What it’s like to rush at Vanderbilt

January 7th, 2014: RUSH EVE

Happy Rush Eve! Since Vanderbilt Greek Life has second semester recruitment, unlike other SEC schools, the anticipation of rush is absolutely killing me.

For any freshman girl the excitement pre-rush is actually the same as a five year old on Christmas Eve.

January 8th: DISPLAY ROUND

This is the first day of the entire recruitment process. I have a nauseous feeling stepping into my first house and forgetting what my name even was. The anticipation is killing me.

12 houses later and a 10 hour day done, I finally made it through my first day of rush. Since I grew up in Colorado, sororities and fraternities were never a big thing so this is a whole new ballgame for me.

January 9th: PHILANTHROPY ROUND

I think my Gamma Chi actually thinks I am potentially psychotic because every time she opens the door to my dorm room I am sitting on the floor patiently waiting for the list of houses that I will go back to. She hands me the list…

BOOM shot in the heart, I wasn’t invited back to a house that I really like. Immediately thoughts went through my head:

What did I do wrong? Did I say something weird to the girl that I talked too?

The week in between

The fact that there is a week between the first two and the last two rounds of rush completely took over every freshman girl’s thoughts and their everyday activities.

Thankfully, after a long fve days of butterflies and a constant pit in my stomach, I got my card for the next five houses I would attend for entertainment round.

January 14th: ENTERTAINMENT ROUND

As the Gamma Chi walks into my dorm I actually feel like hiding a hole, but I am so relieved to find out I have all the houses I really want to go back to.

The night couldn’t have gone any better, and entertainment round in general was such a positive experience.

At the end of the night I narrowed my quest down to three houses.

January 15th: PREF NIGHT

What final three houses will I have left? Two knocks on my dorm room and there comes in my Gamma Chi. She hands me my list and instant tears roll to my eyes…

One house I really loved didn’t ask me to come back. I am so disappointed, and didn’t know what I did wrong again.

I pulled myself together and ended up having an amazing night at the three houses I was invited back to.  All my earlier sadness forgotten, I knew I was going into a house regardless of being rejected by the first.

January 16th: BID DAY

The most anticipated, and anxiety inducing day of my entire year at Vanderbilt.

I feel like I am on The Bachelor – is the house I love going to give me the final rose?

As I sat in the Student Center on top of my card with hundreds of other freshman girls, I couldn’t wait any longer to find out what house I would be in.

HERE COMES the rip of the envelope and the soon discovery that I am a member of Kappa Alpha Theta!

TRUST the PROCESS

Reflecting back on my experience as a freshman going through recruitment, I wish I wasn’t so hard on myself for getting cut from a certain house.

This entire process was incredibly character defining, and also taught me that I need to trust “the process” and realize that what will be will be.

I learned a lot about myself, and how I need to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.