It’s Bid Day!
I slept in until nearly nine this morning, got ready, and went to brunch with some of the girls.
Then, it was back to our meeting room for an informational meeting, which was really fun because we got to find out which sororities all our advisors are in.
When three o’clock rolls around, you can feel the excitement in the air. We meet up with our group leader and each get handed an envelope. The good news is, we have the bid in our hands. The bad news is, we can’t open it yet.
We’re taken to the nearby soccer field, where we find all the sororities wrapped around the edges of the field in groups. They are all dressed up, their Greek letters held up to make it easy for us to find them, and all are wearing their colors. I’ve already spotted where my top two are, but my eyes keep going back to my top choice.
Pretty much all of us are vibrating with excitement. Especially when they start the countdown. When we get to one, we will open our envelopes at the same time.
“Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!”
I feel like it’s New Year’s Eve as I watch the girls tear into their envelopes. I take a moment, close my eyes, and make another wish, and then I gently open the flap and pull out the card inside.
The girls around me have opened their cards and are all screaming and hugging each other.
The first thing I see is a seal in the colors I was hoping to see, followed by the letters I wanted.
“Ahhh!” I yell out.
Alyssa comes over and hugs me. She’s thrilled because she got her favorite, too. We jump up and down and scream, hug each other, and share our bids with those in our groups. The sororities around us are hooting and hollering.
“All right, ladies, it’s time to go home!” our advisor yells out.
We take off running toward the sororities we got. It reminds me of being on a football field before a big game. I’m greeted with hugs and screeches from some of the girls I got to know during rush. Very quickly, we’re being paraded to Sorority Row. And by paraded, I literally mean that. Our route is lined with fraternity guys all cheering and high-fiving us as we go by.
In what feels like a blur in time, we’re at the house. There’s a huge sign welcoming us, balloon arches, and a Welcome Home banner over the door. Once inside, we’re given sorority tees to put on, accessorized with boas and sunglasses, and gold glitter is brushed onto our faces. It sort of reminds me of—although on a much larger scale here—how we used to dress up the new cheer squad members after tryouts to let everyone at school know they’d made the team.
We hug more people, get introduced to all the girls in our pledge class, and make our way back outside for photos and fun. And it’s really cool to look down the street and see the happy celebrations going on at each house.
Later, we’re taken on a bus to a pretty house on a lake for swimming, food, fun, and lots of bonding.
And as the night winds down, I realize another reason why I feel so comfortable here. The lake reminds me of home.
