What NOT to do--my Fall 07 story

[sarahsmilehawk]

I didn't know about Greek Chat when I went through recruitment, so I didn't get to make a thread like this. I also didn't know what I was doing--I wish I had Googled it beforehand!

I've revealed my school and sorority around GC, but just pretend you haven't seen them so it will be a surprise!

Quick background: I was a sophomore who had transferred from an out of state school back to the state school in my home town. I had no legacies and, because I didn't really know anyone Greek and they weren't required, I had no recommendations.

I'm naming my sororities after Ben and Jerry's flavors because I'm hungry.

The first two days are open house rounds.

Day 1 I went to...
Cherry Garcia: I was so nervous! I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I hadn't really prepared myself for the whole porch singing, single file extravaganza. I had a good conversation with a blonde senior who was nice, but we didn't seem to have a lot in common. She's the only person I talked to, which didn't seem strange until...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: I was excited about this house because my mom told me all the CCCD's she met in college (as a nontrad student) were really smart and pretty and going to pharmacy school. When they came out on the porch, they seemed exactly like a cheer squad. The girls took two PNMs each, and the other PNM with me was a girl from my high school. She had been a state champion gymnast, a varsity cheerleader, and was pole vaulting for our college track team. They seemed to be a bunch of athletic girls. They did "bump" once or twice, but all anyone could talk about was sports! I felt like SUCH a loser with not a single sport on my resume.

Chunky Monkey: I noticed this group was dressed a little more casually than the others. They were wearing tennis shoes! The first girl I talked to talked about how great this chapter's intramural program was. I thought oh no, another sporty house! But I had a friend from high school who was in this house, and she was only a little bit athletic. One thing that I--and all the PNMs--noticed was that this house was ESPECIALLY loud. Nobody could hear anyone! It really turned off some girls in my recruitment group.

Half Baked: This was the sorority my roommate had joined at my old school. Everyone was SO PRETTY. It looked like they were all these makeup-less, naturally immaculate creatures (freaks). I had been warned about no frills: nobody should have fruit in their water or offer me food. Well, this house had lemons in the water and when my girl offered me some, I got nervous and refused. She was so confused! I felt like a nerd... a thirsty nerd. We had a great conversation and I was excited to hear that their president had gone through recruitment as a sophomore.

Phish Food: I expected to hate this sorority. In my town it was known as THE sorority, and many of the most popular girls at my high school had serious legacies there. It also has a VERY visible and well known chapter house. Turns out, they were great! One girl had pink glasses (they were cute!) and talked to me about my tattoo. We had a great conversation, and she seemed much more relaxed than the other girls I talked to there. Still, it seemed kind of stuffy.

Neapolitan Dynamite: I hated this house because of the ridiculous stairs I had to climb to get up to the hill where the house was. The president stood outside and said "Hi sarahsmilehawk, I'm Chocolate and I'd like you to meet my sister Strawberry." It took me a second to realize she didn't mean her biological sister. This chapter is small and it was one active to two PNMs. These girls were NOT good with conversation. It was a struggle to avoid awkward silences. They were nice, but isn't everyone?

Then I went home to rest. The next day was the longest--7 more houses to visit!

On my schedule for the next day: Turtle Soup, Vermonty Python, Magic Brownies, Creme Brulee, Fossil Fuel and Dublin Mudslide.

[Senusret I]

Very good! Don't make us wait too long.

[AlphaXi_Husky]

Yay - I love this mini-surge of Retro Recruitment threads!

And I agree...don't make us wait too long.

[WaterChild]

I agree on the waiting.

I'm just a little sad that you used the same code name theme that I did, but that's okay.

[spirited*pnm]

Originally Posted by sarahsmilehawk

It looked like they were all these makeup-less, naturally immaculate creatures (freaks).

Originally Posted by sarahsmilehawk

I felt like a nerd... a thirsty nerd.

HILARIOUS! I hope there is (slash you already found) a chapter full of sisters with the same great sense of humor!

[Benzgirl]

I think Immaculate Creatures and Thirsty Nerds would make a great names for Ben and Jerry's flavors. Ever think about ice cream marketing?

[WinniBug]

GO PHISH FOOD!!!


Oh, and Creme Brulee sounds yummy too

[sarahsmilehawk]

I just don't feel like doing homework, so let me continue introducing you to the chapters. Thank goodness my school didn't do all open houses in one day! Oh, and as far as the actual ice cream flavor goes, creme brulee is AMAZING!

Turtle Soup: I didn't know what to think of this house. A girl from my high school was in this chapter. I barely knew her, but she was a self-proclaimed "prep" and I just got no particular vibe from the rest of the girls. Actually, the girl who picked me up at the door was a friend of a friend of a friend. Halfway through our conversation she said "Wait, I think we're Facebook friends." DOH! I must have made friends with her back when FB first opened to high school students and everyone went crazy adding people they barely knew. How embarrassing...

Vermonty Python: These girls had a very plastic look to them. There was one girl I knew in junior high, before she moved to another town. Another girl from my high school had pledged that sorority at another school the year before and affiliated at this chapter (it's common for people to transfer home their sophomore years). She's great, but she wasn't recruiting. I think I had a really basic conversation with whoever I talked to. I really don't remember much. I think I may have actually mentioned another sorority. Something like "A lot of girls from my town go Phish Food so that's the one I've heard about most." DOH. I was just trying to explain my frame of reference, but I'm sure it sounded like I wasn't really interested in their chapter... which wasn't completely untrue.

Magic Brownies: These girls were the only sorority without a house. Many of the PNMs were shocked. The school I transferred from had no sorority houses and very few fraternity houses, so it didn't bother me too much. I even kinda like the idea of living all together in a bunch of apartments. I remember not really liking their t-shirts. When I talked to the other PNMs, everyone said "Oh I thought they were really nice." It was true, but that's about all I could say about that house one way or the other. There were also some girls about two years older than me that I sorta barely knew... I had always looked up to them, so I thought it might be a strong chapter, but they didn't make an impression.

Creme Brulee: This sorority was the love of my short sorority life. I went into recruitment knowing that I would probably like this house. They had the most memorable outfit of any house: White tops with white capris or skirts and red heels with red jewelry. The effect was very cool. I mostly talked to one girl who was SO funny and we just got along famously. We talked about my great new apartment which was nearby. A girl from my high school stopped by to say hi. We had a SERIOUS falling out my junior year and we still don't get along to this day. But even she was super sweet in an almost genuine way. Then another girl overheard that many of my friends were in the music department. She asked if I knew a few people, and I did! I walked out the door knowing this house was The One.

Fossil Fuel: These girls had on t-shirts that were a play on the Juicy Couture logo. This kind of shirt was immensely popular at my old school, but they were the only ones with a shirt like this at my new school. A girl told me about how her friend was a really big fan of a former walk-on basketball player at our school who was very cute. She told me a story about how her friend had made fake Christmas cards as if they were a couple, photoshopping her picture in with the basketball player's. I thought it was SO funny and absolutely fit my sense of humor. They "bumped" and I talked to someone else, but on my way out the first girl tapped me on the shoulder and said "It was really good to meet you." It sounded like she really liked me! I went home and told my roommate (who was going to community college) about it later, and she said "Oh well I can tell someone's gonna invite you back!"

Dublin Mudslide: This house started out on my ish list because it was also on a ridiculous hill. They were the only chapter that let the PNMs wait inside though, which was nice. It's incredibly hot and humid in August. I happen to know a lot of Dublin Mudslides at a whole bunch of different schools, and one of my closest friends at my old school was a DM, so I was still excited about the idea of being in the same sorority as all those other girls. I talked for a while about my 1-year-old sister and what it was like to grow up in a college town, but the girl didn't seem to be listening to me. Knowing what I know now, she was probably looking out for the girl who would be bumping her. When that girl showed up, she asked me all the same questions and I pretty much repeated everything I'd said. Crazy thing is, the second girl didn't seem to be listening either! I was actually pretty offended. I knew they were a prominent house on campus and all the PNMs seemed to gush about them. But they still left a sour taste in my mouth.

AmeriCone Dream: Sorry, I forgot to make a fake name for this one! I loved their symbols and the song they sang. I talked to three girls. One was a big athlete, and I didn't have a lot to say to her. Another was great at making conversation and we got along really well. I think we talked about how great it was that the Greek system here was so unified. The third said very little. They seem like a great house, but I felt a little uncomfortable. Somehow I just felt like I didn't fit in with this group of girls, and I really couldn't put my finger on it.

That night, I ranked the houses in the following order.
1. Creme Brulee
2. Fossil Fuel
3. Half Baked
4. Phish Food
5. Chunky Monkey
6. Cherry Garcia
7. AmeriCone Dream
8. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
9. Turtle Soup
10. Magic Brownies
11. Vermonty Python
12. Neapolitan Dynamite
13. Dublin Mudslide--yep, I was that offended!

Just FYI, the sororities at my school (in ABC order): Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Delta Tau and Sigma Kappa.

[basket96]

Sarah,

First of all, you are a GREAT writer! I hope you are an english or creative writing major!

Secondly, you need to continue this saga.....I am hooked and want more!

[AlphaXi_Husky]

Originally Posted by basket96

you need to continue this saga.....I am hooked and want more!

Ditto!

[SigKapSweetie]

And there's Sigma Kappa! More please! (Now, off to the freezer...)

[sarahsmilehawk]

Actually, I'm a journalism major.

Before I tell you what happened on day 3, let's review my stats. I was a sophomore, but listed as a freshman by my high school gpa (because I didn't have 30 hours). That gpa was 2.77. Recs were not required and I didn't know anyone who had been greek (that I knew of), so I didn't bother trying to get them. I didn't know you could get help with recs from the alumnae associations.

By this point, I had started to figure out that the houses I adored (Creme Brulee, Fossil Fuel and Half Baked) were TOP houses.

I knew I wasn't the strongest PNM but I felt like I had made such an incredible connection with those girls that at least one of them would keep me. And even if they didn't, I would have been happy to go back to most of the chapters. My rho chis had assured me I'd end up where I was meant to, and that there was a chapter out there for everyone. I didn't care about wearing top-tier letters; I was just ready to find my home in sororityland, which seemed to be waiting for me to grab them up.

My rho chis handed out everyone's schedule. PNMs could go to a maximum of 8 houses. If not all of your top 8 chapters invited you back, the computer matched you with whichever lower-ranked sororities invited you back.

I started to scan my schedule, looking for my favorite houses. Creme Brulee wasn't there... Neither was Phish Food. This wasn't looking good.

My schedule:
1. No event
2. No event
3. Chunky Monkey
4. No event
5. No event
6. No event
7. Neapolitan Dynamite
8. No event

I WAS HORRIFIED.

I was pretty sure Creme Brulee was where I was meant to be, so why weren't they on my schedule? Something must be wrong. I hadn't made a strong connection at either of those two houses, so why had the Recruitment Gods taken away the only sororities I had ever loved in my whole whole life?

But my rho chi told me to stick with it. "Those are such great houses," she told me. "They're a great bunch of girls so you should at least go to the events and see how you like it."

I spent most of my day roasting in the sun outside Chunky Monkey and Neapolitan Dynamite, waiting for my events. It was awful.

Even though Chunky Monkey hadn't impressed me, I really admired the high school friend I had who was a Chunky Monkey. I thought maybe I could be CB, even if they weren't that great. It was better than being in no sorority at all, right?

And even though Neapolitan Dynamite wasn't in my top 8, I was required to attend their event if I wanted to stay in recruitment. Maybe I had just talked to a shy girl and didn't get a chance to really get to know them. Could I learn to love Neapolitan Dynamite?

My confidence was severely damaged, but I decided to give CM and ND a shot.

[LucyKKG]

Oh no! Well, Chunky Monkey is my fav kind of Ben n Jerry's so...yay!

[FSUZeta]

i'm sure that you felt really bad when your favorites did not show up on your list...but good for you for soldiering on!

[basket96]

Sarah,
You're killing me with anticipation.....MORE, please!