I woke up at 4am on bid day. I waited and waited and waited for my recruitment counselor to give me the dreaded call. I didn't want to be a spaz and call her again like I did the day before. Eventually she sent out a mass text to our group telling us to get ready, it was bid day! I had a bid! I was about to be in a sorority!
I went out to breakfast with my recruitment group and we all reflected on the week. Most of us were pretty sure which houses we were going to end up in, so none of us seemed nervous. I wasn't that nervous, after all, Fuji had basically already told me they would see me on bid day. I was more anxious than excited. Before heading over to where we were supposed to be for bid day, we stopped by the Greek store and looked at all the stuff, which just got us all the more excited.
Finally, around 1000 girls were crammed into a giant room. We had to sit on our bids until the countdown. It was pure torture! But at the same time, I was weirdly calm. I couldn't believe this moment had finally come. All of the nerves from the past week were wiped away.
Finally the countdown was over and we opened our bids….
And I found out that I was…….
…..
a
Braeburn.
WHAT.
All of the emotions were drained from my body and I sat there in my seat, numb, while a thousand other girls erupted into cheers and screams. It seemed as if I was the only girl who was still staring down at her bid and not jumping up and down and hugging everyone.
What was going on? This couldn't be right, could it? I had a relatively successful recruitment, how on earth did I end up with the house that no one wants?
I had to pull it together. I was not going to be that girl who cried on bid day. No way. I worked so hard to be here. I wasn't going to let it all go to waste. I stood up from my seat and walk/ran outside to where our sororities were waiting for us to run to the house together. I found the girls holding up my letters and stood among a large group of girls also holding bids who would be my pledge sisters. A few had smiles on their faces, but it seemed as if the majority were about as confused/upset as I was. The girls holding up the wooden letters were yelling things at us like "Wool! Go Braeburn!" But it felt so forced. Running to the house made me feel slightly better. It must have been the endorphins. But I then spotted a girl I had never seen before holding up a sign with my name. I walked up to her and told her that was me. She said "Okay great here you go" and handed it to me. (I didn't even get a hug!) Then she took me inside to change into my bid day shirt. It was all very underwhelming. Much like the rest of the week.
I went back to my dorm and cried to myself. I didn't want anyone to see how upset I was. I had only been at college for a week, and I had already reinvented myself as the positive, outgoing girl amongst my recruitment group. I couldn't let anyone know I was upset.
Recruitment just isn't our strong suit. We don't put on as good of a rush as say Ambrosia or Red Delicious. But thats okay. Braeburn underwhelmed me the entire week. I never had an amazing time there, but I never had a bad time either. They didn't "wow" me as much as the other houses. I realized almost a year later that my feeling of not needing to impress Braeburn while I was there was actually a feeling of comfort, and fitting in. Why would I want to be with a group I needed to impress? Braeburn was right under my nose the entire time and I didn't realize how perfect it fit.
I wish I could say that there was a "moment" where it all clicked and I finally felt at home. But there wasn't. There were many little moments along the way. Like meeting my pledge sisters, getting my big sis, my initiation, and more. Somewhere along the line, I realized that the women I was surrounded by were the most beautiful inspiring people I had ever met. I had ended up in Braeburn for a reason. Our pledge class bonded over the fact that we were all brought together for a reason, to help our chapter thrive.
Our freshman year we thought that it was something that needed to be fixed.
Our sophomore year we lost hope, and thought it wasn't possible.
Our junior year we finally saw change.
And our senior year we get to leave behind our legacy.
Like I said in my first post, my sisters are the most amazing group of women I could have possibly dreamt of joining. They are intelligent and hilarious and far far from average. They're quirky and weird and so very beautiful. They inspire me every day. If I had ended up in any other house, I might still believe I was just an average nobody who would never amount to anything special. But my sisters have built me up and supported me through every step of my college career. They are truly one-of-a-kind women. I am so much more than average, and so is my sorority.
So without further ado……..
I AM SO VERY HONORED TO CALL MYSELF A MEMBER OF.......
DELTA DELTA DELTA! 
Also, yes, Fuji dirty rushed me. Sometimes I wonder what order I would have ranked the two houses if they hadn't. They played with my head and I hated them for that. (Turns out they did it to A LOT of other girls too.) Braeburn followed the rules which in the long run I respect them a lot more for. But at the time, when you visit 2 houses for pref and one house tells you how much they want you and the other doesn't, well, what's a PNM to do?
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my story! If you happen to be a PNM reading this, I don't regret for one second that I got a bid to a struggling chapter. Of course it was upsetting at first because it was not my #1, and I thought I had fallen in love with Fuji, but joining Tri Delta was the best "decision" of my life. Joining an undesirable house isn't the end of the world. In fact, for me it was the best thing to ever happen to me.
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