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Day 1: Go Greek

Party List:
1) Lilly Pulitzer
2) Ralph Lauren
3) Vera Bradley
4) Southern Tide
5) Lacoste
6) Vineyard Vines
7) Nike
8) Northface
9) Burberry
10) David Yurman
11) Louis Vuitton
12) Brooks Brothers

Party 1: Lilly Pulitzer
This was the first house my Rho Gamma group and I went to. I thought I had heard it all about recruitment and was ready for anything, but my jaw dropped in awe when the Panhellenic delegates outside the house began counting down and the actives inside the house began banging on the doors, clapping, and chanting. I was so excited and nervous at the same time but put on a smile and got paired with a sophomore girl. She was clearly nervous but so sweet at the same time, and another one of her sisters dropped in and talked to me. The conversation went so well and I enjoyed everything though I definitely had to hold up the conversation at times because my girl was on the shy side. I also remember having to yell in order to hear myself even speak, as this was one of the loudest houses I went to all day. However, I absolutely loved this house and I really hope I'm back tomorrow!

Party 2: Ralph Lauren
I was more prepared this time when the doors of the house opened and the girls inside began clapping. Since we were lined up in alphabetical order by last name, I was starting to be grateful that I had a last name towards the beginning of the alphabet so I was lined up closer to the house so I could get a better view of the girls chanting. I thought it was the cutest thing in the world! I remembered loving this house's outfits. I was paired with a blonde girl and from the first second I talked to her, I got the impression that she was trying WAY too hard to impress me. She told me she was a senior, which I probably could have figured out myself because she really knew her way around the recruitment process. This led her to literally ask me five questions in a row without giving me a chance to answer any of them. I talked to one other girl in the house briefly then went back to talking to the chatty blonde. This house didn't feel like home for me at all. I felt like she was trying to sell me a used car.

Party 3: Vera Bradley
The decorations were beautiful and the house was very nicely set up but the girl that picked me up was very awkward. The first question I got when my rusher sat me down was, "So, what's up?" and it definitely turned me off because it was so open ended as opposed to the very specific questions I had gotten used to through the first two rounds. Her eyes kept darting around the room during the entire party and when another sister finally came to introduce herself, their hug and conversation seemed very forced and rehearsed. Bad vibes from this house!

Party 4: Southern Tide
I knew this house wasn't for me. The girl I spoke with was very nice and showed a lot of interest in me, but something told me that I wouldn't feel quite at home here.

Party 5: Lacoste
I really liked this house. I didn't have any friends in this sorority so I didn't know much about it, but the conversations I had flowed very well. I got bumped three or four times and loved every girl I talked to. They were all so enthusiastic and seemed very sweet. They seemed to love their sorority and they all seemed really involved and friendly. I knew I'd rank them high on my list of favorites at the end of the day.

Party 6: Vineyard Vines
By this time all the names and faces had started blurring together and I was exhausted, but I made sure to keep a smile on my face and enjoy recruitment by reminding myself that I only could experience this once. When I walked into this house, I was somewhat intimidated by the actives. They were ridiculously beautiful and had perfect teeth and smiles. They seemed very composed and collected and oozed confidence. The conversations I had with these girls were a little strained. I got bumped once and I felt like I couldn't have a deep conversation with any of them. Many other girls in my Rho Gamma group also commented on how put-together everything seemed in this house.

Party 7: Nike
A little backstory: Texas A&M has a freshman orientation camp over the summer for incoming freshman called "Fish Camp". At the beginning of our four days of camp, we were divided into different cabins for our stay. The first night of camp, the girls in my cabin and I were sitting on our beds and laughing at how there were just enough beds for all of us. Our cabin counsellor came in, and pointed at a bed that a girl in my cabin had chosen and told her to move her things, because that was "her" bed. She didn't bother introduce herself or talk to us for the rest of the four days/three nights we were there; the only reason I knew her name was from the monogram on her duffel bags. While I heard countless stories from my friends about how sweet and cool their cabin counsellors were, I wondered why ours hadn't even made the effort to talk to us and get to know us. I found out later she was a Nike. I knew this shouldn't deter me from the house in any way and still entered the house with an open mind. The girl I talked to was so nice and very enthusiastic about her philanthropy. I didn't get bumped at all and I found it somewhat difficult to carry on a conversation with the same girl for fifteen minutes since I had gotten used to getting bumped at least once in other houses. I found that nothing special really stood out about this house and didn't come out with the best feeling.

Party 8: Northface
I was so excited about going to this house because of all the amazing things I'd heard about it. Several of my friends from high school had pledged Northface and gushed about it upon their trips home. My rusher, however, seemed somewhat unengaged and uninterested in what I had to say. We sat down on the couch while all the other girls were standing up, so I felt awkward as the girl that dropped in our conversation for thirty seconds squatted to talk to us. I wanted to fall in love with this house but was so disappointed with the rusher I had. I just didn't feel like I clicked with her very well, but I wanted to like this house so bad!

Party 9: Burberry
Through tent talk, I had heard that Burberry girls were rich, stuck-up, snobby and self-centered, and I was a little nervous going into this house. However, I found myself loving this house and it was one of the two of the day where I walked out of the house smiling. I was so excited to meet all the girls and one in particular was so friendly and sweet. Conversations flowed so naturally in this house and the actives were so genuine. I thought I wouldn't enjoy this house but I ended up loving it. I found myself really wanting to go back the next day!

Party 10: David Yurman
The girl that rushed me turned out to be the biological sister of a distant acquaintance. I had an instant connection with her once I found out that we were from the same hometown and it was easy to have a conversation with her. I had to strain myself to hear and had to yell every time I opened my mouth, which made for an unpleasant conversation on my part because I literally couldn't hear myself talk in this house. I was bumped one other girl who was one of the sweetest girls I had talked to in my life. I had a very fun time at this house.

Party 11: Louis Vuitton
I was so antsy before this house. My friends and I all had heard wonderful things about the house and I loved the girl I was paired with. She commented on my enthusiasm, which meant so much to me because it was the second to last party of the day and everyone was so worn out and exhausted. She seemed so genuine and the conversation flowed so nicely. This was by far my favorite house so far!

Party 12: Brooks Brothers
I was beyond exhausted at this point but managed to keep a smile on my face by reminding myself that this was the last house of the day! I loved the decorations in the house and had a nice conversation with a very sweet girl. I had a lot of fun here!

Recruitment ran two hours late behind schedule today. I didn't rank my houses until around 9 pm and the line to the building where we were to rank literally looped down two flights of stairs, out the building, down the sidewalk, and curved behind a different building. I heard a few girls dropped because they didn't want to wait in line, and I was so grateful I was towards the beginning of the line since I knew some girls didn't get back to their dorms until 1 am!

I made a list of the houses in my recruitment journal, from favorite to least favorite:

0. Louis Vuitton
0. Northface
0. Lilly Pulitzer
0. Lacoste
0. Burberry
0. Brooks Brothers
0. David Yurman
0. Vineyard Vines
0. Ralph Lauren

My bottom three to "cut" were:

1. Vera Bradley
2. Nike
3. Southern Tide

I went to bed shortly after still pleased about the first day of recruitment and hoping for the best!