraging with regard to the heavy cuts that would come in the morning, but I could tell she was just as nervous as I was.
My nerves made it difficult to get to bed that night. I told myself I would be okay with a relatively empty schedule as long as I kept a few of my five early favorites: Percussion, Saxophone, Guitar, Violin, and Trombone......
|
Threaded Mode
