[AuburnTiger]

Pref day: She knew she was incredibly blessed to be attending three parties, especially three that she would love to join. As an OOS girl with no connections, she knew she was in the best possible position. Here is what happened.

Party 1 - Aubie: "I really, really, really liked Aubie. I'm so torn. This group is amazing."

Party 2 - War: This has been a favorite from day 1. Her friend would be in this one. I just knew it would be perfect for her. After this party, I got a text that simply said "I don't know what to do." I told her to call if she could. When I answered the phone, I could hear her voice crack. My calm, laid back daughter was in tears. She had loved War all along but described Prefs as "just okay". Aubie had been slowly sneaking it's way up the list and suddenly changed everything.

We only had 15 minutes to talk before she went to Eagle. I tried to use facts. I read back what she had told me about each group. I reminded her War was one of her favorites all along. I told her that her friend will be in War. They could be sisters. I even tried telling her that she might get to Eagle and love it so much that neither War or Aubie would matter any more. At the end I told her to weigh all of the facts and then follow her heart.

Party 3 - Eagle She liked these girls. They just seemed to like things kind of fancy and frilly. My daughter is a no frills type of girl and I think it intimidated her.

After it was all over, she waited quite a while to rank them. By the time she called, I was ready for a Valium. I just knew she was meant to be a War and wanted to make sure she did not mess that up. When I asked her how she ranked them, she said it does not matter how she ranked them because she will end up where she is meant to end up. I was shamelessly plugging for War.

Later that night, I looked at the spreadsheet of bid data posted and got concerned. The main thing she wanted in a sorority was a group from all over the country. The girls War took last year were predominantly from the South. There were very few non-Southerners. I was not sure how she would fit in.