Rush !!!

Cancer Walk-A-Thon

After 3 days of Philanthropy and Skit last night, today is Pref Day at Ole Miss with Bid Day on Sunday.  I have to honestly say I had absolutely no idea what T-bone was getting into.  I had always heard horror stories about Ole Miss being super competitive, completely over the top, etc.  A friend of ours warned her "Rush is a bitch."  Recent national stories about Ole Miss Freshman attending Rush workshops didn't help my perception either. 

I am very, very happy to report that T has had an AMAZING week and is really looking forward to tonight and tomorrow.  She hasn't been stressed at all, she's having fun and, most importantly, is staying true to herself.  I thought she was going to have a hard time juggling classes, lax and rush but she handling it like the trooper she is.  She has been inundated with encouraging handwritten letters and notes of support from family and friends (my co-workers have gone above and beyond and have been showering her all week with love), she's received beautiful and thoughtful gifts and feels very blessed. 

Day 1 of Rush

They had water parties a couple of weeks ago.  T has several older friends in different sororities on campus so it was interesting for her to learn a little bit more about each of those sororities as well as the sororities she was not at all familiar with.  She loved a couple of houses, a couple of houses she just wasn't crazy about for some reason (as she put it, she just didn't get the "warm fuzzies").  And one of the houses she was very, very disappointed in.  She had NO connection with the girl who welcomed her into the house and said it was terribly awkward. 

Convocation

Fast forward to formal Rush.  T has always been involved in various charities (through dance team, pageants, dance studio and lacrosse) and was very excited to learn about the organizations each house supports.  On Thursday night the PNM's had to list their top 6 houses out of the 9 they had visited during Philanthropy.  T said it was very weird for her because a couple of the houses she really liked during water parties didn't really stand out during Philanthropy and vice versa . . . a couple of houses that she hadn't really considered welcomed her with open arms.

The funny thing is Bess the roomie has had a similar experience.  The houses she loved during water parties (which were the complete opposite of T's preference), didn't make the cut at the end of the week and she, too, flip-flopped on some houses. 

Early Friday morning came the dreaded knocks on the dorm room doors signifying if a girl has been dropped and won't be receiving a formal bid.  T was happy to learn that no one on her floor/wing of the dorm got a knock.  That afternoon the girls found out how many houses they had been invited to for Skit night with 6 houses being the maximum you could get invited to.  T was hoping/expecting to be invited to at least two skits.  She was shocked to learn that she had been invited to SIX.  She had a long, exciting night and called around midnight to give me the run-down.  She had SO much fun during Skit and really appreciated how much thought and effort each house put into their Skit.  She just loves the energy, the whole clapping, singing, upbeat vibe of this week. 

So today is Pref.  Supposed to be a little more serious than the rest of the week, she'll get to spend a little bit more one-on-one time at each of the houses.  I'm heading out there tonight but probably won't see her until we meet for Breakfast on Sunday.  I think it's going to be another long, but fun, night for T and we're both excited about Bid Day!