Haha, I didn't realize how clickbaity this title was! Spoilers: I do
not end up in jail at the end of rush
My first round would be split into four houses one night, and the next four the next morning. I wore our recruitment shirt, jeans, and a pair of high black boots that started killing my feet before we even got to the first house- not my smartest decision!
TOBIAS: This was my first house of the night, and it took me a few minutes to get acclimated to the insanity of rush. They had all PNMs in one room, which meant we were all screaming, but I felt confident here. The actives I talked to were all enthusiastic and energetic, and stressed that they had one of the highest GPAs on campus once they learned I was in my school's Honors College. However, I remember feeling like these girls latched onto every joke I made, would laugh excessively, and would then repeat my joke to the next girl who came to bump. It felt almost a little uncomfortable instead of flattering, and I left Tobias feeling like either they were insincere, or they wanted me more than I wanted them.
BUSTER: Every girl in my Pi Chi group was terrified as we stood outside Buster, which in turn amped me up. I spent my round here almost in awe- the house, decorations, and sisters were all equally stunning. Although I was intimidated, I had a great conversation with an active here. It stayed pretty surface level, but we laughed a lot and connected over our major. Their recruitment video was gorgeous and really showed off their sisterhood, and I really saw myself here. I left kicking myself for not getting a rec for this chapter.
LINDSAY: My next party was Lindsay, our newest chapter. The very first girl I talked to was the former president, and the next two were both in the Honors program I was so uncomfortable talking about at other chapters! All three of these woman felt like people I was already friends with, but I was cautious because the chapter was so new. I was very caught up with them not having a house, and was aware of the extra work the women in Lindsay do to establish themselves. I loved the sisters, but felt I might miss out on some of the things I had been imagining in my sorority experience. I left feeling almost guilty over my torn feelings about Lindsay.
MAEBY: Like Buster, this was another top-recruiting house that I had an amazing time at. Although I had previously assumed this chapter wasn't right for me because of their reputation as a party sorority, I met some super fun and down-to-earth girls. I talked to a sister who was not only from my hometown, but had danced at my studio's "rival studio", which meant a lot to me because I live very far out of state. This was my aunt's house, and throughout this party, I kept thinking of how special it would be to pledge her sorority. This sorority had a super cute theme with a centerpiece that every PNM was talking about the next day, and I was so drawn to the high energy these sisters had! I could see myself fitting in with these girls, and started to rethink my assumptions about Maeby.
I went to bed, kicked off my shoes, and went straight to bed until the next morning, where I started with...
GEORGE MICHAEL: I had been lukewarm on them prior to recruitment, and that feeling continued during my party here. I was paired with an active who, while in my major, had almost nothing in common with me, and who seemed pretty unenthusiastic. She couldn't really explain their philanthropy, and just kept returning to the theme and decorations (which, to be fair, were beautiful and looked time-consuming). It felt like every other girl in my Pi Chi group walked out raving about how badly they wanted to be a George Michael, but I couldn't wait for the party to end. However, they had a gorgeous house and a great reputation on campus. I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe my aversion to George Michael was "wrong".
LUCILLE: Waiting to enter Lucille that morning, I couldn't stop staring at their house- it was the most beautiful one on campus. My party was fairly unmemorable here, as conversations stuck to surface level and I didn't really connect with any of the actives. I didn't have a bad time here by any means, but I didn't really fall in love with Lucille either. From my friends in Lucille, I knew there was so much more to the chapter than what I saw during this party.
MICHAEL: This was it. Every girl in my Pi Chi group knew this was the house I'd been raving about all weekend, and the one I couldn't wait to visit. I walked in with my game face on, running through all my recruitment tips, but all my conversations just seemed to fall flat. At one point there were three actives talking to me, who were roommates, and ended up just telling each other stories about parties freshman year. I could see one girl rolling her eyes at her friend when she was bumped. I didn't feel like I made any connection with any of the actives, and couldn't see these girls as my future sisters. I left pretty dejected and ready to be done with rush for the weekend. However, I still had one house left for the day...
GOB: I had heard a lot of negative tent talk about this chapter, which had unfortunately colored my opinion of the sisters before we even walked inside. I talked to two different actives at this chapter, who were roommates and mostly talked about each other. The second girl I talked to here wasn't very talkative, which led to a lot of dead space and awkward silences. While I really liked their theme, the room didn't feel very welcoming and I didn't feel any real warmth or connection with this chapter.
When it was time to rank, I spent a lot of time wondering where George Michael and Michael would fit. I had listened to other girls rave about George Michael all day, and I had been so attached to Michael before this round that it felt hard to drop it. On the flip side, I hadn't considered Lindsay as an option for me before this round, due to how new they were on campus, but I had felt so at home with the sisters. Unfortunately, I let other people influence my opinions too much. I ranked (and immediately regretted)
1.
BUSTER
1.
MAEBY
1.
LUCILLE
1.
MICHAEL
1.
GEORGE MICHAEL
2:
LINDSAY
3:
TOBIAS
4:
GOB
