When you are an active, recruitment is typically a time when you can't pick out what to wear, so I won't go over what actives can wear. PNMs are typically told what to wear from the Panhellenic Council,  and while what I give you are examples of what I would wear, remember that you should wear something that you are comfortable in, that expresses who you are and something that looks BEST on your body. 
Here we go:

Day 1 at most schools is a day when PNMs are given plain t-shirts to wear, and thus I give a basic look with a white t-shirt here. A nice set of shorts, with matching jewelry and sandals will keep you cool and feeling great on Day 1.

Day 2 is a little more dressy, but still pretty casual. A nice dress and simple flats is all that you need for this day.

Day 3 is a day girls typically describe as "church clothes" or "what you wear when your bf brings you to his grandma's house". I recommend another nice dress, with a necklace, wedges (if you are comfortable wearing them) and a bracelet.

Pref Day! Last day of recruitment. Actives have lost their voices and you are getting nervous. Today is the day to dress to impress. This is a very nice cocktail dress. No prom dresses. Here I give you 2 examples.

Now these are my recommendations for the different days of Recruitment. If you have any questions or you want to know what I think a dress would be good for just leave me a comment and we can talk! Happy Wednesday Y'all!

When I went off the college, just two short months after graduating from High School, people thought I was crazy. I'm from the Northeast, where colleges don't start until September and sororities just aren't a thing. No one else in my grade was going through recruitment and most people thought I was crazy for jumping right in a going through, rather than waiting a semester or two.
While everyone at home thought I was crazy, once on campus, going through recruitment was the norm. It's just what girls did on campus. But my reasons for going through aren't just because almost everyone else did. I was looking for something. 
I go to school over 2,000 miles away from home. I have no family in Texas and I graduated from a school where my graduating class was 61 girls. Even though my school isn't huge, it sure felt big to me. 

I went through recruitment because I wanted, in all the chaos and transitioning that the first year of college entails, a place that I knew I belonged, where I knew I could find friends (but have them not be my only friends), a comfort zone. While the recruitment process is anything but comforting, especially in the south, by the end of the week, I knew that the chapter I was placed in would provide me a support system I would need so far from home.

So my suggestion to you ladies, if you are an incoming freshman, or perhaps older (which is fine), is that you go through, with an open mind. The girls you meet and the chapter that you will be in will provide an amazing support system that no other group in college can. While it isn't for everyone (and that is 100% totally fine) it is important to try it out, test the waters. 

Well, that's why I went through sorority recruitment. Actives, why did y'all go through? PNMs, why are you going through?

I am a big fan of social media. I mean, most 20-somethings are. From life's staples such as Facebook, to my procrastination tool, Pinterest, I have always been a semi-early adapter to social networking. The one site I really hesitated getting involved with was LinkedIn. I didn't feel old enough or like I could even fill out a profile because well, I'm just a student. I know so many of my friends felt and still feel the way that I did, but I'm going to tell you that if you don't have a LinkedIn, you really should. 

But why? It's another thing to keep up with. While that is true, it does take time to set up and a small time to update, but its benefits outweigh the costs. When you are applying for a job, if you don't have a LinkedIn, your employer is probably looking at your Facebook. I don't know about you, but while there isn't anything on my FB that I wouldn't want my Grandma to see, my Facebook screams more "sorority girl"  than "Political Science student on the job hunt" and while I love my sorority, when I'm applying for an internship or job, my sorority isn't the first thing I want my future employer to know about me. LinkedIn is all about self-advocating and being proactive, letting those who search for you on Google, get to know you professionally before they do so personally. 

Not only is it a great way to be proactive online, connecting with your friends is really a different experience on LinkedIn. From actually seeing what your friends are doing in their prospective major, to having them endorse your skills and specialities, you are making your relationship with people more dynamic than your mutual love for Pitch Perfect etc.
You can check out my LinkedIn if you want here
And sign-up for your own ASAP if you haven't already,

Welcome to the first day of Greek Week!
I had vocabulary tests and spelling tests all throughout school; I thought once I finished the SAT I was done, but oh I was wrong. Being a member of a Greek organization comes with its own vocabulary/jargon and sometimes it can be confusing. That's why I've decided to kick off Greek Week with a little vocabulary lesson so that way we are on the same page for the rest of the week.

So let's get started shall we?

Back on Tumblr, I featured (or attempted to feature) charities that I stand behind and support. I believe it is high time to bring the feature over here. This month, my charity is the Ubuntu Education Fund

Founded in 1999, Ubuntu Education Fund is a nonprofit charitable organization that "provides world-class health and educational support to the orphaned and vulnerable children of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, ensuring that they can access higher education and employment."

So what does that entail? Well the founder of Ubuntu, Jacob Lief, said on the BBC, that they are effectively providing everything for these kids, from cradle to career. That mean's pediatricians, psychologists, macbook pros and good teachers to learn from. Ubuntu isn't just a normal charity, it is taking money and using it how parents in the U.S. would, by giving their kids the best education and support they can.
Here is a video to give you a better idea of what Ubuntu is.

What spoke to me most about Ubuntu was the marketing campaign below, "Should your birthplace determine your future?" This spoke volumes to me because there are times, when I realize just how amazing my life is simply being born where I was born, forget who my parents are, what school I went to, any of it because I was born in the U.S. That is such an amazing gift that will set me up for success in life (plus how amazing my parents were and where I went to school). It made me think, why should something we don't have control over dictate our lives fully? It shouldn't and Ubuntu is doing the best it can to ensure it doesn't.

I feel such a great connection to this charity, and I will be doing my best to get involved with them anyway possible, and if it speaks to you as it does me, I encourage you to help out as well.

Check out Ubuntu at http://www.ubuntufund.org/
Follow them on twitter at UbuntuFund
Here is their Facebook and Instagram

If you have any suggestions for charities to feature, please leave them in the comments below!

It's Sunday, so while I'm gearing up for the week, I always like to think about something, so I'm going to share with y'all.
Let's be honest, the world we live in (at least in the US) is materialistic. Pinterest is a website dedicated to things we want. Instagram is an app to show off what we have (as well as embarrassingly funny childhood pictures). And it's not like I don't love it. I love finding new things, pining over things I want. I love any occasion to validate my shopping habits.

But I do think it's important to take time, a least once a day and mediate on how grateful I truly am.  
As Ferris Bueller says "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it", and I like to think of the habit of being grateful as the same thing. It's so easy to want for everything, that if you don't slow down and appreciate what you have, you'll miss all that you are blessed with.
Okay enough of my spiel. Hope you have a good Sunday and stay cool!


xoxo

I can't believe how fast the summer has flown by. In a couple of weeks I will be back at school participating in sorority recruitment. This is a two week long event where there is lots of bonding, stress, tears, dance parties and very little sleep. In order to get psyched up for it, in addition to typical posts I will have, I will also have a Greek focused post each day. From why I chose to go through recruitment, to vocabulary (yes, there is vocabulary), how to survive as a PNM (see! told ya, vocab) and as a sister the stress of recruitment, and why I chose the chapter I chose, I hope you will enjoy and learn a little about something that is very much a part of my life. 
Get excited and get ready for Greek Week on Pearls & Political Science!

I am always on the hunt for cute items for my room at home or for the dorm room and because I'm trying to be fiscally responsible, I turn to Etsy. No better place has absolutely adorable stuff, from art prints, to desk accessories to clothes.  Recently, I found Patrician Prints. Let me tell you, I'm obsessed

How cute are these prints? Each one is 10 dollars and they have more 200 prints to chose from! I am absolutely in love and I can't wait until I can find an excuse to snatch these up!

Check out Patrician Prints today!

When it comes to money, I am the stereotype for a millennial girl. Most (including myself) might see me as financially irresponsible at times, and I really wish I wasn't  Seeing as I am  college, my parents still give me a stipend or allowance every month. So I go from feeling flush with cash, to being too broke for Ramen noodles. Or at least I did. After several months of this, I realized something had to change, so I downloaded Mint.

Mint is a website, app, and an easy way to track your finances, set budgets and be an overall ninja with your money for free. As soon as I started syncing my accounts to Mint's secure system, I began to take notice of my accounts. Did I really spend that much? On stationary? Not any more!
Mint makes you stop and take notice of what you are spending, where you are spending it and how much you are spending a month. 

There is nothing more satisfying that knowing you are being responsible with your income (even if it is teeny-tiny) and not having to worry that you aren't going to have enough for gas, food or whatever your necessities are.

Check it out at http://mint.com or in the app store today!

The struggle is real of the city of Detroit. 
Years of white flight, out-sourcing and declining industries, decreasing taxes and a financial crisis have left Detroit filling for Chapter 9 (municipal) bankruptcy. According to The Wall Street Journal, Chapter 9 bankruptcy gives municipalities the ability to tackle their debt problems, something they might not have been able to do before hand.  Despite declaring bankruptcy, the city is still open for business. Public services will still occur; however, taxes will most likely increase (a major problem for a small population with low incomes) and there may be issues with pensions.


How did this happen? 
Well as I mentioned, it was a perfect storm; however, this storm didn't occur out of the blue, it was a long time coming. During the 1950s and 1960s, racial tensions grew high in Detroit, causing many of the white  as well as wealthy citizens to "flee" to the suburbs. For some reason,  Detroit really hasn't recovered from this, like many other cities in the U.S. has. Known as the Motor-City for it's booming automotive and transportation industry, this is where Detroit made its money. When companies began to leave the U.S. for cheaper work south of the border (as well as in Asia), this left a city dependent on the industry in quite the lurch. Finally, with the loss of jobs and the "white flight", the tax bracket of Detroit greatly decreased, and when paired with the financial crisis, it would be hard for any city to recover.

Despite all of this, I'm not giving up hope for the Motor City. This filing of bankruptcy will be an opportunity for the government to restructure and just reminder to all the skeptics out there, New York almost declared bankruptcy in the 1970s, and look at it now. I won't ask if, but I will ask how long do you think it will take for Detroit to bounce back?