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Preference Round
Preference Round!
I received my schedule back and it said:
Ecuador
Dominican Republic
Colombia
I felt so lucky to have two houses that I had loved throughout the week (except the prior day at Colombia, but every house has a fluke day, right?) and one that I didn’t mind. I was a little disappointed to see that Venezuela hadn’t invited me back, but I didn’t think much of it. I started out the day at Ecuador, and one of my roommates was also attending Ecuador that day and we were going to be at the same party. We ate lunch together in the dining hall, went back and changed, and got ready to head to the house.
Ecuador:
I talked to three girls at Ecuador during the preference round. The first was a senior who had the same major as I did - plus five minors! I was so impressed and she just seemed amazing. The second was a girl that I had gone to a summer camp with the year prior (she was a sophomore). She told me how excited she was that I had come to Ecuador for Preference. She said that the whole chapter had been talking about me and that the girl who gave me a house tour/talked to me on the first day had been saying that she could see me as her little. She told me about their Bid Day shirts and what their fun activity was and how she could see me in her chapter doing great things. The third girl came and reinforced everything that Summer Camp Girl had said - everyone was so excited to have me back. I felt so loved and welcomed at Ecuador and as I was walking out, I looked at my roommate and said “I think I’ve found my home”, but I felt like I still had to keep an open mind for the next two parties.
Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic had a very serious ceremony during their preference round. It was a stark contrast from the previous party, but I appreciated how seriously they took it (although as a singer, I was cringing - the vocals of the girl doing a solo were...not great). The girl that I was paired with during this round was from the suburb next to mine from home, and although we had some mutual friends, we had never met before. She asked me how I felt about preference round, and I said honestly, “I think I know what I’m going to do, but I want to make sure to keep an open mind.” I walked out feeling like Dominican Republic was a nice house, but just not one that I felt a connection with.
Colombia
I was so excited to be back at Colombia. They had a classy set up that looked like a little cocktail party, although it was about three in the afternoon. However, the way it worked was just odd. They had about two active members to three PNMs standing around the little tables and then they sang some songs. I didn’t see familiar faces and the actives that I was paired with didn’t really seem to be paying attention. I was a little crushed by Colombia - after being so thoroughly wowed the first two days, they just didn’t seem to put any effort into the back nine holes. The magic was lost. I just didn’t see myself standing here among these women.
I felt so strongly about Ecuador that it was easy to list them first, but I thought over Dominican Republic and Colombia for a long time. On one hand, Dominican Republic had fallen in the middle of the pack for the whole week. There was never a bad moment, but there wasn’t a strong, convincing moment that showed me that this could really be my home on campus. Colombia, on the other hand, had started out so strongly - it was in my elite, top-favorite houses for the first two days, but then had fizzled out in Rounds 3 and 4. Should I list the house that was “nice” but not great - maybe a 5 out of 10 every day - as my second choice? Or, should I choose the house that was a 10 twice in a row, followed by two zeros? I decided that I would rather make the best of a house that I had always felt decent about rather than one that was completely hit-or miss, so, I filled out my MRABA accordingly:
Ecuador
Dominican Republic
Colombia
One of my roommates had dropped out of recruitment after the parties on the third day. The girl who shared my bedroom had attended Dominican Republic, Argentina, and Costa Rica, and had decided to list Costa Rica as her first choice, Argentina as her second, and elect to not list Dominican Republic at all. My third roommate had attended Ecuador with me, as well as Costa Rica and Venezuela. She was from the area and felt very pressured by Venezuela to join them, but felt so much pressure and no real emotion that she chose to list them third, despite having many friends in the house. She chose Costa Rica as her first option, followed by Ecuador.
Bid Day was just one sleep away!
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