Ballerina Rush

[caylaashley]

Ahhhhh one more day till bid day! I'm so excited to share my story!

[Sciencewoman]

Can't wait to hear it! Have fun and best wishes to you!

[AXOmom]

Hope you're having a great time!

[caylaashley]

Okay so I got realllllly into journaling every night and started on move in/Rho Gamma first meeting night(:

Day One

So my mom and I were moving and halfway through my t-shirts my Rho Gamma popped her head in to ask if I was one of her Rho Babes. She put a little name card on my door to mark me as hers. It was super cute and I definitely loved it more than the one my RA made. RG's had a little lion sticker and it was perfect.

I still had to drop my mom off at her hotel since we're from California and she couldnt just leave for home that day. When I got back there was a note from my Rho Gam on my door telling her Rho baby to meet up in the study at 4. I still had quite awhile, so heeding my sisters advice I left my door open and proceeded to organize my desk. 3:50 rolled around, so I moseyed down to the study and saw my Rho Gamma. There were two girls already there who looked like they were already best friends. After awkward hellos were exchanged I discovered that they indeed were best friends. Two more girls came in and after a bit we were al there. I looked around myself and saw just how many were already friends. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only out of state kid not living with my bff. It made me scared that I wouldnt make friends with these girls.

At this first Rho Gamma meeting we did the typical ice breaker awkward name game, but then we started talking about our fears for recruitment. My personal fear was not finding my "home" or making a connection. After the meeting came to a close, one girl stood up and politely said she didn't think RG meant her when she put the Rho babe sign on her door because she wasn't rushing and had no idea what a sorority was....oops.

After the meeting, I had called my mom for one last dinner before she left to go back to California. Someone had recommended Fireside Grill. So off we went. And to those of you who have told me about Cougar Gold cheese. Oh my Lord. The Cougar Gold Mac & Cheese: to die for. But anyways, after that we went to Walmart to pick up water, Advil, Midol...the usual things to have in a dorm room. Halfway through...I started crying. For so long I'd been holding that in. I'm such a momma's girl its not even funny. So I stayed with my mom again that night. Which I'm pretty sure made her night because we laid in her bed and cuddled like I was five again watching Harry Potter and House.

I'll post Days 2 and 3 together probably in a few minutes!(:

[PanseyGirl]

I was from out of state too and it also seemed that everyone also had best friends from their home town. I initially felt pretty alone, especially after my parents drove away, but recruitment brought a lot of us together because of all of the stress that we went through. No one on my freshman floor pledged the same sorority, but we all became great friends. I never felt l ike an outsider after recruitment ended. I had my new sisters and my wonderful dorm buddies.

[AXOmom]

Yay! Glad you're starting to post....but another girl who missed her mom, cuddled with her and cried....sigh....I'm doubting my mothering skills entirely here .

I'm sure you've figured out your aren't the ONLY OOS girl- just one of the few, but it won't matter much once you start meeting people and getting involved in your house.

Looking forward to finding out where you end up! Have a great bid day!

[caylaashley]

Hahah AXOmom! oh my gosh that is so true about the two thoughts of people on my OOS-ness I'm definitely not the only OOS girl but I was a little dramatic the first night!

PanseyGirl it sounds like our recruitment process is almost identical! i can't wait for tomorrow to meet my pledge class and all my new sisters!

[caylaashley]

My Rho Gamma texted us to tell us where to meet for breakfast and reminded us lovingly that fraternity men were strictly off limits this week. So, I responded telling her I was having breakfast with my mom one last time and would meet them at 10:30 in the Dining Hall. I cried all throughout breakfast and proceeded to make myself physically sick over being alone in a new state. My mom kept reminding me that next Sunday,(tomorrow now that its been a week since this occurred), I would have a home and sisters and wouldn’t feel so alone. She was trying not to cry as she got me some pepto to calm my stomach. She hugged me goodbye and said she loved me and would miss me like crazy.

Since we couldn’t park next to my dorm I was now two blocks from my dorm with a case of water, medicine, and a box of saltines to carry while bawling my eyes out. It however was fantastic that I had remembered my sunglasses because those hid some of the tears. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt like I was doing one awkward walk of shame since I didn’t have any clothes at my mom’s hotel and still had yesterdays rush wear on.

I made the trek to my room, changed, covered my tear stains, and called my Rho Momma, which was what we’ve decided to call her after this week, She was so sympathetic and told me where in the Dining hall they were, so off I went to find them. My big sister who was at her own retreat for Long Beach Ballet was sending me inspirational texts all day.

We went to PNM orientation which basically explained the next week to us. I sat with two girls who didn’t know each other, and one reminded me of Spencer from Pretty Little Liars. They were so nice and I could see myself becoming friends with them, even sisters. Spencer and we’ll call her Rachel had become my two favorite people in the Rho Gam group so far. I really liked them and hoped we ended up in the same chapter.

Once the orientation was over, we ate. And this was big for me since I’m always hungry and this orientation was super long. We then trucked over to Booze, Sex and Reality Checks which was crazy because they showed how different each shot glass really is and how much alcohol they really hold. They also discussed the whole sexual assault business and how to keep yourself safe. I was really happy Panhellenic made us attend this because I mean we are young women going to a new place and alone. Things can happen.

Finally came the walking. And the talking. I started talking about cheer with one girl and somehow it led to the entire group discussing legacies and chapters and preconceived notions. I didn’t really have any other than I already liked Long Beach Ballet because of my sister. We arrived back at our dorm after what felt like the most amount of walking since I tried to walk one mile and ended up making a huge loop that was 4 miles long. Rho Momma instructed us on what time to meet for dinner so we ate together.

Dinner came and went and Rho Momma led us to the auditorium to listen about understanding our values. The Panhellenic Council President and Panhellenic Council Vice President of Membership talked about about their values and how important values are during recruitment because they are moving towards a values based recruitment process.

We watched the Long Beach Ballet video about their values and after having talked in our Rho Gamma groups about our values I saw just how much their values matched mine. It made me miss home a little and miss being part of my friends seeing how close their values have brought them which made me a little teary eyed.

[AXOmom]

Darn! You read it before I got my edit in - I changed it because I reread it and thought, "Oh my gosh, this poor girl's going to read this and worry that everyone she met during recruitment is secretly thinking she's a crazy Cali girl" and that's not what I meant at all. I thought I was being funny, but I read it to daughter who went, "Uh, yeah not so much, Mom."

[caylaashley]

No I thought it was funny! because it is so true!

[caylaashley]

Day Three

So Nervous!!

I couldn't go to sleep the night before, and a guy from my orientation group kept texting me to keep me awake....and all of the sudden he texted me saying he was outside my dorm! Wait I had a no boy rule right now; I was allowed to say hi though. So, I went outside and said hello and talked the two of them into setting up our fan so we weren't so hot, and the two guys knew I had recruitment and left right after thank god.

I woke up at 5:30 when my alarm was set for 6, but I got up anyways since I knew with the amount of butterflies that had taken up residence in my stomach there would be no chance of me falling back asleep. I did my make up and the whole girly thing which I don't usually do because I just am kind of lazy about that sort of thing. All of this was done in the dark because my roommate was still asleep and I didn't want to wake her up.

I had left my room twice already and I was getting ready to leave again and when I opened the door there was a mirror with "Be-You-Tiful" written on it from my Rho Gamma. It was so great getting it because I was kind of freaking out about everything. She also put a Britney Spears quote on my door from when Britney was cute and innocent. I absolutely love my Rho Gam.

I was done getting ready so I left for the dorm lobby to meet by group for breakfast. During breakfast, I was seriously contemplating not eating because my stomach had gone from a colony of butterflies to a knot you would hand a boy scout to untie. WSU does it so your tour group is different than your Rho Gam group which made me sad because I didn't know anyone in my group.

However, my sadness didn't stop time and we were soon booking it to our first chapter. Between deep breaths and mints, I found enough courage to say hi to the PHC president whom my sister had met at a conference. It was awesome because before I could get out "Hi, I'm Cerra from this conference's little sister" she was already knew who I was and was wishing me luck and told me to come see her after I got my bid. She was so genuine and I totally loved her.

Ballet West
I really liked this chapter; their sense of sisterhood was great. I talked to 3 girls here and I love-love-loved them. The second I was only somewhat connected to but the third I fell in love with! We talked about surfing and other things; we talked about how she does everything with her sisters and how close she and her big are. I was really sad when this party came to an end.

Marin Dance Theater
I really didn't fit in this chapter. Like there felt like a disconnect between the sisters. These girls were nice, but they brought up boys a lot! I wasn't really digging this chapter at all.

Ballet Yuma
I felt super forced in this chapter. One sister was telling me how perfect I would be for their community service chair which kind of freaked me out. She was so excited for me to run for it....it was really kind of bothering me. My rush book says I loved the girl from California, but I can't remember her at all.

My rush booklet has a mini rant about the fact that I was starving at this point with only water and mints in my stomach and how the Rho Gammas like shove mints at you.....back to my chapters.

ABT
I sat in the dining room for this party and had no idea what to do with my hands. All of my conversations seemed to be super awkward and rushed because I talked to 6 or 7 women and basically had the same conversation with all of them. I think I remembered them having good values?

Columbia Ballet
The first girl I talked to here was amazing! We talked about tumblr, batman, spiderman, Harry Potter, The Princess Bride, how awkward we both are. It was perfect. She passed me off to a girl who I felt stared into my soul because she never broke eye contact or blinked. She also flipped her head back and forth a lot. She didn't lead the conversation at all. The last girl I talked to was on the rowing team and we totally clicked. I was a little iffy about this house but wanted to come back.

Julliard
This was my last party of the day. I was super tired and didn't think I would even be able to focus. The girl who picked me up looked identical to my sister's little and was so fun! We talked about how crazy rush is and how fun it would be to pretend to be fraternity men and sit outside and holler at them when they go through formal recruitment. We chatted about silly things and she finally passed me off to a girl who I talked to about nothing and everything. I loved this house.

At the end of the day my top three choices were

Julliard
Ballet West
Columbia Ballet
I was extremely nervous for the next day because I had seven parties and one was Long Beach Ballet! I wanted to make my sissy proud!

[MoonAndTheStars]

I just wanted to lend some words of support and say I'm loving your story! And I'm glad to hear of someone else who was emotional as I was when my parents left. I didn't throw up, but I honestly think that was the hardest I have sobbed in my entire life, not even being dramatic. I don't know how I pulled myself together, and my school's rush is a bit later than most so I didn't even have to deal with that immediately!

[littlesquirrel]

Liking your story! It's nice that even though you though you seem to know one house well, you still have an open mind. Oh, and as many others have said, your reaction to your mom leaving is completely normal... I was in-state only 3 hours away and I didn't really stop being homesick until second semester, when I found another home.

[kateliza]

Loving the ballet theme. I just want to go watch Dance Academy now...

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by MoonAndTheStars

I just wanted to lend some words of support and say I'm loving your story! And I'm glad to hear of someone else who was emotional as I was when my parents left. I didn't throw up, but I honestly think that was the hardest I have sobbed in my entire life, not even being dramatic. I don't know how I pulled myself together, and my school's rush is a bit later than most so I didn't even have to deal with that immediately!

Nope. I cried my eyes out when I went to college. It was a big step and a little scary.