A UT Austin Toy Story Recruitment

[Sciencewoman]

Darn...Mr. Potato Head is already gone! Sounds like you're having a great week. Best wishes! My daughter had a hard time coping with the emotions of friends/hall mates who were disappointed during recruitment last year. You want to be empathetic, but their emotions can also rub off on you. It really is an emotional roller coaster.

[KKGAlumDGMom]

I LOVE this story!! I have laughed out loud at some of your comments (in a good way). You have such a great attitude. Wishing you all the best as you find your home. Whichever house it is will be very lucky to have you!!

[Andystoys]

Hi Everyone! So I had three parties today and it was a pretty good day. If anything it clarified the picture for me. Our Rho Chis stressed today that we needed to look around at who we were at parties with because these could potentially be our sisters and girls that pledge together tend to be the tightest with each other. Well that complicated things because some of the girls I am going through recruitment with are literally hot messes and I am not sure in the long term if I could cope with them. So maybe I should shift my strategy and just list the houses they don’t. Lol…I am just kidding but it certainly is another factor.

So here is how the day went:

Sarge: I of course had a different girl today and she was a little awkward. I don’t know what it was about her but she just had this really weird laugh that makes you want to put your finger over your mouth and say “shhh.” I literally felt like people were looking at us when she would laugh. Anyway I got bumped to a different girl and I really liked her. I enjoyed talking to her about their philanthropy. I didn’t know this then, but I did at the end of the day and I know this will be in my bottom two.

Bo-Ok so this house is just super spirited and I really like them but it is very much like the Cheerleader issue at Etch. I like enthusiasm, I really do, but do you know what I mean when someone is so over the top that it just seems awkward? But I really like these women and I know I could be happy here. I have to believe it is just how recruitment brings out the “choose us” attitude that they can’t help but be happy and that spills over.

Barbie-These girls are just as put together as the were last time and I really liked philanthropy. This is considered a top house and I don’t if I have a chance here, but I really like the house and I had a really awesome conversation with two different women here. I know my descriptions are getting shorter, but I am getting tired, it is not a reflection on this house…..

So, it was time to rank my houses and I placed my bottom two like this:
Buzz
Sarge

Only time will tell. The next round is skit night and those parties start on Sunday. So I will give you an update on Sunday!

In closing, I would like to share some thoughts on this process. I wanted to do this before invites went out, because there is no rule that says I will get an invite. So for me I wanted to share my observations while they are not tainted by hurt or disappointment. First, it is so much more organized than I even felt was possible. The Rho Chis are really amazing women. Their letters don’t matter. They want each of us to be successful. I am also coming to understand that traditions die hard, or better yet, never die at UT. I was not naive going into this process. I knew where chapters stood in history. What I didn’t know is what they were like in reality. For some girls there is no difference. This I don’t understand, but they simply cannot seem to separate history with reality. We (a group of 8 of use from our hall) debated this yesterday. And just like any debate, no matter what side you are on, sometimes you dig in and have to believe you are right. I think in this case, they simply don’t want to disappoint themselves or their moms by pledging a “less” sorority so leaving the process, for them, is the better choice. This causes so much stress that I see why people say UT is competitive. But I don’t see it that way. The process is laid out so everyone can succeed. It’s failures lie in the PNMs that can’t go in with open hearts. I can honestly say that if you put one house’s girls into another house I bet 95% of the PNMs could not tell the difference. Some are so focused on the “Big 6” that they go into other houses with an “I don't like you attitude.” I believe the biggest shock of yesterday’s invitation reveals is that houses that are not “Big 6” houses were noticeably absent on a huge number of invite lists. This confused many girls. In other words, they swung the sword as swiftly as the “top houses.” Our Rho Chis explained that just because you may not think it is a top house, it is equally as hard to get into, because in reality, almost every single house at UT is VERY strong. It is just how the process goes. So with all that said, my list has what people call top houses and some that they don’t. But for me, my top house will be the house I want to call home and I will simply be happy if that all works out in the end, no matter what the letters on the house say, and no matter how people perceive it to be.

[AXOrushadvisor]

WOW! How old are you? That was awesome. Well done! I have a mother who needs to read this.

Good luck to you. It is girls like you that have a fun successful recruitment.

[carnation]

And she needs to go into a writing career too!

[Andystoys]

Y'all are really sweet. I actually turned 19 last month. I started school late. Thank you the writing compliment! The program I am in at UT focuses on writing and I would love to write for a magazine. I do write a blog and have for a few years. I won't go into detail about it for identity protection but I really enjoy it. I am also one of many children and I have learned patience and kindness from my mother. She has alway told me life will be what it is meant to be.

[scrapcat]

Good luck! I love this thread! You sound like a very put-together young lady, any sorority would be all the better for having you as a member!

[FSUZeta]

Good luck and thank you for sharing your insight. You are wise beyond your years.

[IndianaSigKap]

Originally Posted by Andystoys

Y'all are really sweet. I actually turned 19 last month. I started school late. Thank you the writing compliment! The program I am in at UT focuses on writing and I would love to write for a magazine. I do write a blog and have for a few years. I won't go into detail about it for identity protection but I really enjoy it. I am also one of many children and I have learned patience and kindness from my mother. She has alway told me life will be what it is meant to be.

Keep writing! You definitely have talent and you have such insight which I hope you share with your peers. You may not convince women that this whole notion of the Big 6 is a bunch of bunk, but at least may be raising a few eyebrows! Sometimes taking people out of their comfort zone is a good thing.

One of my favorite quotes is by George Orwell "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations."

[hillcountrymom]

You are a special young woman! One of those sororities is going to be so fortunate to call you a sister!

[littlesquirrel]

Originally Posted by Andystoys

But for me, my top house will be the house I want to call home and I will simply be happy if that all works out in the end, no matter what the letters on the house say, and no matter how people perceive it to be.

This is lovely--something that should be stated to any woman going through recruitment. Your attitude is amazing and I wish you the best of luck!

[Sciencewoman]

Thanks for sharing...I'm loving your story!

[honeychile]

There is one sorority at UT which is going to benefit from your wisdom - best of luck to you!

[pmdal]

One sorority at UT is going to be thrilled to have you as a sister, Andystoys! I'm at UT right now, working in the kitchen at my daughter's sorority and I can tell you that all the sororities at UT are wonderful. My daughter's sorority is not Big 6, but the young ladies that are her sisters are accomplished, smart and beautiful. She has MANY friends in all sororities and they are all wonderful organizations. You can't go wrong, no matter what you decide.. Good luck and I hope to see you on bid day!

[Andystoys]

Ok. Sorry for the delay. I meant to do this last night but what I thought was a quick “let me lay down and get off my feet” ended up being a 9 hour sleep. I think recruitment makes you so tired because it is so emotionally and mentally draining.

So when we met our Rho Chis for our lists everyone was worried, stressed and excited. I had no idea what to think but we had gotten a pep talk to trust the process and I was determined to do that no matter what. I was pretty disappointed when I looked at my list. I was down to 4 houses, but I had some favorites there so I was ok after the initial “what?” So it actually make today a little easier for me although I spent sometime talking to my roommate because she took a really hard cut and was only left with two houses, one being her legacy house. The word on the street is that when you are legacy to a pretty popular house it is not uncommon to basically be wiped out by everyone and this has been the case in her situation. Sad really, because although she likes her legacy house, she was 100% open to most houses.

Ok so for the good part, yesterday I returned to:

Buzz
Barbie
Rex
Woody

Instead of laying out what happened at each party, lets just say I had a really good time at each house. There were no awkward moments and I found the skits a nice break from all the conversation. This was a pretty revealing night because it showed a very different side of each house. Most of the skits were really funny, some showcasing the obvious talent inside each house and some letting the world know that they do not take themselves too seriously. On a completely different note, the transformation these house go through is really amazing. I left last night knowing that I loved the houses I had and I know I had to rank them so I really pondered the choices I had, reviewed my notes on all houses on my list and ranked my houses like this:

Rex
Barbie
Woody
Buzz

No matter what happens later today, I would be happy with any house on this list. Do I love some more that others? Of course, but I also know I have only met a very small percentage of the girls each house represents. My biggest fear today is getting a “release” phone call and I hope that does not happen. I am headed to Barton Springs with some of the girls from my dorm so we can try to not focus on this afternoon. (try being the key word) Again, thanks for reading my story. I can't believe bid day is tomorrow!!!!