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They say that college is a time of change, a time of recreating oneself. But that can put a relationship through natural selection -- adapt or die. Sometimes it doesnt work. They say that college is a time of change, a time of recreating oneself. But that can put a relationship through natural selection -- adapt or die. Sometimes it doesnt work. Everyone needed to go home for Christmas break. We were tired, stressed, missing our homes and definitely ready for a change of pace. But when we returned, most of us had changed. My friends Holly and Jonas, the "old married couple" of the dorm, had gone on a cruise together over break, and they came back stronger than ever. Others who didn't have relationships changed as well -- after seeing their friends at home, it was tough to leave. And of course some people didn't change at all. Then there was Jon. We both changed -- I can't pinpoint how, but it happened. The stress of Rush combined with new classes, tenting for me, and a new job for Jon didn't help either. We tried to adapt, but we couldn't. So last Wednesday, we succumbed to that natural selection. I initiated it, but I think we both knew it was coming. What followed was a short but intense ordeal of more adaptation, this time adjusting to the single life that we both lived during first semester. I don't know how Jon's doing with it, but for me it's been a roller coaster. Last Friday, Chi-O had its first semiformal. I had been planning for weeks to go with Jon. Instead, I got set up on a blind date with a sophomore from Pi Kappa Alpha, one of the best frats on campus. It was flattering and tons of fun, and I hope I'll see him again -- I just got an email from him this morning -- but still, the whole time I wasn't sure how to act. It felt like first semester all over again, and first semester, while fun, was never really "comfortable" until I met Jon. |
 Moving in 9/1 Going to Class 9/8 Rated PG 9/15 Athletes Foot in Mouth 9/22 Shaken Not Stirred 9/29 Sleeping with the Enemy 10/6 Withdrawal Symptoms 10/13 Why Duke? 10/20 Par-ants Weekend 10/27 Halloween 11/3 Who Am I? 11/10 Travel Guide 11/17 Give Me a Break 11/24 Thank You 12/1 Campus Camp-out 12/8 Apply Yourself 12/15 Rushing Back to School 1/26 Chi-Omega Land 2/2 Apply Yourself #2 2/9 Three Month Itch 2/16 School Daze 2/23 Politics and Popularity 3/2 They Came They Saw, They Choked 3/9 Dating at Duke 3/16 Weekly Update 3/30 Beep Beep 4/6 Extra,Extra 4/13 Room to Move 4/20 End of the Innocense 4/27 Help Me 5/1 The Last Hurrah 5/8 |
| My Rho Chi (that's pseudo-Greek for Rush Counselor) came through with a card on which I had to rank the sororities in order of preference. Afterwards, I realized I had made a mistake -- my official second choice was actually my first, and my third choice was my second. Oops! Fortunately (I suppose), that was amended quickly. Two days later, I received my schedule for the next round and immediately noticed something strange -- my first choice was missing. I had been cut. That was tough. Let's just say I didn't really feel like leaving the room for a couple of hours. But eventually, I started to realize that it was for the best, and after my best friend Nathalie didn't make it into that one either, I was quite relieved. The next day (Saturday), Rush began again, this time with only seven sororities instead of ten. Although the parties followed the same basic concept of mingling, they were shorter and more conversation-oriented. Each Rushee only met about three girls per sorority, and I think we all began to define our concepts of each group more clearly. I noticed that a definite first choice had emerged from the mess -- and it wasn't even the silver-medal winner of the last round. It was my previous third choice. I left that sorority (whose name I will hopefully be able to divulge soon) with a sunny feeling after the second round, even though the skies didn't agree with my mood. And tomorrow, I'll find out what they thought of me. Wish me luck! Fraternity Rush is an ENTIRELY different story. Jon is rushing as well, so Jaime and I have been tagging along with the guys to their parties. And I do mean parties. It felt like the beginning of the year again this weekend with loud music, strobe lights, and beer cans in every imaginable place. Jaime and I fit right in -- I think bringing us along might have been the guys best move yet. A little estrogen mixed in with all that testosterone can do wonders, you know. Forget video dating services and the Psychic Friends Network. A frat party is the easiest place in the world to pick up guys, and seeing as how the two temporary main attractions were following their male friends around, the guys were immediately a little more popular than they might have been. A tip for guys who have yet to Rush: make friends with girls who like to party, and other guys will make friends with you really quickly. But our guys could have certainly held their own -- it made me proud to see Jon joking around with the frat guys like he was already one of them. Wish him luck too. There is one more aspect of Rush that some colleges may not have, and that's selective houses. These are different from frats, but run on the same basic concept -- they're dorms that hold Rush to determine who gets to live there. They're all on Main West, so the location is great, and the people generally know how to have a lot of fun. Girls can be in both a sorority and a selective house, but guys have to choose between the two. I'm rushing Mirecourt, which is in my opinion (and many others') the most fun of them all. Fortunately, that Rush doesn't start for a couple more weeks, so I can get myself settled into Greek life before I have to start worrying about housing. Don't worry, you'll hear all about that later! For the meantime, I'm going to try to get some sleep in this tiny tent and wait on pins and needles for the results of Saturday's round. I'm not nervous... really... oh, who am I kidding? | |
