Glory Days

Today is sorority bid day at my alma matter, which means exactly 10 years ago today, I turned over a new leaf as I transformed from a “rushee” into a “pledge.” Yes, we called everything by its real name back then. That’s before the PC police came after us and made us change it to “recruitment” and “potential new member.”

For some reason the 10-year mark has hit me pretty hard this year, first with my high school reunion and now with the thought that it was a whole decade ago that I started college. Those years just seem to fly right on by, don’t they?

I thought I’d take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about some super fun and not-so-fun memories of sorority rush.

First, let me preface by saying that back in the olden days, we earned our keep by living in Panhellenic… one big, old dorm that housed all the sororities. Each sorority had two floors and one chapter room. These dorms were about 50 years old by the time we moved in, so of course there was all kinds of asbestos hanging out of the ceiling tiles and even a few bats hanging around the top floors, but that’s a whole other story. The girls now live in a posh, five-star “sorority village” complete with Viking appliances, two-person suites with the chapter letters carved into the headboards and their own bathrooms. Yes, I may be a little jealous.

Back to memory lane… here are some things I haven’t missed about rush… 4 a.m. showers to ensure you had the luxury of hot water; lining up for lunch and dinner buffets inside the bathroom (yes, the tables were set up inside the bathroom); bundling up in sweatshirts and blankets to endure the frigid 40-degree temperature inside the chapter room in August; hour after hour of endless discussion and voting based on a two-minute conversation with a nervous teenager; being locked on the same two floors with 80 other girls for a solid week; petty arguing over whether or not to cut an ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend; and the total exhaustion you felt after several nights of three to four hours of sleep at a time.

As for the things I miss… McAlister’s make-your-own potato bar for lunch at least twice in four days; losing my voice by trying to out-yell the other sororities in the stairwell as the rushees moved on to the next party; the total silliness and fun that comes with hours of sleep deprivation; practicing skit over and over and over again until it’s perfect; getting the inside scoop from the Rho Chi’s the next day that everyone thinks your sorority’s skit is the best; honestly spilling your feelings about how much you love these girls during Pref; and the pure excitement of all the new pledges who run into your chapter room on bid day and can’t wait to put on your letters.

It was absolutely one of my favorite college memories, both for the good and the bad. I loved sorority life, and I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. And since I was the official cheer leader (which was a very important job!) my senior year, I’ll leave you with a cheer…

BIM BAM BY DAMN, WE’RE THE GIRLS OF DELTA GAM! FIRED UP, READY TO GO, WE’RE THE GIRLS YOU NEED TO KNOW! LOOK AROUND AND YOU WILL SEE THAT NUMBER ONE IS DELTA GEE!!!!

Congratulations, ladies of Delta Gamma, on another great recruitment! You continue to make us old girls proud! :)