From rubbing Frog Baby’s nose to traveling club competitions, students reach to keep traditions. By Rosie Mitchell magine walking down McKinley Avenue on a warm Friday afternoon. You hear the distant cry of “Happy Friday!” by someone in a morphsuit. You can also see people jumping into the Frog Baby fountain, dressing the statue in goofy costumes and rubbing her head. Traditions can be a foundation to relationships, and missing these moments can possibly lead to missing opportunities to create core memories. During college, as people from all walks come together in the same few buildings, people seek to lean back on traditions to adjust to a new step in their lives. According to Donna Rockwell, a licensed clinical psychologist and CEO of Already Famous: Embracing Inner Celebrity, in the article “The Importance of Tradition”, having an action or behavior
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that is repeated is important because, “As we honor traditions, so we learn to honor ourselves, and in the final analysis, each other.” Worldwide, events such as weddings give people the ability to participate in traditions that bond two families into one. According to a Statista report in 2020 studying couples in the United States, 86% of couples kept the standard cake-cutting ceremony during their reception, and 70% maintained an open bar. People engage in societal and individual traditions every single day. Participating in traditions can create new opportunities by the bonding of people who may not have met otherwise. Jalen Pleak, a junior at Ball State, majors in both business administration and human resource management, but some of his best friends
s we honor A traditions, we learn to honor ourselves, and in the final analysis, each other.” - Donna Rockwell, Clinical Psychologist
