A Bedlam Recruitment

[AXOmom]

Lovethesand,

Like you, I knew nothing about sororities when my daughter went through recruitment. I've learned almost everything on here and through a few (very few) sorority women I knew who were all very helpful to me.

My daughter went through two recruitments (one difficult and one pretty smooth), so I related totally to your experience.

I LOVED the story and thank you so much for sharing it!

[Katmandu]

Originally Posted by AzTheta

seriously, they have a gorgeous badge with infinite variations that I envy (just ask AOIIAngel).

True words. The AOPi Badge provides some incredible opportunities for drool-worthy bling. The vintage badges are some of the most beautiful fraternal pins around. Check out the threads here.. maybe some kind GCer can link them for you. I am not very good on the search, but wowser, they are pretty.

[southbymidwest]

Fabulous story. So good in fact, when I wasn't laughing at your humor, my stomach was hurting reading about your anxious moments/hours. Debbie is a lucky girl to have a mom like you. I'll bet she'll do just swimmingly at Oklahoma State.

[UT Daughter]

Thank you for sharing. I was you one year ago. My daughter had many of the same experiences as Debbie and I was definitely you. Fast forward to this week and I just moved my daughter back for her second year at UT. She couldn't be happier. I know it was a bumpy road for the first month or so but now she can't imagine being anywhere else. She has a great group of friends and is so happy. Now, Instead of crying about recruitment, she barely has time to call because she is so involved with her chapter and her friends. I know Debbie will do great. Please keep us posted. You write so well. Thank you.

[aab225]

Lovethesand I want you to know that I read your posts today and felt so moved by them that I shared them with my mother. I know that in any situation in which I am filled with self-doubt, she is having the same kinds of interior monologues you described. It made me feel so overwhelmed with love for my mom. Thanks for that. I really enjoyed your writing and sincerely hope AOII is treating your daughter well!

[SthrnZeta]

Loved reading your story! I'm an alumna who graduated in 2004, no children yet, but your story brought several tears to my eyes (should not have read this at work!). You're a terrific writer and Debbie's story is definitely not uncommon. I'm always secretly glad to read stories that, although aren't perfect, still have somewhat happy endings. Thank you for taking the time to share this with us!

[BlueOwl]

Great story! Many of us GC'ers had daughters that felt the same way on Bid Day, for various reasons. And it can be heart wrenching to experience. I think that your daughter will be just fine. In fact, I think that she has just embarked on one of the best experiences that she will have in college! Congrats to your daughter on finding her letters!

[Lovethesand]

Thank you all for your interest in Dark Side mom's story (oh, and Debbie's). Thank you for your encouragement and understanding. Tried to explain to my non-Greek friend with younger kids and she thought I was crazy. Thank you for the writing compliments - I give all the credit in the world to fantastic English teachers in high school and college.

Debbie is like a bungee dive. She had that initial drop that freaked her out but she's stopped falling, she's slowly swinging, enjoying the sights, and realizing "hey, that wasn't so bad". Debbie's been shopping with some of her AOII girls. She's also been hanging out with some of the PNMs she went through recruitment with. Now that everybody made it through, they're all sharing more of their details and lo and behold, recruitment was a roller coaster for everybody.

I was telling Debbie about a girl who SIP'd because she lost her early favorite. Debbie said, "You spend less than a half a day with any of the houses during recruitment. How can you really know them or anybody else?" I'm too busy picking myself up from the floor to respond. Debbie says, "Got to go, mom, love you." 5 minutes later a text comes through "don't worry about me, I'm happy". Sometimes these kids....