The first night the first open house party was at
Vermont. When I walked in, all the women were standing on the stairs singing and clapping. Even though it was the first time I had ever been in a sorority house, I felt immediately like I was home. It was an overwhelming, warm feeling. I enjoyed talking with the women there and being introduced around. The chapter president again went out of her way to speak with me. The girls were all friendly and positive. They seemed very comfortable with each other.
After an hour it was time to head to
Mackinac, my coworker’s sorority. I drove to their house which was a short drive away and went in. Katie was there and spent time introducing me to her sisters. They were very nice girls, diverse and friendly. It was a pleasant time and I felt warmly welcomed and wanted.
The next evening I started out again at
Vermont for their second open house. Again, I had a very nice time and enjoyed meeting more of the sisters and touring the house. I felt comfortable there and was definitely warming up to the idea that I could fit into sorority life.
Next I went for my first visit to
Scotland. I hadn’t had a very positive impression of them at the meet and greet on Sunday, but Katie encouraged me to still go and visit their chapter. There were a lot of women there and we were crowded into a small room. It was almost impossible to carry on a conversation over the loudness and either the woman I was paired with didn’t like me or wasn’t a good conversationalist. To this day I don’t know what it was, but that was one of the longest hours in my life. It was almost like I had to carry the conversation. Conversation was forced and no one ever came to bump my rusher so it was overall not a very positive experience. One thing I did really like about their sorority was the tradition they had of each chapter member sending a cup and saucer from their china when they married. They had them displayed throughout the room and I thought it was a lovely tradition.
After leaving
Scotland I went to
Mackinac. It was an enjoyable time and I could tell the women were interested in getting to know me better. They spoke of fun sister events, involvement on campus, etc. They were proud of their national organization and their connection with it. Their president was a beautiful young woman who was lovely and gracious. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with her. Overall it was a positive experience, but I didn’t sense a growing attachment to
Mackinac the way I felt with
Vermont.
The next day I was unable to attend the open house party at
Vermont due to a class conflict. I had gone out of my way the day before to let them know why I wouldn’t be there and that I was still very interested. They assured me that it was fine and that it was more important to be in class.
After class I was able to go back to
Scotland for a second party. I wanted to give them another chance, but there was just not a connection there for me. I never felt comfortable there. I clearly sensed that I was not supposed to be a
Scotland.
Preference invitations were to go out for the different parties to be held on Thursday and Friday. I was pleased to receive invitations to both
Vermont and
Mackinac. I didn’t receive one from
Scotland and I was ok with that (other than feeling a little wounded in my pride that I hadn’t been able to “succeed” with them).
