Three Significant Varieties of Tradition

One group to which I feel as though I am very much a part and have been so for a significant amount of time is my group of friends who live in the same building as I do. Indeed, this group has had many traditions during the time in which I have been in college and have known the other members. These customs have in fact changed with time based upon a variety of factors that have affected the reasons and for engaging in the said activities. One tradition that was longstanding, but in recent time disappeared consisted of all of the group members eating at one of the many sushi restaurants in Bloomington on Friday nights. While this tradition was still practiced, it served to reaffirm who was considered part of the entirety of the faction. The reason for the disappearance of this habitual practice was primarily that many of the group members are now quite busy with the vast amount of work associated with being a senior. This means that the tradition only ceased in its practice due to the lack of free time had by the members. Another tradition that has become of increasing importance to members of this collective is congregating at the apartment of one of the members late on Saturday night in order to watch a movie or episodes of a TV show on DVD. This is primarily done simply so that the members can socialize and also discuss, and usually complain about, the honors thesis or other coursework that is causing them to have virtually no free time. This has become of increasing importance due to the fact that this small window of time often the only occasion during the week in which the group members are able to socialize with one another. One tradition that I had a part in the creation of is the annual crashing of faculty receptions in late April. This tradition began during my freshman year when many of my friends and I were running low on food towards the end of the semester. Due to the fact that both of my parents are college professors, I had previous knowledge of the qualities of food leftover after a faculty reception. So this has become a tradition based upon the fun associated with the hunt for free food.

This blog entry is my response to the Chapter Three Reflection Question