I hesitate to call this a retro story because I don't want to feel old yet :)

[Pirouette]

Since there haven’t been many recruitment stories recently, I’ve decided to post mine. I’ve been lurking for awhile and I have been meaning to create a username for months but just got around to it. Hopefully I’ll post more after I’m done with my story, but I don’t want to give away the ending
Over Winter break, my mother, grandmother, aunts, and I were giving my baby sister recruitment advice and sharing old stories from our own recruitments. Then my sister’s best friend showed us this site and I’ve been hooked on it for the past few months. After reading many of these stories, I tried to convince my baby sister to write hers, but she said she’d only post hers if I post my "retro"-story. I decided, why not? I made plenty mistakes (like every 18 year old), but in the end, I ended-up where I was meant to be.

I’ve been out of school for a while now (I won’t share how long because a lady never reveals her age) and the Greek system at my alma mater has changed a lot since I graduated, and it even changed a lot while I was still there. There is no longer the same number of organizations on campus, but I won’t say if the number has gone up, down, or both since I accepted my bid.

I decided to name the sororities on my campus at that time after board games (because I’m a kid at heart and the rainy weather today forced recess inside so I watched my 3rd grade students play a lot of board games). The six organizations are:
Candy land
Clue
Pretty, Pretty Princess
Scrabble
Trouble
Twister

[Pirouette]

A short background of me:

I come from a very large family and almost everyone had been Greek during college. This made me an official legacy to three NPCs (Trouble, Connect Four, and Chutes and Ladders), but I also had aunts and cousins that were in different organizations as well. Only one of my legacy chapters was on my campus at the time, Trouble, but my mother did not put any pressure on me to join her organization, because she was the first to break the family tradition of joining Connect Four (like her mother, grandmother, and two older sisters).

Within my intermediate family, I was the oldest child and very close to my younger siblings so I decided to attend a college that was only about a half hour away from home. For the first couple weekends, I found myself going home to see my family (and avoiding my annoying roommate and her boyfriend who had decided to move in). But then the weekend of recruitment came and I decided to stick around and try it out.
I had registered for recruitment during orientation because I had always wanted to be in a sorority like the rest of my family. Everyone had always spoken of their organizations in such a positive way and I wanted to be able to do the same. As a child, my favorite colors were those of Trouble and I had a stuffed animal that was the Trouble mascot that I carried with me everywhere, so I was very excited to see that they had a chapter at my school. However, my roommate was also going through recruitment and I was terrified that we’d end up in the same organization and I knew I rather not be a Greek at all then have to spend four whole years with her (by then I had already filled out a form to be moved to another room the next semester). Luckily, we were at least in different Rho Gamma groups so I wouldn’t have to see her much the first day of recruitment.
Other random characters I decided needed names will be named after classic movie stars (inspired after watching way too many old movies while I was sick last week). For simplicity, I’ll just use their first names throughout the story.
Audrey Hepburn
Katherine Hepburn
Grace Kelly
Ingrid Bergman
Elizabeth Taylor

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Pirouette

(I won’t share how long because a lady never reveals her age)

She does when she's comfortable with her age and her looks; and thankful for God's blessings.

Look forward to your story.

[twinkle555]

Wow this one sounds really cute!! Cant wait to read it!

[Pirouette]

Recruitment at my school was divided into four rounds:
Meet the chapters- (visit all 6)
Philanthropy- (visit up to 4)
House tours- (visit up to 3)
Preference- (visit up to 2)
Then bid day was Sunday night.

Not all chapters were housed, so the first 2 rounds were held in one of the buildings on campus and the last 2 were either at the houses or still in the same building as before.

Also, I have a tendency to write a lot (I blame one of my education profs for requiring us to write long, detailed lesson plans). If it gets to be too much, just let me know and I'll cut down my descriptions.

[Ggirl617]

Ahh I can't WAIT to read this!! Hurry up and post it and don't leave us in suspense!~

[Pirouette]

Day 1: Meet the chapters

I found it almost impossible to pay attention in class on the first day of recruitment, even during my dance classes, which was my major at the time (I switched to a different major sophomore year when I realized I wouldn’t be able to do much with a dance major. I still got the minor though). After my ballet class, I rode my bike back to my dorm as fast as I could so that I could get ready. Unfortunately, when I got back to my room, my roommate’s boyfriend was in our suit’s shower. Grrrr…
After what seemed like forever, I finally got the chance to take a quick shower and blow-dry my hair before heading across the hall to help one the girls in my Rho Gamma group, Audrey, do her make-up before we would meet our group.
Today we had to wear the recruitment tee-shirt they gave us and jeans or shorts with comfortable shoes. I remember wanting to wear flip-flops but my Pointe shoes had done a number on my feet in the past few weeks so I wore these cute silver slip-ons instead. My roommate wore five inch heels and I have no idea how she did it.

The first group we went to was Candy Land. Except for the sophomore who was rushing for the second time, my entire group was really freaked-out by the loud door chant. We were lead into the room, which was decorated with balloons and streamers in Candy Land’s colors. I know its mean, but I remember thinking the colors didn’t go together very well. I talked to three girls and they were all really nice. No awkward moments, but we didn’t get far beyond the major/hometown/how’s school going so far questions. I wouldn’t mind coming back, but I wasn’t totally sold.

Next room was Pretty, Pretty, Princess. Their door chant was really cute and didn’t freak me out like Candy Land’s had. The first girl I met, Ingrid, was AWESOME! She was like my long lost twin! When someone came to bump me, Ingrid told me she didn’t want to leave but she hoped to see me again. The second girl was nice but we didn’t have too much in common. When she heard I was a dance major, she made sure to let me know that Pretty, Pretty, Princess won the homecoming lip-sync competition every year. I left loving Pretty, Pretty, Princess.

I was excited to see the next group, Scrabble, because a friend of mine from home had already began gone through recruitment and accepted a bid to Scrabble at another school and loved it. There was a lot of tent talk about this organization, and it wasn’t the good kind. I still kept an open mind because I thought it would be cool to be sisters with my friend. After we were let in the room, I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach. My conversations were awkward and time moved by very slowly. I left knowing I did not want to return.

Finally we were half way through. The next room was Twister. I could tell immediately that I would not fit in. I was double rushed and didn’t have much in common with the first two members I talked to, but I was from the same town as the last girl I talked to (though we went to different high schools). I don’t think it help that the girl I was partnered with was the complete opposite of me. I left Twister not wanting to come back.

The next room was Clue. I had also heard some negative tent talk about them, but I had never seen any of them on campus so I didn’t know if any of it was true or not. I walked into the room and there were a lot of Clue decorations; it almost felt like they were trying a little too hard. The girls were really nice and I had a lot more fun than I expected to have. While we didn’t have too much in common, I felt relaxed, like I could totally just hang-out with them in my sweats (which, I’ll admit, I basically wore sweats over my leotard all day freshman and most of sophomore year) and talk about anything, even if we didn’t agree on it. But I was still worried about the negative things I heard about them, which I had a feeling some of it might be true after my first meeting with these girls. I was the complete opposite of the rumors. I left feeling confused about Clue.

Finally I got to the last room, Trouble (I have no idea how girls go through days of recruitment with a million and one houses. Six felt super long for me). Instantly, I liked these girls. I loved seeing all the Trouble decorations and the first girl I talked to was so sweet! Then the second girl, Elizabeth, turned out to also be a Trouble legacy and showed me a scrapbook that had many pictures of her with her mother and grandmother together in Trouble shirts, wearing their pins, etc. I remember thinking it would be cool to be able to have similar pictures and moments with my own mother. I left loving Trouble.

Then it was time to fill out our ranking cards with our Rho Gammas. I knew that I definitely wanted to put Pretty, Pretty Princess and Trouble at the top of my list. I also listed Candy Land because I had liked them, just not as much as the other two. I put Scrabble as my number 3 (or the one that I least wanted to return to) but then I was torn on how to rank Clue and Twister. I thought it over in my head and after a while finally put Twister on my list of houses I would like to return to and placed Clue as my number 2. I chose Twister because it had a better reputation even though I didn’t feel a connection. Also, I knew Twister had a house and Clue did not. And while I knew a house really shouldn’t be a deciding factor, but I felt bad deciding on which organizations to “drop” solely on reputation.

So the card I turned in to my Rho Gamma looked like this:1. Pretty, Pretty Princess
1. Trouble
1. Candy Land
1. Twister
2. Clue
3. Scrabble

[Pirouette]

Originally Posted by Ggirl617

Ahh I can't WAIT to read this!! Hurry up and post it and don't leave us in suspense!~

I'll try not to. I have it all typed-up and ready to go, so I should have the whole thing done within 24 hours (I promise not to drag this story out for weeks). Plus, the sooner I finish mine, the sooner I can start nagging my baby sister to do hers

I'll post some more in a little bit. I need to grade some math quizzes. Since I teach 3rd grade, it shouldn't take too long to do

[Pirouette]

Day 2: Philanthropy

I ended-up getting ready in Audrey’s room again. We ended-up talking between the parties the day before and she was quickly becoming my best friend at school. This day was also pretty casual. Again, I wore the silver flats, cute jeans, and a light green tank top.

After we finished getting ready, Audrey and I headed over to the student center to pick-up our schedules from our Rho Gamma. We were both excited to get asked back to our favorite sororities. Our Rho Gamma told us we were really lucky, not many people got the exact schedule they wanted and some didn’t get a full schedule at all. My schedule was: Pretty, Pretty Princess, Trouble, Twister, and Candy Land. Audrey would be returning to: Trouble, Scrabble, Pretty, Pretty Princess, and Candy Land. Our Rho Gamma led us to the different rooms and Audrey and I promised we would discuss the parties while we waited together before Candy Land.

Today was philanthropy day. We would be doing crafts and watching a short video about the philanthropies and each sorority’s involvement with the philanthropy. I don’t want to go into details of the crafts and videos because that would give away who was who.

I was really excited to start off at my favorite group, Pretty, Pretty Princess. Ingrid met me at the door and quickly led me to a table with another PNM and active to do the craft. Ingrid and I hit it off again and barley did the craft because we were talking so much. We watched the movie and it was really sweet and I felt like I could really enjoy myself at Pretty, Pretty, Princess. After the movie, Ingrid passed me off to a sister because we had gone to the same high school, but Ingrid had no idea that this girl and I had not gotten along at all. I hoped that after the time apart she wouldn’t remember all the drama that went down years ago, but she had on the kind of smile that you can tell is fake and painful. She was polite, but I’m pretty sure she was only acting in the way she was because there were so many people around and it was recruitment. (This was pre-facebook so I honestly had totally forgot where she went to college) I left feeling a little uneasy, but I hoped that my great connection with Ingrid would get me another invite.

I hurried off to Trouble and was met by a girl I hadn’t met before. Since my mother was a Trouble, I already knew about their philanthropy, but I made sure I still asked many questions about their chapter’s involvement. Their events sounded like a lot of fun and the girls I talked to were so sweet. I left with a warm feeling towards Trouble; the only downside was that I was a little messy when I left and I still had two parties to go!

I walked into the Twister room knowing I wanted to cut them after this set of parties, and I left with the same feeling. I felt no connection to the girls I talked to while doing the craft, which is sad because their philanthropy is such a great cause! (Well, all 26 NPCs have great philanthropies, but I had a personal connection to this one) Luckily, the other PNMs at the table seemed to have greater connections so I let them carry the conversation while I worked on the craft.

Finally, I made it to Candy Land and got to talk to Audrey. We only had a few minutes to chat before the doors flew open and they had another crazy door chant. Audrey and I were lead to the same table to work on the craft with two sisters Grace and Katherine. The four of us got along really well and spent the whole time laughing and making their really cute craft. Their short movie was really moving and I left thinking that Candy Land was moving up on my list.

It didn’t take long for me to fill out my card this time. I really liked Pretty, Pretty Princess, Trouble, and Candy Land. Twister, not so much. But for house tours we could attend up to three houses so I didn’t have to make any hard choices this time. I turned in my card to my Rho Gamma then Audrey and I called her older brother and convinced him to drive us off campus to get lunch.
My card looked like:
1. Pretty, Pretty Princess
1. Trouble
1. Candy Land
2. Twister

[ADPiTigergurl]

I like this....update please

[honeychile]

Yes, Pretty, Pretty Please!

[Pirouette]

Day 3: House Tours
Once again, I headed went to Audrey’s room to get ready for house tours. The recommended wardrobe for the day was nice pants or a skirt with a nice shirt so I wore a black knee-length skirt with a different white shirt. Also, I wore one-inch heels (which was a really bad idea since I knew I would have to do a lot of walking today. Also, I’m very tall, so I stood inches above everyone already).
Finally it came time to meet our Rho Gamma. Since our recruitment isn’t super competitive and I had gotten the parties I wanted for the second round, I thought I would get all the invites I wanted again. But when my Rho Gamma handed me my schedule, my smile quickly turned to a frown. Twister, Trouble, Candy Land. Where was Pretty, Pretty Princess? I looked to Audrey, but her schedule read: Pretty, Pretty Princess, Candy Land, Trouble. She gave me a hug, but I think she knew she couldn’t cheer me up when she had the schedule that I wanted.
My Rho Gamma saw the disappointment on my face and reminded me that I still had three great organizations left, including two of my favorites, one of which was my legacy sorority (at the time, I was very confused on how she knew I was a Trouble legacy because I had never said anything about it. I brushed it off at the time thinking that she read my application or something. It would all make sense later). I told her I was okay with my schedule and would be fine. I knew I shouldn’t be surprised that Pretty, Pretty Princess cut me because of the one active that I did not get along with, but still, it hurt.
My Rho Gamma led all of us that started at a physical house outside where there were buses to take us to our parties. I got on the bus that said “Twister” on a piece of paper taped on the window. Once we reached the Twister house, I looked across the street and saw all the girls lined-up in front of the Pretty, Pretty Princess house and wanted to cry. However, I had already learned that my mascara bottle lied and that it was not waterproof, so I held back my tears, put on a fake smile and walked into the Twister house.

[Pirouette]

Day 3: House Tours (continued)

My tour at Twister was given by the girl I met on the first day who was from my hometown. We really tried to find something or someone in common, but again, came-up with nothing. The house was okay; I remember thinking there were a lot of stairs and it would suck to walk up and down them many times in one day. My guide showed me her room and it was kind of small for the two people scrunched into it. The house was decorated a lot with their colors and mascot, which I thought was kind of cute.

After Twister, I hurried over to Trouble. (This was when I realized how bad of an idea it was to wear heals during recruitment.) I could have taken a bus back to the student center and gotten on another bus that would drive me to Trouble, but the houses weren’t too far apart so I opted out of the bus and walked over. It really sucked to walk past Pretty, Pretty Princess again and watch girls stream out of the house with smiles on their faces. Once I got to Trouble, I remember standing in front of the house and feeling very confused because it didn’t really look like a house. But after the door chant, I walked inside and was pleasantly surprised with the interior of the house.
I my tour was short because the house was kind of small, but the common areas were large and open (and of course, decorated with Trouble’s letter, colors, and mascot). My tour guide was Elizabeth, the legacy that I had met on the first day, and she led me into her room, where another PNM and sister were already talking. Again, I was surprised how large the bedrooms were. They were doubles, but could have easily fit another person or two. The room was really cute and reminded me of my room at home. I left liking Trouble a lot, but I still wished I had been at Pretty, Pretty Princess instead.

After Trouble, I had to get on a bus to the student center to catch a bus over to Candy Land’s house because it was so far away from the other Greek houses. To make the bus ride worse, the two girls sitting in front of me had just come from Pretty, Pretty Princess and apparently loved them. It was all they talked about until we pulled-up in front of Candy Land’s house.
As soon as I saw Candy Land’s house, I gasped. It was so pretty and I instantly thought in my head ‘this is home.’ I got off the bus and walked up to the front door in awe. After the door chant, we were lead in the house and I was grabbed by one of the girls who I had talked to on Philanthropy day, Grace. Grace led me through the house and I fell in love with Candy Land. Their colors (which I originally thought were ugly together) decorated the house in a tasteful and elegant way. The house had a warm feel and I loved all the open space! Grace showed me her room, which she shared with Katherine, the other girl I talked to on Philanthropy day. Katherine walked in with her PNM and the four of us talked for so long that we lost track of time and the recruitment chair had to come grab us and quickly through us out the door so that they wouldn’t get an infraction. I left feeling like I never wanted to leave.

After the bus dropped me and other of girls who were at the Candy Land off at the student center, I quickly filled-out my card again. Since I had not received an invite to Pretty, Pretty Princess, I knew exactly who I wanted to drop. Audrey took a while longer to fill out her card, but once she was done, the two of us walked back to our dorm (my shoes in my hands because I had defiantly developed blisters that day). I quickly changed into my pajamas then joined Audrey in her room to watch a movie. All night I could feel like she felt uneasy about something, but I wasn’t sure what.


The card I turned into my Rho Gamma looked like this:
1. Candy Land
1. Trouble
2. Twister

[twinkle555]

I'M SO HOOKED!

[ADPiTigergurl]

me too! can i get some more please......pretty pretty please with a cherry