I have been so incredibly busy this first week. Rush has been happening everyday, I have "dates" with my new besties, and my first day of classes!
So, lets start with my first night. The first night getting here and staying alone there was an "ice cream social" My roommates and suit mates decided to ride our bikes over and see if we could have a great time and meet new people. At first, it was kinda awkward and we ran out of things to talk about so I suggested going around and introducing ourselves to some new faces. Everyone hesitantly agreed and slowly followed me to find a normal looking bunch of people. I saw a group of mixed gender (so no guys thought I was trying to hit on them or something) and jumped in on their conversation and introduced myself. I got a ton a names and numbers that night, but only a few of which that I remember. This first group happened to have a couple girls that live in Anacapa ( a dorm right along the shore that is clear across campus from me) that I really clicked with. I met Birkley and Jessica, who are roommates that are super nice and easy to talk to, and their next door neighbor Caitlin. Once Caitlin and I started talking, we couldn't stop. We have sooo many things in common and we instantly clicked and started making plans for the rest of the week. I found out she, too, was rushing the following day so neither of us could stay out all that late. Most everyone at the social tried to cruise over to Isla Vista to see if they could experience their first "college rager", but not Caitlin and I. We talked and talked and seriously had such a good time. It has been so nice to have a best friend already that I feel so comfortable around and that is just like me. We met up the next morning and went into get our name tags and schedules together and there I met her friend from high school, Kathleen. Kathleen is way cool as well, but Caitlin is still definitely the fav ;)
Now for rush. It has been the most exciting, stressful, and downright weird experience I have ever gone through. The first day we had an early morning breakfast and all met in a big lecture hall. Once everybody had eaten (and of course all scoped out the fellow competition) and got settled in our seats the president of all the houses came up to the stage and told us the ground rules for rush. We watched a video made by some of the sorority girls to reiterate the CRUCIAL rules of absolutely no contact with any fraternity guy, no speaking to sorority members outside of rush, no going to any parities, no use of drugs or alcohol, and no speaking of your experience at each house to your fellow rushees.
My friends from my "walking group"
After the introduction we split up into seperate "walking groups" with a older sorority member called a "rho-gam". We went to all 9 houses this first day, referred to as 'Unity Day' and talked to 4 or 5 girls for 5 minutes a piece. Some of the girls I spoke to were very natural and went by really fast, while others were very awkward and forced. We started the day at 7:30AM and didn't end until 11:30!!! By the last house I honestly wasn't even trying to talk or act pleasant, I just wanted to get out of there!! When we had visited all nine houses, we then were asked to rank our houses in order of which we liked the most to the one we HATED.
The next morning we got our schedules for the day. Luckily, I was asked back by all the 7 houses I liked. A lot of girls only got asked back by 4, 2 of which they tried to drop the night prior. I was thanking my lucky stars that I did not have to show my face at the house I was at last on Unity Day because those girls probably thought I was the brattiest and most boring girl known to mankind. Anyway, this day was house tours. This time a girl invited you in by name, one by one, and escorted you around the house, passing you off to her friend after about 10 minutes together. This day you got to check out the immaculate rooms(they spent an entire week before rush week just purely scrubbing the whole house), the snack kitchen, always fully stocked, and the costume closet. Yes, every house has a fully stocked walk-in closet just to dress up, AWESOME! This day I fell in love with two houses; Alpha Phi and Delta Gamma. The houses are literally mansions and the girls are so easy to talk to and sooo beautiful. Holli, you would have loved Delta Gamma(DG)'s interior decor. EVERYTHING was nautical and they even dress in striped red white and navy. Again, at the end of the day we dropped our least favorite two, and awaited our schedule for the following day of rush
The next day was Yom Kippur, apparently it is a big day with the Jewish Folk, so we took a day off of rush. It was my first, of what I have soon learned, very seldom "free" days. Caitlin and I decided to check out the beach, which is a 45-65 second bike ride from her dorms, then go run a few errands around town. The beach is seriously so beautiful. It is sooo empty, aside from a few guys playing frisbee to one side of us, and a few surfers out in the water. The weather was hot, but the wind was cool..leaving us with a very peaceful setting to just soak in our new life.
Us laying out on the beach
The following day was my first day of class! it is literally a two mile bike ride with a constant slight incline so my booty and legs are going to be soooo nice come christmas time. I just had a section from 8AM to 9AM so it was a pretty easy first day. I kind of just tried to check out where my classes were for the following day, but that wasn't very successful. I just managed to make myself more sore and 100% lost. We had 'Pillar night' Thursday and Friday where everybody dresses very nice in dresses and heels and the houses talk about the philanthropy they are involved in as well as their 'pillars' that they stand for. Again DG and APhi where the number one houses that stood out to me, so the voting was pretty easy when narrowing down just the top two for Saturday AKA 'Preference Night' or 'Pref Night'. (I know I know, so many freaking names haha)
Pillar Night #1
Pillar Night #2
I also had my first full day of classes and lectures Friday which was quite interesting. My Math professor, D.A.Y.R.L, as he likes to be called. (here is why http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ziA2n1OT0 1:16 on is what he kept replaying over and over) He is super funny and even did a little strip for us as class started. Needless to say, I was thoroughly entertained and learned no math whatsoever. In addition to being a weird funny guy, he is exactly like Nigel Thornberry from the nick show The Wild Thornberries. His thick english accent is great and I semi enjoyed his class, until we started learning and doing homework.....now its like my least favorite, but whatever! Anyway, my next class is Anthropology which I LOVE. It is so interesting and I love how passionate my little latina professor is and how sassy she is. (and the only little bit of homework I have had for that class makes it that much more enjoyable). My chemistry class is just chemistry, not much to comment there...
Saturday is pref night, the last night of rush before you are actually in a sorority. Each house does something very special and is supposed to make you feel loved and like you HAVE to be apart of their house and be their 'sister'. Of course, a lot of it is fake and really they have to cut 50% of the girls by the end of the night. I went to DG first and they gave us fondue and lays and we had a one on one discussion with the girl that we got closest with throughout the week. After talking to this girl and having her help you through your decision on which house you will be choosing by the end of the night, you go into a different room where the girl that has become your friend wrote you a note and reads it aloud about why they care about you so much and what makes you so perfect for the house. It was super sweet and I left the house feeling so torn. Although it may not seem like a big decision to you, it definitely was for me. These are the girls that I am going to be spending most of my time with for the next four years, and who will be my potential life long besties. I then headed over to Alpha Phi where they did a similar ritual. The girl that called me in, Natalie, was one of my favorites that I had met all week. She was super funny and bubbly, but was also able to have a serious conversation that actually mattered. We had some Martinellies and some more DELICIOUS desert and talked over some of my concerns and my exact wants in a house. She was sooo helpful and made me feel so comfortable and at home. We then all went outside and Natalie stood me up, held both of my hands and talked about all the things she loved about me. It felt so real and I felt such a bond to her. I know it sounds stupid but we both got tiery-eyed and I knew which house was for me in that instant. Caitlin happened to be in that time slot for Aphi so we were able to walk over to our deciding room together. We both knew how amazing APhi had gone and were definitely putting them as both of our number 1 slots.
Sunday was the day we found out which house chose us back! Around noon we all met and got a letter from our "rho-gam". Alpha Phi chose me and Caitlin! When we found out, everyone sprinted over to the Aphi house and there was music everybody was so happy and instant best friends becuase we now all had this invisible but strong chain linking us all together. We headed up to a mansion in Montecito (where Oprah owns a house) and had a massive pool party with food and a Dj and just got to hang out with my new girls.
my pledge class
caitlin and i in front of our new letters with our "bid day" shirts and hats on
us with our 'bids' welcoming us to Alpha Phi
at the pool party
me being the only one sporting the one-piece (wohoo!)
Natalie and I:)
In conclusion, the first week was ridiculous, but in the end so worth it. I love you all and am so excited to update you on the next weeks festivities!!!
XOXO,
A Baby APhi!!!!
