a reluctant PNM faces the music

[facethemusic]

Originally Posted by LAblondeGPhi

Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter

Funny, that's the exact quotation I chose for my senior bio in my high school's yearbook! Dr. Suess is the man.

Thanks for all the support everyone! It makes me wish I had discovered Greek Chat prior to rush and posted my story live - I could've used the encouragement at the time!

[DubaiSis]

I think not coincidentally, I was cut from 3 of my 4 first houses the first day of rush and only 1 for the rest of round 1. That first house is a killer!

[WhiteRose1912]

Originally Posted by facethemusic

Oops - Clarinet should be on its own line between Trumpet and French Horn. Sorry!

You can always use the edit button. I love how much information you remember from your rush.

[facethemusic]

Originally Posted by WhiteRose1912

You can always use the edit button. I love how much information you remember from your rush.

Oops, my bad. I'll get the hang of this eventually.

I'll try to keep this coming as quickly as possible - don't want to keep y'all in suspense too long - but this is a crazy week for me as far as school goes! That "notoriously difficult major" is manifesting itself all over my schedule. Bear with me! I promise I'll try to make it worth the wait!!

[facethemusic]

Evening of Round 1, Day 1 (Open House/Ice Water Tea)

I recall sitting in one of my new neighbors' room with the other rushees from my hall. We had the tv on but were hardly paying attention as we swapped stories and thoughts from our first day - embarrassing moments, unique conversations, and opinions of the houses. I had been warned by my Pi Chi not to let the opinions of other girls influence my own, so I tried to take what I was hearing with a grain of salt, but I couldn't help but value the opinions of the girls who were becoming my first friends at my new school.

My roommate Kat had particularly enjoyed Oboe and Clarinet while being less than impressed with Violin. Sara, the girl down the hall from Kat's hometown, was hoping for French Horn and also disliked Violin. As a matter of fact, the general consensus in the room was that Violin was highly undesirable. I was slightly hurt by this because I had enjoyed my time there, but I kept my mouth shut on the topic.

When asked about my favorites, I responded that I had really enjoyed Percussion, Saxophone, and Guitar. In my head I included Violin on this list, but I didn't want to go against the crowd. Another girl in the room immediately responded that she thought Guitar was full of snobs, and I felt another pang of disapproval. It upset me so much that when asked what chapters I hadn't liked, I lied that I had liked them all. I didn't want to bash a house someone else loved; I had already experienced that and it didn't feel good.

My schedule for the next day was:
Viola
Flute
French Horn
Trombone
Trumpet
Clarinet.

I went to bed full of anxious excitement - I had still yet to visit many of the chapters that had piqued my interest prior to rush. I couldn't wait to see Viola (my best friend's mom's chapter), Trombone (my sortofish legacy house), and Trumpet (whose alum from my hometown had impressed me so much).

I was COMPLETELY worn out as I fell into bed that night and needless to say, I slept like a log...

[facethemusic]

Originally Posted by WhiteRose1912

I love how much information you remember from your rush.

Why thank you!! My biggest piece of advice to any PNM would be to take notes as thoroughly as possible! I've only been able to reconstruct my story so well because I wrote down every little detail I could remember as SOON as I left each house. Things like t-shirt colors and distinguishing features of the house may seem insignificant, but they can really help jog your memory when it comes time to submit your rankings....and, in my case, share my story

[violetpretty]

Politics and religion are fine for recruitment conversation if handled correctly. Often, much of the leadership experience a PNM has comes from a political or religious group, and you wouldn't want to not tell a chapter about your involvement. Obviously, you don't want to have a political or theological debate, particularly if the other person disagrees with you.

When I first met my little during recruitment, she made a comment that let me know we had similar opinions, so we did talk about politics. It worked out, but I don't recommend doing it, because you never know what you're getting into.

And you shouldn't have to apologize for faith being a part of your life. You have shared a part of who you are without being preachy.

[chi-o_cat]

Following because I think I picked up a clue in one of the earlier posts, and I want to see if my hunch is correct.

I know I commented on someone else's recruitment story that sometimes the ones with lots of houses are harder to stick with, but I'm enjoying this one, and I'll try to keep up.

[facethemusic]

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......

[WCsweet<3]

Originally Posted by facethemusic

I told myself I would be okay with a relatively empty schedule as long as I kept a few of my five early favorites:

This makes me a little nervous for the next installment! Is it foreshadowing?

[chi-o_cat]

Originally Posted by facethemusic

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’m trying to figure it out! I can think of a couple sororities with mascots that would be fairly common pets, so I guess it’s none of those. And I can rule out DPhiE…you said an unusual pet, not an imaginary one!

[MaryPoppins]

Anticipation is making me wait . . .

[facethemusic]

Round 2, Day 1 (Philanthropy)

I woke up this morning feeling even more exhausted and more nervous than I think I'd ever been in my life. But on the bright side, Philanthropy round was the most laid-back, and I'd get to be fairly comfy that day in belted shorts, a tshirt, and sandals. I donned this outfit and swapped my first-round pearls for a sterling silver cross. Something told me I'd be needing it that day.

After grabbing breakfast with Kat and Sara, I made my way toward Greek Row to meet my Pi Chi group. My Pi Chi was waiting for me with a sealed envelope that had my name on it. I took it, sat down, took a deep breath, and with shaky hands, opened it.....

[facethemusic]

...what?

No.

They mixed up my schedule with someone else's.

Wait...that's my name in the top corner.

This one's mine.

It's really mine.

I pinched myself, blinked a few times, and did everything I could to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. But the paper just stared back at me, never changing. It said......

[Cane94G8r97]

AHHHHH... What did it say?