In a city of Badgers who love to “Jump around,” they also love to jump right in. To clarify, the moment we started adjusting to our new classes and schedules, it was time to jump right into Greek recruitment. Girls on my floor were running from room to room, frantically searching through closets to find the perfect outfit. I watched with enjoyment until I realized I didn’t have anything to wear.
Once I finally found the ideal romper, it looked like a tornado had hit my room. My anxiousness kept me up the night before first rounds. The next morning I was awoken by the smell of hair irons and perfume. I knew it was time to get ready. While walking to the houses, I looked around at all the PNM’s (potential new members) and was impressed by how put together they looked knowing that they were probably freaking out on the inside like I was. Waiting at the first house was exciting but intimidating. My Rho Gamma (a temporarily disaffiliated sorority girl serving as a guide for the PNM’s) knocked on the door, signaling we were ready.
What immediately followed that knock almost gave me a fantastic heart attack. I was alarmed and startled by the sound of 200 girls screaming with joy and banging on the windows to welcome me inside their home. I was blessed and cursed to have a last name that begins with A, meaning I was always the first girl to enter the house which was slightly intimidating but made me feel like a celebrity since it seemed like everyone was clapping for me.
Once we got to talking I realized recruitment was kinda fun. The conversations were flowing smoothly and I felt like myself. The more houses I attended, the simpler the processed seemed. It felt like a form of speed dating, and when I paused to remove myself from the situation, I realized how puzzlingly strange the recruitment system is. In a realistic sense, it can be described as a bunch of girls in an overheated sorority house with makeup melting off their faces, preaching why Greek life is the best thing to ever happen to the world.
However, despite the oddities that encompassed the recruitment process, it allowed me to meet different girls from across the country, find out all the hot restaurants in Madison and discover the best hidden gem study spots on campus. Although at first us PNMs assumed how we looked and what we wore dictated which house we would end up at, ultimately what we carried inside is what placed us in the perfect house.
