Tour Guide Barbie

Warning: This is a long post. Sorry! =) Enjoy it though

The funny thing about Recruitment… Well let’s be honest. There are quite a few things funny about recruitment.

1) Why do I only have 5 days to find a house that I want to affiliate with for the rest of my life?
2) How do these girls know so much about me already?? They always seem to know that I am in FFA and played softball… Coincidence? (yeah right!)
3) Sororities always seem to be bursting into song. Is there a voice requirement for certain houses similar to GPA requirements?
4) Is there any particular reason why I am not familiar with terms such as pomping, philanthropies, coke dates, big/little/g’s/twins, or functions?
5) Does every house always look so pristine and spotless as they do on house tour day? i.e. fresh cut flowers, staged study groups, matching bed spreads, crazy color themes, etc.

Speaking of houses, the next day in formal recruitment is ‘House Tour and Philanthropy Day!’ This is the day where the members and PNM’s do a lot of walking and talking. Take into account this simple equation… Heels + walking all over a 4-story house (don’t forget the basement!!) = Potential Falling/tripping/stumbling.

The days start out REAL early during recruitment. This is a super bummer because you are on summer time where waking up happens naturally, not by an annoying alarm clock that your great aunt bought you for graduation. Anyways, back to waking up…. It is necessary to be up early because you want to make sure you are showered, primped, and dressed in your stylish duds before heading out to see what houses are on your schedule for the day. Today’s attire is described by two words: ‘Business Casual.’ Apparently I didn’t check the magazine to see the visual examples. Instead, read the caption of what was appropriate attire for the day.

In Cameron’s world, business casual meant dress pants and a nice top… Not sun dresses, wedge heels, strappy sandals, sassy skirts, and an all-around spring/summer cuteness vibe. No, no. I was in black dress pants, old worn out black FFA heels, and a maroon-polka-dot-polyester-dress top. I looked like I was ready for some cloudy days and fall weather. It really should have been no surprise to me that my wardrobe would again define me as the incoming freshman who didn’t have a clue.

As I looked around at the girls in my group, I wondered how much the sororities judged me on my wardrobe choices. Before I could ponder this thought much longer, my Gamma Chi (the Recruitment mentor/group leader) handed me a tiny slip of paper that held my fate. There was a possibility of having 8 houses today. I had 5. 5/8… Not TOO bad. I felt okay with the houses that had kept me. Kind of surprised my crush house had released me… But who cares… This all just seemed like a sparkly lottery ticket anyways. If I win… Great. If not… Does it really matter? I have survived this long without a million dollar prize/sorority house.

Today is a pain. First, you have to walk to your house by yourself. The Greek neighborhood is kind of confusing, and the Gamma Chi’s are not too forgiving if you show up late. Somehow it always worked out the house you were at was farthest away from the next house you needed to be at. Golden Rule: be on time. And the most difficult part—lining up alphabetically with a different group of 50 girls every party. Each time it was like we were trying to solve a thorny calculus problem, or find a cure for the common cold. WE HAD NAME TAGS ON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! This should have been simple, but at each house we struggled. It never failed. Again, the parties would start with a roll call, a chant/song and banging on windows/ doors, and finally a milli-second meet and greet with all the important sorority people before being tossed off to a member.

I will not replay all 5 houses for you. Reasons— It would take to long. I don’t remember all of it. And even though I like to think that everything in this blog is AWESOME… I have to be realistic and cut my odds. I am only going to highlight and recap the essence of this day.

House tour is ultimate torture. Your Gamma Chi’s tell you to ASK questions. ‘They will remember you if you ask interesting questions!’

Listen. Some of your ‘tour guide barbies’ (sorority members) do not stop talking long enough for you to even say the occasional “Yeah,” or “Wow. Cool!” It is like they have their own agenda and script to adhere to, and even if they started out the tour and with the saying ‘Please don’t hesitate to interrupt me for questions!!’ You still felt like an interruption for your ‘interesting question’ could result in either a punch to the face, or, at minimum, a sigh of contempt and forced ‘cookie cutter’ answer.

This was not the case at all houses though. Some girls were really brief with their tours and would ask after every room… ‘Do you have any questions for me?’

That first time she asks, you are in the clear. You have that interesting question on your mind! Then the next time she asks… Crap. You have nothing to ask! You have read the chapter’s page in the recruitment book, and she basically says anything else during the tour that you need to know. Give me a break! If I had a question, I would ask. Each time the girl would put me on the spot, I would freeze and stutter, “Umm, no I am good.”

Some houses you would have 2 or 3 potential new members per 1 sorority girl. Pro- This was nice because you were no longer the center of attention. Con- The hallways in the houses were NOT meant for that many people. Awkward situations occurred.

Rooms were decorated really well. I remember being at one house, and desperately wanting to join because of the craft room. A room dedicated to crafts? Yes please.

The VERY first house I went to had a showcase of their Big/Little study boards. I wanted to be in this house SOLEY because they had these jazzy study boards. It was quite a relief to find out that every house did study boards, so no need to pref houses on this reason.

One sorority had all their beds on these riser blocks. I thought it was amazing that all their storable items fit under their beds. Even cooler though, was that some beds were so high that you needed a step stool!!! Not just any step stool… But one customized with your name, favorite colors, some glitter, and even a picture, too. Sign me up for a high bed please!

One random thing that sticks out in my mind… One house showcased their bath tub. It was in a stall and was the only bath tub in a sorority house at OSU. That weirded me out. Baths are supposed to be relaxing. How can someone relax in a stall with 21 girls coming in and out of the bathroom?? But that might just be me…

The second part of this day is Philanthropy. Some PNM’s hate philanthropy day because they feel the projects are too hard. Girls don’t like feeling as if they are being judged due to their lack of creativity. I did not fall under this category. I was totally fine painting a stool free hand, making crazy bead jewelry, and even drawing on a card.

The two house projects I didn’t care for was towel folding and tying a ribbon around a bear. Towel folding was just ugly process. If the member who is suppose to be showing me how to fold a towel cannot do it successfully, then this project is a definite no go. Save the towel folding for cruise ship employees. They are trained professionals who get paid for their craft.

Ironically, the other mediocre project was done by the chapter I am now a part of. The project was a good one in theory. Teddy Bears go to police officers and when they deal with kids during an accident, they can give them a stuffed animal for comfort. Totally dig where we are going with this… But tying a ribbon to the bear and calling it good? Umm what was I going to do for the other 20 minutes?!!? Talk. And listen. Thankfully the house does a couple other things to break up the long time block— like singing! Duh…

Talking got old, and it took me about 3 houses to understand the big word that starts with a “p” just means community service and volunteering had a baby and named it Philanthropy.

Luckily I didn’t trip this day. I managed not to spill my water on any craft projects or sorority members. I kept my questions to an intelligent minimum, and made sure that I paid very close attention to the details so I could cut houses in a business professional manner (to reflect my business attire).

I was impressed with how much the houses did for the community. It was kind of inspiring and refreshing to see all the different foundations, organizations, and programs who were being helped out by OSU sororities.

This was my first time to take sororities seriously. I might be able to do this sorority gig after all.