Rush

Wow whoever decided to call recruitment for sororities rush was a genius! Rush is the perfect adjective for what happens during that short one week period! Although it was a rush I don't think I've ever seen a week feel soo long or five minutes feel like an hour! It was not as bad as I was expecting there was no hazing and no evil girls. Nothing shady went on ever! It was just a time of getting to know girls in different sororities and trying to find where you would fit in. It was also a time to meet other girls who were rushing. Boy did I meet a LOT of girls! The whole rush experience was great it forced me to get out and meet people and taught me a lot on small talk. I don't think I will ever be afraid to talk to a random person ever again and I'm looking forward to my speech class because I feel like I wont be as afraid to get up in front of a class and talk.
       Some details on the week: Girls are placed into about 65 or plus groups with a Gamma Chi. A Gamma Chi is a sorority girl who has been disaffiliated from her chapter and is there to lead a group of about 10-12 girls throughout the week. She would give us our invitations and see us to our parties! My Gamma Chi was  name caroline and she ended up being a Chi Omega! She was soo sweet she wrote us a letter the first day telling us a little bit about herself and included fun places to go out to eat, good churches, radio stations, and malls. She had us go out to dinner with her on the first day of classes (cause we had a night off from rush) and was always willing to answer any of our questions or come look at our outfits! I loved her and am soo excited that she is my sister!
       My sorority! I am a Chi Omega!  Our flower is the white carnation. Our symbol is an owl! (which is just awesome now i get to have an excuse to fall into the fads of owls these days!). Our colors are cardinal and straw! Which is pretty much red and yellow! Such a plus since yellow is one of my favorite colors! This is our creed and I think it is amazing:
                       To Live constantly above snobbery of word or deed; to place scholarship before social obligations and character before appearances; to be, in the best sense, democratic rather than "exclusive," and lovable rather than "popular"; to work earnestly, to speak kindly, to act sincerely, to choose thoughtfully that course which occasion and conscience demand; to be womanly always; to be discouraged never; in a word, to be loyal under any and all circumstances to my Fraternity and her highest teachings and to have her welfare ever at heart that she may be a symphony of high purpose and helpfulness in which there is no discordant notes.
                                              ~ Ethel Switzer Howard, Xi 1904
Chi Omega's Six Purposes are:
   Friendship
   High Standards of Personnel
   Sincere Learning and Creditable Scholarship
   Participation in Campus Activities
   Career Development
   Community Service

Ahhh I love it! I was really beginning to get worried throughout the week that I was being really selfish wanting to do a sorority and that I should be doing something better with my time and money. But I was quickly shown otherwise. I have had so many more opportunities than I would have ever found on my own! I have opportunities for service, leadership, to further my witness, sisterhood, accountability, sisterhood, tutoring, and a lot of fun! I never thought I could get this much out of a sorority! It surprised me and made me soo happy! I was really worried that I wasn't going to find other girls and people on campus who had my same beliefs (no drinking, christian morals) especially in sorority and really thought I wasn't going to pledge or join one. It shocked me how many people I would talk to who I thought of as nice girls who would casually claim that they weren't crazy partiers but yea its college they were going to drink. BUT then I talked to a dozen Christian girls in Chi O! It was such an encouragement! I was reassured that I would never be pressured to drink or do anything I didn't want to do. That yes there are girls in chi o that will drink but the cool thing is we can hang out with them and not judge them and they don't look at us like we are condemning them. I talked to seniors, juniors, and sophomores during rush who had the love of Christ radiating from them! Ah i was in love! and now I've talked to so many of my pledge sisters who share the same values!! Throughout the whole week I always felt at home in Chi O. There were other sororities that I really enjoyed but being in the Chi O room was like i wasn't in rush any more! I could just relax, be myself, and feel at home! It's great! I really would encourage girls to go through rush even if you don't pledge its just a nice experience and you get to meet a lot of people! I can already tell that Chi o is going to make me a better person and I cant wait for that to start happening! I feel like with Chi o i can be in the world but not of it. I love our non judgmental atmosphere. Chi O offers soo much I can't even put it into words. Im sure I will find words later on. like even with school things! They have tutors and a place where older girls can give you notes and tests from their classes! Its like in every aspect of life Chi o is there to help you along. So don't judge me to much that I joined a sorority. I wont be changing into some partyier who goes out and drinks and is crazy or is sketchy with them men friends lol! Okay I'll stop talking about Chi O now.

          School has been good! I like some of my classes! I'm taking 16 hours. I have english 101, spanish 150, political science 102, biology 101, biology lab, statistical reasoning 123 or 115. I really don't enjoy math, political science or biology lol. Sad I know. But they are important to being a rounded person so I will make myself enjoy them! Spanish is completely awesome though! If you haven't watched the show community I urge you now GO WATCH IT! It is most defiantly my favorite show and the first day of my spanish class I sat in the room making people the characters from the show. I haven't decided who can be star burns yet though lol. My teacher is a bald native mexican! He is hilarious and energetic and makes spanish really interesting! He is big on volunteers and talking in spanish rather than learning the grammar. I look forward to that class every time i have it! Im not quite in the school mood yet though. Its a bad thing. I think high school has burnt me out. I don't want to do any work. I need to buckle down this weekend and actually get ahead in some stuff. And figure out math because we had a pop quiz the other day that yea I pretty much failed because I feel like my teacher is speaking a different language and I use to like math!
         I miss my family! I also miss my friends. people who i can be weird with and don't have to wonder about how much abby people can handle. My wonderful family sent me a package that was heaven! I feel like a fatty with all the reeses pieces i have and life savers lol! And all the essentials i forgot. I love you mommy thank you soo much for getting that box together for me! I had my first I miss home break down on wednesday. I broke down into tears pretty much every hour at random times it was really annoying. I knew your eyes could get huge and puffy but I never knew your face could swell too! I promise you my whole face was swollen and my eyes didn't go down till like thursday night! But Im doing much better now! Keeping myself busy so I don't have to think about it! Which is really easy to do because UT is huge and there is always something to do! The cafeteria food is really good! But me and my room mate don't eat that much so I'm hoping this means we don't have to worry about the whole freshman fifteen! Also we Walk everywhere! So pretty much I'm going to have some awesome legs by the time I come home!  Well I better stop typing this is what happens when I don't write for a week! I will write soon! Tootles!