Today I had an award ceremony and senior presentation for a charity group I'm a part of. It will be the first of many of these kinds of events. It makes me sad to know that my involvement in some groups is over, but I can't help but smile when I think of all the great memories I've made. The seniors in this particular organization decided that we all should wear black so we coordinated! At the bottom I have links to wear everything (or something close to it) is from!
xo 
​Emma

A lot of people write blog posts about the actual experience of formal rush, but there is actually a lot more that goes into in before you even set foot on your college campus. At my college (a large southern college) pnms (potential new members) put together a packet of information that they deliver to the women writing their letters of recommendation and letters of support. Then the women writing the letter of recommendation sends off the packet to the sorority with their letter. So a lot of important people will view this packet, which is why it has to look good. I couldn't find a lot of advice on the internet about how to do this process so I thought I would post about it to hopefully help someone else who will be rushing!

Here is everything that should be in each packet along with examples of what I and others have done down below.

Letter of Support/Recommendation Packet
1. Resume

Make sure your resume highlights on grades, extracurriculars, and philanthropy (volunteering). Sorority resume is going to be different than one you might have created for jobs. Jobs mostly care about your grades and experience that pertains to that job. Sororities are more interested in making sure that you are a person who loves to be involved and volunteers. They want members that looking like they are going to make helpful contributions to their sororities philanthropy. They also want good students. A lot of colleges even have a GPA requirement in order to go through recruitment. Make sure you include things like your GPA, class rank & size, what AP or IB classes you've taken. These things typically don't appear on a regular job resume.

Here is the blog post that I used to model my resume

Also here is my resume. I blurred out my personal information but I wrote over it what should go there. I was told to make sure my resume only was one page, so I printed this front and back.
 ​

.2. Transcript

Just request one from your school and then make a bunch of copies of it.

3. Thankyou Note

​Here is a sample of what mine looked like. The name that goes on the top of the note is yours just FYI. 

4. Photos

​Every school is different but mine required a headshot, quarter body and full body. Also I was told to try and choose natural poses. You might have a pretty shot that is a more creative pose but for pictures that are going to be dispersed all across campus to every sorority it's important to choose less posed looking pictures. 

For example, even though I love the picture on the left I ended up going with the picture on the right because my hands are less posed.

5. Summary Sheet

​Sometimes the ladies who are writing the letter of supports like to send them to the lady who is writing the letter of recommendation so that it can all be sent in together. This is not required but the summary sheet provides the info of who is doing what for that Chapter incase they decide to send on the letter of support with the rec letter. I didn't tell people to combine them all I just left it up to their discretion and included this page. 

Here is an example of a summary page for Alpha Delta Pi. I wrote one for each sorority once I knew who was writing what letter for me for each chapter.

6. Addressed Envelope

Lastly, I printed out stamps of the addresses of each sorority. I found the correct ones for my school on their Panhellenic page. Just google "(your college) Panhellenic" and you should find something similar. For the letters of support I put a regular sized envelope because they only need to send off the letter, but for the letters of rec I stuck in a large folder that could hold the entire packet. Also make sure to include stamps. The letter of support envelope only needs one but the large rush packet envelope needed three for mine.

OTHER TIPS:

1. Hand deliver your packets if possible

Some of my letter writers live out of the state even so I had to email them everything. However, for the most part I hand delivered the rest of the packets. Some women receive a ton of people asking for letters so in order to stand out and give them a personality behind all your information it's really good to deliver the packet in person. Also if they have immediate questions or want to look over the packet your write there to clarify or fix anything. 

2. Have an electronic copy of everything

Some sororities require all this information to be sent online, so make sure you store all the info in your packet on your computer. My recommendation is to not delete anything until rush is actually over. I have had several women ask me to email all my info instead of delivering a packet & you have to accommodate those requests. 

3. Make your papers pretty

​This isn't super important but it's kinda fun. Don't get to stressed over having the best font or layout, just make sure it looks like you put some serious time into creating the packets. I printed out stickers for the cover of my packet that matched my name on my resume. Totally not necessary but I liked that it made the whole thing coherent. 

Good luck on your rush experience! While all this seems like a lot remember that the paper or color you use in your packet really won't make or break your recruitment. It's just a way for you to show your personality before you even get to rush week.
xo 
​Emma

Prom and award season is here! A lot of people will be attending nice events in the future months so I thought I would share two updo hairstyles that are great for more formal events.
​xo Emma

And this is the finished hairstyle! If I were to turn my head more the other way you would actually be able to see the bun on the left. This looks good in pictures because it makes you look less-bald.

First, put you hair up into a high pony tail. Make sure you leave two strips of hair on each side of your head. Then braid each of those strips and secure them with a clear elastic hair tie. 

Take each brain and fold it backwards over your head and secure with a bobby pin. I had to use two bobby pins on each braid to make sure they stayed in place. This forms like a headband of braids that looks super cool. Not going to lie, getting the braids where you want them takes some practice and time, but I did get in in the end.

And here are two pictures of the finished look! The only thing I would change is I would make sure I had a bobby pin that matched my hair color so that it wouldn't stand out as much!

I used my body shop moisturizer and then my too faced primer. These really helped my skin look bright and my makeup last all night. I borrowed my sisters tarte foundation. I had never used this before but it is an excellent full coverage foundation. I might go buy some so I can use it for future events when she's not around. For powder I used my too faced one that I use everyday. Its great for setting the tarte foundation. 

I started off using the mac single eye shadow in the crease, I then layered garnet and espresso from the Lorac Pro pallet in the outer crease, almost doing a cut crease look. I borrowed my sisters Kat Von D liquid eyeliner to make a wing. Then I applied some of the individual sephora lashes! I find that the individual ones are much easier to apply then the whole strip of eyelashes!

For my highlight & contour I used this mac blush and a highlighter from the balm. For my contour I borrowed my friends Kat Von D cream contour pallet and it was amazing! I don't own it, which is why there isn't a picture, but it will also be linked down below! 

I went for a mauve toned lip. I lined my lips with a mac lip liner in 'dervish' and a bare minerals pretty amazing liquid lipstick. This is one out of a trio of pretty amazing lipsticks, all three are great, but this one matched my lip liner.

Here are all the products I mentioned in this post. Just click on the picture to shop. If I couldn't find the exact product or color I found something similar!

Since summer is fast approaching, a lot of people have been getting into the swing of working out again.  I'm not one of those people haha, but I love getting workout clothes to lounge around (and maybe someday workout) in. A lot of places like Lululemon or athleta can be super expensive, so here are some more affordable options! I own several Forever 21 sports bras, and shorts and I can testify that they are great quality, almost close to lululemon, but litterally a fraction of the price! CLICK on any picture below to SHOP these products! The two picutres of shorts I just bought are from TJMaxx, but I couldn't find a link to them online, but I displayed tons of other cute options and linked more pictures down below too!
xo Emma

I just got back from Spring Break in Florida and let me tell you the car ride from TX to FL was brutal! It was only supposed to take us 11 hrs but ended up being more like 15! There were so many storms and traffic problems that I honestly wouldn't have been able to make it without good music! Recently I got spotify premium and I have to say its by far the best decision I've made in a while. First, I can listen to whatever I want whenever I feel like! No more shuffling playlists and hoping that my favorite song will come up! Also with their student discounts it really isn't that expensive, and I would spend more than $5 a month on buying new songs anyway. Here are my favorite playlists on spotify, hopefully this will get you pumped for spring break if you are also stuck in a car for 14 hours!!
xo Emma

​Follow me on spotify: emmateresa16  

​1. Fun Workout

2. Billboard Hot 100

3. Roadtripp (Made this one myself!) 

4. Songs to Sing in the Car (personal favorite)

5. Acoustic Covers 

6. ON FLEEK

7. Songs to Get Drunk White People Excited (another personal favorite, has a lot of good throwback jams!)

8. Morning Commute

9. Todays Top Hits

10. Fresh Finds