Part I:  There are many rituals of transition in the United States, such as weddings, funerals, graduations, and much more.  However, when looking at these rituals most countries around the world celebrate them in more extravagant ways than the United States.  For example, based on a conversation with my friend, Indian weddings are larger than life.  Everyone in the family is invited to attend, they get dressed head to toe in authentic Indian attire and dance all night to their culture’s music.  My friend mentioned some weddings the bride and groom ride in on an elephant, which I’ve never heard of anything like that happening in the United States.  There are some rituals in the United States that I doubt are considered rituals in other countries.  Many people might not agree with this being a ritual, but in my family,  it was a big deal transitioning from the kids table to the adult table at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I still remember when my cousin, who is four years older than me moved to the adult table.  When she left the kids’ table I felt she would never talk to me again, and she was too old to be hanging out with “babies.”  Eventually, my other cousin and I were old enough to join the adult table, and that’s when then my oldest cousin decided she would start hanging out with us again.  This ritual was a transition from child to adult that incredibly important in many households because it showed you were taken seriously by other adults.

Part II:  In my life, I have gone through many rituals of transition such as reaching puberty, obtaining my drivers’ license, graduating high school, and voting.  One of the major rituals I experienced was graduating high school for many reasons.  First, my family from across the country was coming to celebrate with me and throw me a graduation party.  Also, as president of my class and an active member of my school’s student council I was asked to give a speech to my entire class and their family and friends.  As many of you may know near the end of senior year most students aren’t putting effort into their school work, and they are waiting around for graduation day.  Similar to my peers, I couldn’t wait for graduation, but I wasn’t looking forward to giving my speech as I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of my peers.  I was so nervous I would trip walking on to stage, stumble across my words, or pass out.  I remember dreading graduation day because of all the emotions surrounding my speech.  On the day of graduation, I gave my speech and only stumbled across a few words.  A few of kids I rarely spoke to even said they enjoyed my speech, which gave me a boost of confidence.  Looking back at graduation, I wish I would’ve trusted my abilities more and not been so nervous.  I overreacted during my ritual because even if I had embarrassed myself no one would’ve remember.  Honestly, I couldn’t tell you what I even said in my speech, so I doubt my peers remember.  If I could relieve my graduation I would approach it with a completely different mindset because it’s an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

Part III: My college experience up to this point has been very different than most students as I have transferred two times and changed my major.  Before attending MSU, I attended a private business university, while vastly different, the expectations were the same.  At both universities, it was implied that females would get into the sorority with the prettiest sisters and males would do whatever it took to ensure they were in the top frat.  Like many others, I rushed a sorority with expectation I was going to be in my dream sorority surrounded by all my sisters, and I realized it wasn’t the college experience I wanted.  However, I was determined to join a club, so unlike many other females I rushed a professional business fraternity.  It was by far the best decision I’ve ever made because I’m constantly surrounded by my brothers who help me develop professional, teach me school concepts, and gather for social events.  To this day, I’m glad I didn’t follow the behaviors of other females because it was implied I needed to be in the top house.  As far as explicit messages go surrounding gender roles in college, as a female I was always told to be careful, watch my drink, etc. while the males in my life were told to watch out for their female friends.  Most males in college can drink as much as they want without worrying about the repercussions of their actions, while females must be extremely cautious.  This is an explicit message because my friends and I are always being told by our elders to be mindful, and I’ve heard numerous parents tell their sons to watch out for me or their sister. It’s weird to think even though males and females attend college together the expectations for both are vastly different.