The night before recruitment, I was lying wide awake in bed stressing over every little detail about the upcoming week like any other PNM going through the process. Would I say the right things or worse, have anything in common at all to talk about? But despite thinking the worse, I found an inviting atmosphere filled with amazing people and a close-knit community. I’m sure if you ask any other sorority girl they will tell you the exact same thing. Not to get all mushy, but I truly did find a home. Now that all the chaos has settled and the dust has cleared, I want to share my experiences during the week. As a self-identified awkward human being, many things that could’ve gone wrong, did. I don’t have any amazing revolutionizing tips and tricks for recruitment, but I’m ready to relive some of my funny and most embarrassing stories from rush week.
1. I am short and I refuse to wear heels
I am 5’1 and a half on a good day and to my disappointment, my growth spurt has ended long before I reached 8th grade. Everyone during rush is wearing incredibly, drop-dead gorgeous heels and I’m over here sporting a nice pair of black flats from the kid’s section at target. Shoes are incredibly hard to find for someone who is a size 5. But really, I would rather show up to a house in crazy clown stilts than heels because 2-inch booties are not going to make a difference. On the very last night of preference round, I gave in and finally showed up in sky-high wedges. Needless to say, I tripped over my own feet running to make it on time for my round. It was a truly iconic moment for me when I sat on the wet pavement trying to find my left shoe in the dark. I am proud to say I still made it.
2. Slug and skirts don’t mix
During house tours, I had this really cute lace-up skirt look going on and oh man, did it look good. When I got home, I looked down and saw a massive weirdly shaped stain on the side of my outfit. On the very edge of my skirt, I spot this giant slug casually sliding along the edge minding his own business. Let me just say that I am deathly afraid of anything remotely similar to an insect and slugs are no exception. I screamed. So not only did the slug ruin my skirt, I am also left traumatized. I hope the little guy had a fun ride but I learned my lesson of no more sitting in the grass waiting for rounds to start.
3. Mozzarella balls are tricky little suckers
On preference day, a magical thing happens where all the sororities offer the PNMs light refreshments and food. I live for food, especially if they are covered in a delicate tower of garnishes. I had miniature kabobs with fresh fruit and mozzarella balls, a stable in any good brunch special. But just as I was about to take a bite, one of those little suckers rolled away from me onto the floor, bouncing off my pastel pink dress and leaving a dark stain of olive oil as a reminder. I exchanged a look with the girl I was having a conversation with and we both silently agreed to never speak of this incidence again.
Some people hate the recruitment process but it was honestly a blast for me. I got to meet amazing people from all over the Greek community and ultimately ended up where I am supposed to be. Some accidents did happen, but overall, I found my place. Let this be a lesson to anyone that is looking to go through recruitment, no matter what you do, a house will accept you with all your flaws.
