Traditions... How life is supposed to be.

Traditions… How life is supposed to be.

Traditions give us all ideas, or better yet, examples of how life is supposed to be. For instance, most of those whom are raised under traditions that value family and the importance of sticking together, are pretty much being influenced to carry on the same values. Traditions such as family reunions and thanksgiving dinners are common, but not always practiced in today’s day and age. Although, I enjoyed the family gatherings I had as a child, I recall my friends complaining of how boring their thanksgiving breaks were when the teacher would ask. Just as Garrison Keillor writes in his essay “A Wobegon Holiday Dinner”. He speaks of the boredom he and his fiancé experienced at his family’s Thanksgiving in 1965. “I regretted that my family was not more colorful. I wished we were Italians.” I am sure we are all once embarrassed by our family at one time or another, but the big picture is that even though they did not always get along, or something exciting didn’t happen, they were still together. There are people in the world today that would jump at the chance to have what he had. What I had. The memories created from traditions are ones that do not die. That is why he can still speak of them many, many years later.

In other ways, traditions teach important values besides the importance of family. They give strength, confidence and even inspire us. For instance, those of us who have grown up watching their parents struggle to provide are more likely to have that same determination to work hard for what they want. In the same aspect, those who do not see a struggle might find it harder to develop that same determination.  There are certain values that need to be taught. Parents who can afford the finer things, but do not show that those are of little importance compared to family, friends and health, are in for a world of hurt when their children reach adulthood. Those children will most likely struggle to find purpose in life. The funny thing is these children still have a better chance of success. In reading the Essay by Janny Scott and David Leonhardt, Class Matters, I noticed a quote from a self-Described working class man, which stuck. “It’s hard to get wealthy if your family isn’t.” To me, that quote is so true. Children with wealthy parents are more likely to attend college, and know people who are wealthy as well. This in turn, gives them the connections they need to other opportunities, such as good paying jobs or wealthy friends who could possibly turn into mates.

To me, traditions give us structure and security. They give us confidence and help us to form our identities.