"You'll end up where you're suppose to..."

I am sorry it has been so long since the last post. It has been a crazy week, and seems to keep getting crazier. Thanks for being patient and enjoy the 3rd post.

Recap- We are journeying through the formal recruitment process at OSU in 2007…

Stats: Attend 11 houses… for 10-15 minutes… in 2 days. Talk to 1, 2 or 3 girls about the same boring topics. Do not take ANYTHING from their house, and above all, remember their names because you’ll need to know this crucial information in order to make the first releases! Dress code is an OSU shirt with jeans, shorts, or classy skirts.

Oh, no big. Just talk about my major in college and my high school career? Should be a breeze… I am proudly wearing my FIRST OSU shirt, which has come out of the men’s department at Kohl’s, and decide that tucking my boots into my jeans would be a great way to stand out. I was correct. I stood out in a redneck, who the heck is that, is she lost? kind of way.

I first realize my fashion faux pa when I meet my rush group. I couldn’t believe the fashionable things these chicks wore! They were like freaking super models… I didn’t see anything OSU in zebra print and bedazzled with rhinestones at Kohl’s! Why didn’t Doli clue me in on this? I looked ridiculous. NO ONE ELSE EVEN HAD JEANS ON! Oh dear. Abort mission. Too late… We were given mini notebooks to write notes in and then herded off to the first house.

When you arrive at a house, you put your belongings on the porch and line up alphabetically. While you are standing there in the unbearable heat, the membership chair comes out from the house looking like a Victoria Secret model. She goes one by one taking role of all the Potential New Members (PNMs). Once she has completed the check, the front doors magically opened, and she disappears back into the mansion of a house. The next part is quite alarming if not prepared… you will be standing there minding your own business when the house BURSTS OUT in song from behind closed doors. If they are extra cool, they will bang on the windows and doors for an extra effect. Then you are whisked into their air-conditioned house, meet everyone from the Pres to the house mom, and finally shoved onto a member of the house. You then get some refreshing water and sit down in a room where the noise decibel level is off the charts because of all the high pitched talking.

I do not remember much about the houses I went to or the girls I spoke with. I know that I did a lot of the talking, and really wasn’t that shy, surprisingly. What I do distinctly remember is writing notes about the oddest things… Basically to distinguish among the different houses. I would always would put down if there was fruit in my water (pineapple was my favorite) or if the house smelled strongly of something (one smelled of old lady and cats). For some reason, I didn’t EVER remember the names of the girls, but I could recall piercings, tattoos or shoes, so that was scribbled into the notebook. I would also put down a ranking of the overall conversation. 1 would be awarded if we stayed on things like prom, my major, where I was living, or why I ended up at OSU. 5 was a middle ground where questions maybe were still mundane but it wasn’t a game of 20 questions. Conversation flowed in a 5 conversation. 10 was when we would talk about something ridiculous. Law and Order episode, why the sky was blue, FFA, and other random topics that broke the mold were solid 9’s or 10’s.

Let me share with you some inevitable rules and facts, which applied to every house and party no matter who they were or what day it was…

#1 While you may be thirsty beyond belief, do not drink ALL the water. Take sips if you must, but do not gulp it down. You do not want to look like a dehydrated camel who needs to replenish her h2o supply! And absolutely, DO NOT EAT THE FRUIT. I don’t think they put fruit in the cups anymore, but listen. Even if the girl you are with said, “Go ahead, eat the fruit.” You always refrained… I didn’t know this and did the cardinal sin. I would awkwardly reach into the cup with fingers and eat the fruit. Yeah. Not cute.

#2 When you are sweaty, you do not want people touching you. Get over it because some houses cannot keep their hands off you. They want to guide you with their hands on your back, or touch your arm…. Ew. It was ultra embarrassing when they did that and realized,no, it was not raining outside yet... Nope, that moisture is 100% perspiration and back sweat. Thanks.

#3 It is loud in the house once you sit down and start to talk. It is TOTALLY acceptable to smile and nod your head when a member is talking to you, but you can’t hear them. Saying, “huh,” or “what was that,” is only going to worsen the problem. This is a rule that goes both ways. Freebie cards must be issued when someone smiles, nods, and says yeah, only to realize that the opposite party has asked a question. Then you can say, “Oh, what was that?” with a giggle and it’ll be just fine.

#4 Those songs that you hear from the houses? Yeah, that is going to be with you for awhile, so don’t try to block it out. Merely accept the annoyance and sing them at the top of your lungs back at your room. It is fun, I promise.

#5 Don’t listen to your fellow peers in your rush groups. They all have their own personalities, opinions and brain. Just because they had a terrible experience or were not feeling a house… DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT ISN’T A GOOD HOUSE!!!! That could be your future chapter and sisters who you don’t know yet… I know that Gamma Chi’s (rush group leaders) are suppose to crack down on that, but recently graduated high school girls will do whatever they please, especially when they can chime in with their opinions and gossip.

Perfect example. I LOVED a chapter on the first day. I thought this house was going to be my sorority home. The girls I talked with were 11’s and it was just amazing… Well in between parties, a fellow group member said she could not STAND my beloved chapter. She said only freaks and losers would go “XXX.” My heart sank and I literally wanted to cry. What the heck?! I didn’t get that vibe at all… But I also didn’t have any fashion sense or a clue as to what Greek life really consisted of. This girl looked like she knew what she was talking about…. I made a note in my little book and continued on with the parties with her voice in the back of my mind.

Come house tour day, my chapter crush that was only for “freaks and losers” had actually released me. Dang it, that is not a good sign…. But it did reveal the poignant mantra of the week, “You’ll end up where you are suppose to…” Not exactly what I wanted to hear right after being released from your favorite house; however,these were words of wisdom, which will mean much more to me, later on down the road…