Welcome To The Gun Show

I know that hunting is a hobby many enjoy across the United States, but I had no idea that it plays a huge role in the lifestyle of Texan families. After first coming to TCU, I was driving around with my roommate when we past by a billboard advertisement that said, "Gun Show. August 21-September  1." I had never seen an advertisement for a gun show, and I still think it's a little odd to this day. After being at TCU for only a semester, I began realizing that many of my friends (even girls) participated in hunting and shooting. I saw pictures of my girlfriends holding a dead dear in one hand and a rifle in the other. Frankly, all I could think about was "I better not make any of them mad!!" and "Poor dear!"

I personally am against killing animals as a sport and many of my friends here in Fort Worth tease me that I am too much of an animal lover. Hearing my friends talk about past hunting experiences are still hard for me to listen to since I am against the concept. I have asked many of my friends whether their families keep guns in their house and all of them have said something along the lines of, "Yes, I have grown up with guns". My family (and many of my other STL friends), on the other hand,  have never even held a gun, let alone killed something with it!

My boyfriend, Stephen, is what I would call a typical Texas boy. He collects guns, and goes hunting on a regular basis.  I was shocked to hear that for Christmas his parents bought him a hand gun. I guess nothing says "I love you"  more then a good ole' gun. At first I thought maybe it was a random gift his parents decided to get him..maybe for self defense purposes? But he actually asked for the gun for Christmas and was thrilled that his parents followed through with his wishes. I am still a little freaked out by that story. 

After living in Fort Worth for 4 years, I thought it was time to finally see what the whole fuss was about. No, I didn't go off and kill things...remember I'm an animal lover! Instead I shot a gun for the first time while participating in the activity, skeet shooting. I had no idea what skeet shooting was until last year and was ready to finally try it. I wasn't surprised when I wasn't able to hit any of the skeet, but it was a fun experience....to try once. I guess I can check that off my list of things to do while living the south. 

Sorority Rush = Intense

My rush experience at TCU was amazing. The only person in my family that was in a sorority was my granny...and that was about 45 years ago. Going into college, I knew that I wanted to affiliate with a sorority. I knew a couple of people from St. Louis who were joining me at TCU, but not enough to enable me to feel comfortable in a new
state/school.

Luckily, my dad was aware  that there was an application process for sorority rush and recommendations from alums of the sororities was needed to get in. With his help, I was able to get recs for every sorority at TCU.

As I waited to walk into the first house of the rush process I was overwhelmed with feelings of Anxiety, excitement and nervousness. I walked into the Kappa Kappa Gamma house while their members chanted, sang, snapped their fingers, and bounced up and down consecutively. Needless to say, I wanted to run the opposite direction having no idea what I was getting myself into. However, I decided that I would not give up. At every house the chatter seemed to get louder and louder, and by the first day I was already losing my voice.

How did no one tell me this is what rush consists of? Many of the freshman girls I met during rush seemed to be overly obsessed with certain sororities or "would die" if they didn't pledge a specific one. To be honest, I felt they were a little too intense for something I felt wasn't the end-all-be-all.

Over all, I was fortunate enough to have an amazing rush experience. While the whole rush/greek concept was  unfamiliar  to me, I believe that I had an advantage to those girls who  had their heart set on only one sorority. I came into rush with an open mind, willing to view every sorority for what I saw, not what any one else saw. I joined Chi Omega (where I am still a member) and have met some really great girls.

With-out this experience, I would  have not had the pleasure of getting to know so many girls that have made my college experience the best I could have ever hoped for it to be.