Take One:

I’m currently sitting on a cooler in my very first recruitment holding room, awaiting our first party with the first group of potential new members. I’m excited, nervous, anxious and idly wondering if fitting 150 girls in a classroom is a fire hazard. The room smells like hairspray and food – chocolate mixed with cheese with hints of chicken and popcorn. Everyone has had at least two different Starbucks drinks and a soda, because honestly no amount of caffeine can prepare us for what’s to come: creating our new pledge class.

Take Two:

After ending the first party, all of the girls finally realized what all the fuss was about from recruitment practice. You have to keep the conversations going, you can’t touch the PNMs (potential new members), and you found a girl that you are completely obsessed with in the weirdest ways possible. At this point any active member is hyper, yet the sugar high is starting to come back down, and the exhaustion crash into a tired and cranky wall becomes a very real thing. It’s time for another cup of coffee and a Snickers bar.

Take Three:

Now it’s the second day of recruitment, Philanthropy Night! I’m reminiscing to when recruitment preparations started, which was last semester. We began practicing songs and chants (not the door stacks – those are scary), and now here we are in the smackdab middle of recruitment. What. The conversations last a little longer and go beyond just the surface. We get to tell them why we love serving the community we are in, and how it develops a sense of leadership and scholarship. Some of the PNMs start to open up at this topic, while some would rather talk about Chipotle – both are acceptable (I mean who doesn’t love the bowls?).

Take Four:

Fast forward to the last day – Pref day. It’s an emotional roller coaster, in which the actives realize exactly how much love is between them, and they just pray that their rush crushes see that too. Ugly tears and choked up laughter is two of the main things seen among the parties, so it’s not the typical pretty sight. This is also when the PNMs do a self-reflection and wonder if that particular sorority is their home. We are all very exhausted from our lack of sleep and hard work, changing the room to fit each theme, and dealing with 150 other girls, who again are just as cranky as you are. We have all gotten closer (this can be attributed to all of us yelling during the Tennessee Vols football game, or watching A Cinderella Story in awe), and just when we thought our bond couldn’t get any stronger, it does, and it amazes us that the continual support just keeps coming in waves.

Take Five:

BID DAY IS HERE. OMG OMG OMG. Honestly, it’s very hard to coagulate all of my thoughts to form sentences right now. The words exciting, ecstatic, elated, thrilled, etc. just doesn’t even begin to describe the euphoria and adrenaline that’s coursing through our veins. We don’t know who all came home to our chapter, and we don’t know who didn’t. We weren’t able to sleep a wink the night prior. We are doused in pink paint and gold glitter, holding and wearing our letters with such joy and pride. With our snapchats ready, it’s time to welcome the new members with open arms.

Take Six:

It’s now post-recruitment, and looking back it was all such a blur. We now have 83 pledges that we have all showered with so much love already, and I can’t wait to spoil them even more. I’m sure people are getting really tired of all of the social media posts by both the actives and new members, but we really can’t help it. It’s like Christmas came in October, but better. It’s now time to get to know everyone, and FIND A LITTLE.