1) Don’t forget to breathe. Throughout most of the house visits the first night I realized that I forgot to breathe which just made everything more overwhelming. Once I started to breathe consciously, everything got so much easier!
2) Take time to be alone during the day. Before you go to visit the houses make sure that you take the time to relax and be alone. Maybe eat by yourself, find a quiet spot in the library, or even take a midday shower. Just do something that lets you not have to interact.
3) Nap!!! This is related to no. 2, but I think even more important. As an introvert around so many people, you WILL get exhausted. It doesn’t matter if you are having the time of your life you will get drained. So, at some point during the day a nap will be a good idea. Otherwise, you will want to curl up in every corner the whole evening.
4) Do something to make you feel grounded. Rush is fun, but it can be stressful in the way of being around so many people you don’t know and trying to impress them. This can lead to feeling ungrounded, so do something to help with that. This is going to sound contradictory to an earlier point, but spend time with people you like, people who you aren’t trying to impress, people who already know you and you can connect with, this will lead to more confidence, which in turn will lead to a better first impression!
5) Have fun! Most importantly of all, have fun. Rush is a lot less scary than I built it up to be in my head, and in its way is fun! Try to keep this in mind because it will be that much more enjoyable if you do.