Hey everyone!


Wow, deja-vu much? I feel as if I've most likely started a post with that title before, but it's still relevant today so I don't plan on changing it. 

What do I mean exactly when I say "big things"? Well, for starters, I'm going to try rushing! 

I decided a little while back, back when I was going through my "Do I really want to attend Manoa?" period, that I couldn't leave Manoa without having tried everything that I want to. This, among other things that I will later get to, includes rushing. 

A couple posts ago, I made it a point to say that the Greek Life at UH is very low-key, and, from what I've experienced this week, I couldn't agree more. I'm going to document what happens each day of Rush Week, and I really want to keep this post as unfiltered and true as possible. This means I'm not going to embellish or change what has happened. 


As part of Rush Week, all Potential New Members (PNM) are assigned a sister who is going to act like their "mentor" and help them throughout the week. My mentor reached out to me shortly after I applied and introduced herself, telling me that all information regarding the process would come from her. After that initial text, I didn't hear from her the rest of the week, so I decided to go to their table and at least figure out where the first event (Panhellenic Fair) would be. I was told "It's going to be August 7th, 8:00pm in Campus Center. There will be girls out here making sure you find your way, so you don't need to worry!" At first I was relatively confident, and as the day got closer (and the lack of communication) led me to wonder if I was missing out on something. 

So come August 7th, it's a little before 8pm and I'm in Campus Center. There are no sorority girls outside and, in the room I was told to go to, there was a youth group singing worship songs. I reached out to my mentor and said, "Hey! I'm where you told me to go and it's a little before 8. There's actually no one else here, are you sure that this is the right place?" 

Unfortunately, while her response was immediate, it was not the one I was expecting. She told me that she was sorry but that I had actually missed the Panhellenic Fair. She told me that the location actually was different and that it had already happened, but because I had been told the wrong information, she was willing to meet with me before Round One and go over what I needed to know beforehand. 

I would say that overall I feel very conflicted. On one hand I really wanted to rush and I really wanted the "sisterhood" that so many people say sororities are like. 

It's also hard to wrap my mind around the financial aspect of it. While I understand that sororities are expensive, I assumed Manoa's Greek Life would be cheaper based on the smaller presence it has. After learning about the financial cost joining and becoming a member of a sorority would have, I'm beginning to have my doubts.

Other than sororities, I am also trying to get more involved with the Korean club called: Hanwoori. You might remember from a few posts last year how I went with them around the island and to a few club meetings. Since I'm taking Korean 101 this semester I decided that, while the club felt a bit like a clique, that I should at least try it one more time and see if it changes once you start learning Korean.

I can happily say that it does! Many of last years' members were not present at the first two meetings, and overall I felt a lot more comfortable this time. I really like how inclusive they're trying to make the club, and I was even added to their group chat on Kakao (something that I wasn't a part of last year)! I'm also registered to get a buddy, which is an exchange student they pair up with you who can help teach you Korean and who you can teach English! I think this is going to be a great way to not only improve my Korean, but to also make some international friends. 

Lastly, the other "Big Thing" I wanted to share with you all is that HerCampus is back up and running at UH Manoa! This is huge news, because I am going to be part of their team! HerCampus is an online collegiate magazine/website which talks all about the university. Schools all across the country are featured, and you can read about anything from what's going on at your university, to places to eat around campus. I reached out a few months ago to a girl who was petitioning for the website to come back, and I heard back a few days ago that I was more than welcome to be on the team, if I so wish. To me this is amazing news, because HerCampus is something that I read a lot when looking at potential colleges. It's also something I still read, and I think being apart of this collegiate magazine would provide me with an awesome opportunity to not only improve my writing but be apart of the greater Manoa campus. I'm extremely excited to see where this goes, and while it's still small, I know this can be great.

This is all the news I have for now. As the week goes on I hope to be able to update you guys with more of what I've been up to and what has been going on. 

As always, I wish you all a relaxing weekend and hope nothing but the best for this upcoming semester. 

Until next time,

Aislinn